Dr. Christiane Baigent – How do bodies decompose at high altitude? Colorado Mesa University's FIRS body farm

Dr. Christiane Baigent of Colorado Mesa University runs the Forensic Investigation Resource Station (FIRS), which is the highest body farm in the world. We talk about how bodies decompose at high altitude and how it can differ from decomp at lower altitude. Dr. Baigent also shares some of the behind-the-scenes of running a body farm.

Recommendations

• Dr. Baigent's faculty profile at Colorado Mesa University
• Forensic Investigation Resource Station (FIRS) website
• American Academy of Forensic Sciences website
• Baigent, C. (2024). The effect of altitude on decomposition: Toward an understanding of the postmortem interval in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado [Doctoral dissertation, Southern Illinois University - Carbondale]. OpenSIUC. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/2198/
• Hansen, E.S., Baigent, C., Reck, S.I. and Connor, M. (2018). Bioelectrical Impedance as a Technique for Estimating Postmortem Interval. J Forensic Sci, 63: 1186-1190. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13695
• Bailey, C. A., Lennartz, A. N., Klemm, M. M., Matheson, C. A., Unger, C. A., & George, R. L. (2025). Assessing Patterns of Moisture Content in Decomposing, Desiccated, and Mummified Tissue in Western North Carolina. Forensic Sciences, 5(4), 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/forensicsci5040073
• Connor, M., Baigent, C. and Hansen, E.S. (2019), Measuring Desiccation Using Qualitative Changes: A Step Toward Determining Regional Decomposition Sequences. J Forensic Sci, 64: 1004-1011. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14003
• Baigent C, Agan C, Connor M, Hansen ES. Autopsy as a form of evisceration: Implications for decomposition rate, pattern, and estimation of postmortem interval. Forensic Sci Int. 2020 Jan;306:110068. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.110068. Epub 2019 Nov 19. PMID: 31816485.
• Garcia, S., Smith, A., Baigent, C. and Connor, M. (2020). The Scavenging Patterns of Feral Cats on Human Remains in an Outdoor Setting. J Forensic Sci, 65: 948-952. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14238
• Eds. Haglund, W. and Sorg, M. (1996). Forensic taphonomy: The postmortem fate of human remains. CRC Press.
• Eds. Haglund, W. and Sorg, M. (2001). Advances in forensic taphonomy: Method, theory, and archaeological perspectives. CRC Press.
• Eds. Ellingham, S., Adserias-Garcia, J., and Zapico, S. (2023). Burnt human remains: Recovery, analysis, and interpretation. Wiley.
• Alexander, M. (2020). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press.
• Stevenson, B. (2015). Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. One World.
• Derby, S. (2021). Sisters in Hate: American Women and White Extremism. Little, Brown.