- Grading and Max Credits: Graduate Catalog Info GMS6352L
GMS6352L
In-Person Elective Course
Credits: 3
Fall 2024 Dates: October 21-25, 2024 Canceled
Instructor: Dr. Lerah Sutton, Dr. Jason H Byrd
Message from the Maples Center Staff
Cancellation of Course due to Ongoing Responses to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton
Course Participants-
After consulting with our colleagues at UF, the Department of Health, and the Florida Department of Emergency Management, we have made the difficult decision to cancel both GMS6352L: Artifacts of Decomposition Laboratory Course and the Bugs, Bones, and Botany Continuing Education Course that was scheduled the week of October 21, 2024. The safety and wellbeing of each of you is most important, and with the uncertainty of the impending impacts of Hurricane Milton across Florida, we felt it was best to cancel. We will provide updated dates when these courses have been rescheduled.
Given the reason for the cancellation, we hope that airlines, hotels, and any other travel-related plans and reservations you may have made to attend this course will be willing to provide refunds as a reasonable accommodation for the impending Hurricane – which is now accompanied with a Statewide Disaster Declaration by President Biden. If you need any additional information or confirmation to help confirm the reason for the cancellation in pursuit of a refund, please email forensics@ahc.ufl.edu and maples-center@ahc.ufl.edu and we will be glad to assist you.
This in-person, interactive elective course has been designed to give students a hands-on approach regarding the basic concepts of human decomposition and the estimation of post-mortem interval. Students will become familiar with the multidisciplinary nature of death investigations through practical exercises that will further develop their ability to recognize and understand artifacts of decomposition including scattered skeletal remains recovery and clandestine grave detection and excavation.
Fall 2024
Location: Indian River State College
4600 Kirby Loop Road
Fort Pierce, FL 34981
Dates: October 21-25, 2024
Lodging Info:
Lodging is on your own. Here are some hotels near the training site:
Holiday Inn Express 772-464-5000
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott 772-462-2900
Residence Inn by Marriott 772-344-7814
Homewood Suites by Hilton 772-345-5333
Hampton Inn & Suites 772-828-4100
Best Western 772-409-1740
Comfort Suites 772-409-1420
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Properly identify and secure a crime scene involving decomposed remains
- Detect surface remains and clandestine graves
- Perform tasks related to physical evidence identification and recovery
- Process a gravesite by using the grid/baseline methods and evidence mapping
- Properly sift to look for items of evidence and small bones
- Locate, map, and measure skeletal remains
- Systematically map and excavate clandestine graves
Download a tentative agenda (subject to change): Syllabus
Interested in this subject, but can’t come to the in-person lab? Take Artifacts of Decomposition 100% online!