April 29th, 1999. A skull is found in a trash bag outside Action Glass in Atlanta, Georgia.

Soon after, in different trash bags, various other body parts are found. The remains are identified as the remains of Melissa Wolfenbarger, a 21-year-old married mother of two who is reported missing several months prior.

In a remarkable twist, Melissa’s remains are verified only after her Father is arrested in connection to an unrelated murder.

In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, is joined by forensics expert Joseph Scott Morgan as they discuss the details of Melissa’s murder case. They both not only describe the gruesome details around cases involving beheading and dismemberment but they also bring light to their professions that most never see.

They also dissect potential thoughts from a murderer’s perspective, the importance of understanding the anatomy of a body, and more.  

Show Notes:

• [0:00] Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum. If you missed the beginning of Melissa Wolfenbarger’s case check out those episodes here: Melissa Wolfenbarger: Norma and Tina Patton | Part 1, Melissa Wolfenbarger: Karyn Greer | Part 2, Melissa Wolfenbarger: Trace Sargent | Part 3, Melissa Wolfenbarger: Letters From Carl Patton | Part 4, Melissa Wolfenbarger: Victims of Carl Patton - Liddie Evans Children Speak | Part 5 
• [4:16] “Our humor is sometimes very dark and a little twisted. But we can't spend all of our time crying.” 
• [4:30] Sheryl McCollum introduces Joseph Scott Morgan to listeners
• [7:22] Joe is the author of Blood Beneath My Feet: The Journey of a Southern Death Investigator, the host of the hit podcast Body Bags, and a distinguished scholar of applied forensics at Jacksonville State University
• [10:08] Sheryl gives a brief background of Melissa’s case for those who may be new to joining
• [15:47] “Avon Avenue is probably in the top five streets in Atlanta that I worked deaths on.”
• [19:50] Joe details necessary reasons anatomy knowledge is necessary for dismemberment 
• [22:04] Question: With the cases that you have worked on where there was a beheading… Was there also a dismemberment of the arms and legs, or is that rare for even you? 
• [28:26] Question: If Melissa were in fact pregnant, which is something she's told a judge, Something she told her mother. Do you think if he believed that she was pregnant and that her husband was responsible for this murder, do you think he would've buried his child, meaning her torso?
• [33:01] Geographical profiling  
• [33:13] Join us again next week as Joseph Scott Morgan leads us to the conclusion of what he believes happened to Melissa Wolfenbarger
• [34:43] Check out Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan
• Thanks for listening to another episode! If you’re loving the show and want to help grow the show, please head over to Itunes and leave a rating and review! How to Leave an Apple Podcast Review: First, Open the podcast app on your iPhone, Mac, or iPad. Then, hit the “Search” tab at the bottom right-hand corner of the page and search for Zone 7. Select the podcast, scroll down to find the subheading “Ratings & Reviews”. and select “Write a Review.” Next, select the number of stars you’d like to leave. Please choose 5 stars! Using the text box which says “Title,” write a title for your review. Then in the text box, write the review itself. The review can be up to 300 words long, but doesn’t need to be much more than: “Love the show! Thanks!” or Once you’re done select “Send” in the upper right-hand corner.

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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award-winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, a forensic and crime scene expert for “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” and a CSI for a metro-area Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook, “Cold Case: Pathways to Justice.”

McCollum is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students, and the criminal justice community. They come together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

You can connect and learn more about McCollum’s work by visiting the CCIRI website https://coldcasecrimes.org

Social Links:

• Email: [email protected]
• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

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