A Filicidal Father Found Out by Forensics
Sydney Smith What started as an ordinary summer day in June 1913 for two Scottish farmers ended in a gruesome discovery as they were walking along a quarry right outside of Edinburgh. Floating in the water were two small bodies that were so water-logged that the men couldn't tell if they were human. The bodies were tied together, and it soon became the task of forensics pioneer Sydney Smith to determine who they were and how they met their horrible fate. At the time of the discovery, Sydney Smith was working as an assistant to Professor Harvey Littlejohn at Edinburgh University. He was able to identify the bodies as belonging to two young boys. Using specimens taken from the bodies, Smith was also able to determine that the bodies contained adipocere, body fat that is hard and white. When exposed to water, it takes several months for adipocere to form in a human body. Based on the levels of adipocere that Smith found, he determined that the boys' bodies had been placed i