Pathology with Dr. Priya | A Zone 7 Series: What Goes In Must Come Out

Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime

4.4 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 15 September 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Content Warning: This episode contains graphic discussion of sexual behavior, bodily insertions, foreign objects, and autoerotic asphyxiation. Listener discretion is advised.

Returning from CrimeCon 2025, Dr. Priya Banerjee and Sheryl McCollum open this episode with reflections on the people who moved them, the cold cases that stopped them in their tracks, and the power of connection in the world of true crime. Then, they pivot to a vastly different kind of casework: foreign objects found inside the human body. From surgical tools accidentally left behind to items inserted for sexual pleasure or criminal intent, Dr. Priya shares unforgettable autopsy findings and the often-overlooked forensic clues they offer. As always, it’s a blend of personal and professional, science and heart, in a conversation only these two could have.

Highlights

(0:00) Sheryl McCollum and Dr. Priya open the week’s episode with reflections from CrimeCon 2025
(9:30) The saying that starts it all: “If there’s an opening, you can put something in it”
(11:15) A grocery store, a steak, and a choking death no one expected
(15:00) What pathologists can infer from surgical tools left inside the body
(17:00) Autoerotic asphyxiation, sex toys, and accidental death that look like something else
(21:00) From lightbulbs to screwdrivers, bottles to vegetables: unexpected insertions and the injuries they cause
(24:30) Forensic red flags: how Dr. Priya distinguishes between consent and crime
(27:45) Final reflections on connection, continuing education, and the parents who turn tragedy into change

About the Hosts

Dr. Priya Banerjee is a board-certified forensic pathologist with extensive experience in death investigation, clinical forensics, and courtroom testimony. A graduate of Johns Hopkins, she served for over a decade as Rhode Island’s state medical examiner and now runs a private forensic pathology practice. Her work includes military deaths, NSA cases, and high-profile investigations. Dr. Priya has also been featured as a forensic expert on platforms such as CrimeOnline and Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. She is a dedicated educator, animal lover, and proud mom.

Website: anchorforensicpathology.com
Twitter/X: @Autopsy_MD

Sheryl McCollum is an Emmy Award–winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, and the Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. She works as a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department and is the co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute (CCIRI), a nationally recognized nonprofit that brings together universities, law enforcement, and experts to help solve unsolved homicides, missing persons cases, and kidnappings.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter/X: @ColdCaseTips
Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:12.5	Y'all welcome to Pathology with Dr. Priya.
0:17.3	Doctor, how are you?
0:18.8	Great.
0:19.4	It was great seeing you at CrimeCon. We had a blast. I cannot even tell you. Doctor, how are you? Great. It was great seeing you at CrimeCon. We had a blast. I cannot even tell
0:24.3	you what a just fantastic time I had with you. And y'all, let me tell you something. Dr. Prey's got
0:32.3	some fans, honey. Oh, it was, it was interested. Yeah, I met some and, you know, I always wonder who does my work reach, you know? And I think right here, this is a powerful medium. People listen. And that really warmed my heart because my husband's sick of hearing me.
0:51.7	Well, you know, we had a meet and greet, y'all, and it was the three of us, Dr. Priya, Ed Newcomber, and myself.
1:02.0	And, I mean, there was a line out the door and the number of people that I heard, thank you for the information, thank you for the knowledge.
1:13.6	You cleared so many things up for people that had questions in their own life that could never reach you otherwise.
1:20.6	Well, you know, I think this is why I love to teach, right?
1:25.6	And I think sort of bringing myself into another sphere with you here,
1:31.6	it's been really interesting. And I love that because I think people often contact me at the
1:38.8	worst time in their lives when they've lost a loved one, right? That's when you need an autopsy.
1:43.8	And, you know, I sort of pride myself.
1:46.6	I take a lot of time to speak to families when they consult on a private autopsy with me because
1:50.8	it's not right for everyone. You know, it's not like a magic ball that I can tell everything. I can tell a lot.
1:59.1	But when you're grieving, you want all the answers and you want them now. And, you know, that's a tell everything. I can tell a lot. But when you're grieving, you want all the answers and you
2:02.4	want them now. And, you know, that's a powerful role that I play for the people that I do do
2:07.4	autopsies for. And actually, just two days ago, I got a call from Rhode Island. And I talked to two
2:13.6	gentlemen who lost their mother. And, you know, I've been there and it sucks. There's no
2:17.6	medical term for it otherwise. And I was able to talk to them. And I said, look, gentlemen,
	...

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