Murder in the Ivory Tower

It’s 1849, and a gruesome murder has just happened at Harvard. As body parts turn up, the science of the day is put to the ultimate test to find out: who committed this brutal killing? Prof. Paul Collins tells us how this morbid mystery unfolds.  

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsMurderInTheIvoryTower

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) The murder that shocked Harvard

(02:35) A very rich man disappears

(06:08) The tea chest of horrors

(07:34) The professor

(09:33) The janitor

(12:00) The case against the professor 

(14:25) The trial

(17:48) 1800s forensics enter the picture

(25:29) The verdict

This episode was produced by Kaitlyn Sawrey with help from Wendy Zukerman, Rose Rimler, Meryl Horn and Odelia Rubin. Editing by Blythe Terrell, with help from Caitlin Kenney. Fact checking by Michelle Harris. Mix and sound design by Emma Munger. Music by Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. A huge thanks to Jessica Murphy and the team at the Harvard University Archives, plus Lars Trembly and Matthew Nelson, Frank Lopez, Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman Family.

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