Featured Image Credit: YouTube/AAHMS org
Topics: Australia, True crime, Crime, Animals
Thomas Bamford
An Australian forensic pathologist dubbed 'Doctor Death' has revealed the worst ways to die after spending decades examining the grisly ways people can kick the bucket.
With a name like that, he's probably in the best place to judge.
Roger Byard has investigated 100s of deaths: from horrific murders by serial killers, to an old lady being pecked to death by a cockerel.
Speaking on an episode of the I Catch Killers Podcast, Roger said: "I've been collecting animal deaths.
Advert
"Dogs, snakes, sharks, roosters, mackerel."
Dogs, fair enough. Sharks, yep, all checks out. But cockerels and a mackerel?
Roger explained it was a case of 'wrong place, wrong time' for an angler in Australia's wild Northern Territory, who died after a 25kg mackerel leaped out of the water and struck him in the face, killing him instantly.
Dr Death works at the University of Adelaide as the George Richard Marks Chair of Pathology.
He spoke about one of the earliest cases he covered, the infamous Australian Snowtown murders.
The killing spree wrought havoc across Australia during the 90s. It took place in Snowtown, South Australia, masterminded by John Justin Bunting, Robert lee Wagner and James Spyridon Vlassakis.
Roger said: "I didn't realize that when the head of Major Crime calls you, it's pretty serious.
"That was my first week on call, actually.
"There were eight bodies partially dismembered in the barrels."
It was Roger and the team's job to examine the bodies.
The Snowtown killers saw themselves as vigilantes, torturing and murdering suspected pedophiles without any real evidence - they also targeted members of the LGBTQ+ community, choosing victims solely based on their weight. They would end up killing eleven people.
Dr Death wasn't done with his stories yet. He went on to reveal how an elderly woman lost her life, murdered by one of her own cockerels, which Roger described as 'nasty creatures'.
He explained how it happened: "A little old lady out the back collecting eggs. The Rooster went for her and she had varicose veins, and it pecked her leg (causing her to die)."
He said that varicose veins, a medical condition where veins become swollen and twisted can bleed profusely if punctured, is often a cause of death if they get damaged.
Roger added: "I've had a number of deaths of people with varicose veins who have just had minor trauma. There was also a cat scratch (that killed the victim).
He shared his tips so people can survive a rooster attack.
"This is the reason I publish this stuff, it's not because it's bizarre and weird. It's to let people know that if you've got varicose veins and you get a small hole, lie down and put your finger over it and elevate it... you'll survive. But you never trust a rooster."
If you think being a Forensic pathologist is a stressful occupation, you'd be right.
Despite light moments during the chat, Dr Death stressed the huge emotional burden that comes with the job.
He said: "Nobody talks about PTSD with forensic pathologists.
"We see incinerated bodies, dismembered bodies, children starved to death.
"Then we have to describe it all in detail in court-sometimes while getting our credibility torn apart."
He said he'd learned through his storied career that he was not going to find answers all of the time, and one of the hardest parts of the job was explaining to families that he had no idea how deaths happened.
He concluded: "All I can say to them is 'It was nothing that you did'. And also, a lot of the time they just want to meet the person that looked after their baby between the time when they saw the baby last, and when they saw their baby at the funeral home."