The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "corpses" ...
-
Katrina's Hidden Race War / Body of Evidence
The stories describe racial conflict that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "Katrina's Hidden Race War" chronicles the formation of an armed militia in a predominately white neighborhood that shot at African American males suspected of looting. "Body of Evidence" outlines the death of Henry Glover and the New Orleans Police Department's refusal to seek medical attention for him. Glover's incinerated body was later discovered behind the Fourth District police station.
Tags: Katrina; hurricane; New Orleans; police; body; militia; Algiers Point; looters; shot; charred remains; incinerated corpse; Donnell Herrington; Wayne Janak; Henry Glover; Thompson;
-
The Body Show
The authors investigated reports that an exhibit of human bodies at the Masonic Center in San Francisco were leaking. Tests revealed the fluid to be a mix of silicone, used in the preserving process, and liquefied human fat. Research led the authors on a global investigation as they uncovered a market in human corpses. A large part of the investigation focused on the origin of the bodies, whether there was consent to use the bodies in the show from the deceased or next of kin in some cases the cause of death.
Tags: The Body Show; Gunther Von Hagens; plastination; human exhibit; Masonic Center; muscular structure; FOIA
-
2004 Crime Reporting
This series of seven stories covered the legal and personal aftermath of the 2002 discovery of more than 300 corpses, left on the property of a crematory in Noble, GA. Many news outlets reported the bodies, but this series covered the civil and class-action lawsuits, as well as the trauma casued to the families affected by the discovery.
Tags: crime; Tri-State Crematory; class-action; local law enforcement; grief; courts
-
Down on the Body Farm: A bizarre research facility in Tennessee boats a bumper crop of corpses-and helps convict killers
William Bass talks about how he uses his "body farm" research facility to convict killers. The body farm is located near the University of Tennessee's campus. At the research facility, Bass and his team of anthropologists allow corpses to decay on a two-acre plot of land near the Tennessee River. Bass has helped to solve numerous murder cases for police based on the knowledge he gains from observing the decaying process.
Tags: law enforcement; forensic law; forensics; William Bass; anthropology; body farm; University of Tennessee; forensic anthropology research facility; murder cases; police; highway patrol; solving mysteries
-
Mad Cow Autopsies
KY3 reports on the reluctance of Missouri hospitals to perform an autopsy of the corpse of Delmer Middleton, a resident of Lawrence county, MO, who died of Creuzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). Although Middletown family suspected this was a case of mad cow disease in its human version, known as the new variant of CJD, doctors refused to examine the body because it would have been too dangerous for themselves. As mutated proteins typical for the mad cow disease cannot be destroyed by conventional sterilization, an autopsy would mean destroying some hospital equipment as well. The investigative team points out that the findings "raise serious questions about the effectiveness of mad cow disease surveillance in America."
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; public health; hospital; doctors; pathology; mad cow; England
-
The Deathcare Business
U.S. News & World Report investigates how the funeral industry is making lots of money off people's grief. The article reports on the 20-year-long crusade of a Catholic priest, Henry Wasielewski, to educate funeral buyers about morticians' markups. One of the findings is that chain-owned funeral homes charge customers the most and often have unfair practices . "In the past five years, funeral prices have risen three times faster than the cost of living," the magazine reports
Tags: Funeral and Memorial Societies of America; churches; religion; Catholicism; corpses; mausolea; cemeteries; crematory
-
The Counterfeit
"Often posing as the scion of a famous family, Christopher Rocancourt- alias Rockefeller- swindled millions from marks around the world: there was the diamond-smuggling scheme in Zaire, the alleged perfume fraud involving Jermaine Jackson, the fleecing of a Beverly Hills boutique owner. Yet somehow he kept slipping through the arms of the law. Bryan Burrough tracks a master of audacity from Los Angeles, where Rocancourt left a mysterious corpse in his wake, to the Hamptons, where he ran afoul of a genuine heir, to France, where his poignant masquerade began."
Tags: crime; smuggling; Rockefeller; FBI
-
Capitalism in a Cold Climate
"The story of Trans World's aluminum empire is filled with bribes, shell companies, profiteers, and more than a few corpses. Then again, in today's Russia, that's pretty much par for the course." In 1999 Fortune was invited by Simon and David Reuben, owners of Trans World - previously Russia's second largest aluminum producer - to engage in a deep investigation into all of their empire's questionable business dealings. During the 90's Trans World was immersed in a world of corruption and money laundering, they were also suspected to have ties with the Russian Mafia.
Tags: Russia; aluminum; money laundering; Mafia; Trans World
-
The Disappearance of Atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair
The Express-News reports a series of articles spanning nearly a year uncovers incremental clues, including the identification of a headless, handless nude corpse, about the fate of a notorious San Antonio celebrity disappearance case, ultimately pointing toward murder and the killer's identity. The report calls the victim "America's Most Famous Atheist."
Tags: Dallas; Austin; con artist; Florida; religion
-
Godfather of the Kremlin
Forbes magazine investigates the world of Russian organized crime. The investigation finds that Boris Berezovsky, who parleyed an auto dealership into Russia's most formidable business empire and who is a close associate of President Boris Yelstin, stands tall as one of the most powerful men in Russia. Using KGB-trained assassins and enforcers , Berezovsky has left behind a trail of corpses, uncollectable debts and competitors terrified for their lives. (December 30, 1996)
Tags: Names omitted to protect authors Godfather of the kremlin Contest entry 13 pgs.