Extra: How did John Sohus die? | Forensic Files

so when this this body this skull was Unearthed by a bobcat correct heavy Earth moving equipment yesh and what
does that do to a body you expect it to shatter the skull of it that was exactly
the issue what I had to try and determine was were all of these fractures caused by the bobcat in which
case there have no real significance as far as the the trial is concerned or are
some of these uh fractures what I say what I call perimortem meaning that they happened when the person was alive but
just shortly before death in other words you're really trying to figure out the cause of death exactly so it was quite
challenging I mean when had to try and uh sort out from all of these fractures which if any could have been did occur
at the time of death and could have therefore been responsible for causing death when you say that those fractures
occurred when the person was alive are you saying those are the fractures that killed this person yes I believe so
based on the skull at least the skull is the only part of the body that was available for this evaluation so from my
perspective at least we'll never know what injuries if any were present in the rest of the body but at least as far as
the head was concerned I was able to conclude that there had been at least three impacts to this head while the
person was alive

Forensic pathologist Dr. Frank Sheridan tells "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty how he determined how John Sohus died by examining the pieces of his skull. For more on the story, watch "aka Rockefeller" Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. To watch full episodes of 48 Hours Mystery, CLICK http://cbsn.ws/1cai8zp

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Brief Summary

Forensic expert analyzes skull fractures to determine cause of death.

Key points

Determining Cause of Death. The expert assesses skull fractures to determine if they were fatal.
Three Impacts to the Head. The evaluation concludes there were at least three impacts to the head while alive.

Episode highlights

Determining Cause of DeathThe expert assesses skull fractures to determine if they were fatal.“Those fractures occurred when the person was alive.”1:04Oct 18, 2013

Episode quotes

Those fractures occurred when the person was alive.

Determining the cause of death from skull fractures.

1:04WatchOct 18, 2013

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