The Sisters McFadden

Chapter 36 - Undead or Alive

Rex walked into the LA County Coroner's Office with the McFadden family portrait tucked under his shoulder like a surfboard. He checked in and walked downstairs to the stark examination room and morgue. Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair sat with her head buried in her laptop while waiting for the detectives to arrive. As he said hello and set the McFadden portrait down, Rex noticed what must be the badly burned body of Jane Doe number two covered by a white sheet on the metal table under intense fluorescent lights. He knew it was bad. Kurt arrived minutes later. Dr. Sinclair escorted the detectives over to the table.

            "Before we begin, doctor," said Rex. "Let me ask you an unrelated question. How long does it take for a human body buried in a coffin to fully decompose?"

            "Anywhere from say eight to twelve years," said Elizabeth. "Believe it or not, it depends on the soil. Unless the body was mummified."

            "Thanks."

            "Why do you ask?"

            "Is this about our other case?" asked Kurt.

            "Maybe, just curious."

            "Are you ready detectives?" Elizabeth said as she carefully removed the sheet by folding it back in neat sections from head to feet. "I've never seen anything like this before."

            Even though the two detectives had pulled the girl from the ocean themselves, the sight of Jane Doe number two's blackened body felt like a punch to the stomach. The charred swollen face of the girl would be unrecognizable even to anyone who knew her. Her skin had been completely burned away in areas that exposed muscle, bone and internal organs. The detectives clearly needed a moment to process what their eyes saw. Rex recognized the distinct burns on her face and confirmed in his mind that it was indeed the ghost of the same girl that turned to ash in the hotel room that morning.

            "DNA results came back," said Elizabeth. "I had them expedited overnight as you requested. You were right, Detective Walker. The two girls are a match. Ninety-nine percent probability they are sisters or at minimum first cousins."

            "Unbelievable," said Kurt. "How could missing sisters not be reported?"

            "How old?"

            "Harder to pinpoint with this one, but based on dental and total body radiographs, late teens, maybe around seventeen or eighteen."

            "Tell us about the burns, doctor," said Rex as he circled the body to view the disfigured corpse from every possible angle.

            "Her burns are thermal. Seventy-five percent of the body is covered in third degree burns. Which means the burns extend through all layers of the skin. There are even fourth degree burns around her rib cage, which means the burns extend all the way to the bone. She has multiple heat induced fractures to the skull, muscles, tendons and soft tissues. As well as skin and muscle splits."

            "Do you think she was on fire when she was thrown into the ocean?" asked Rex.

            "I am not sure, but I believe that whoever did this to her let her burn to death or close to death before she was discarded in the water. She was on fire for some time. I believe her burns are antemortem, not postmortem."

            "Homicide by fire."

            "So how long do you think she was in the water?" asked Kurt.

            "Like her sister, not long. A few hours at max. All the damage you see to her skin and body is from being burned, not from being in the water. Furthermore, there is no evidence of a gunshot wound, sharp force injury or blunt force injury."