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A murder case — solved by vultures

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode Crimes in the Wild. Check out Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.

In 2013, detective Bradley Marr of Louisiana was investigating a murder. Forensic scientist Lauren Pharr Parks and detective Marr share how vultures helped crack the case.

About Lauren Pharr Parks

Lauren Pharr Parks is a forensic anthropologist, and she advocates for the role vultures can play in forensic science.

In her research, Pharr Parks has shown that understanding vulture scavenging can lead to faster and more accurate identification of human remains. Her work has taken her across the country to help law enforcement professionals and researchers. She's helped local law enforcement solve missing-person cases or assisted in data collection and research at national labs.

Pharr Parks earned her doctorate in geography and anthropology from Louisiana State University.

About Bradley Marr

Bradley Marr is currently the District Attorney Investigator and Program Manager at the 11th Judicial District Attorney's Office in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. For 24 years he worked as a detective in the Sheriff's Department Detective Division in Sabine Parish, before retiring in 2019 as Chief Detective.

Marr's career in law enforcement spans over 30 years. He is also a United States Air Force Veteran.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.
Katie Monteleone
Katie Monteleone is a producer for TED Radio Hour. She started out as an intern for the show in January 2019. After her internship, Monteleone began producing for Life Kit before returning to the TED Radio Hour team in October 2019 as a full-time producer.