Yeah, I would think it was gradual and then came on really strong. Imo
LE seems to be convinced that she had been there since January 5th at the latest.Are they sure she was there the entire time? Being folded in half could mean she was fit into something else. Digging up the ground in the winter would have been hard and maybe noticed by others.
Hey Julia, fellow KY girl here. I don't think it's been as hot here as it has in the past summers, it waited a little later to get stifling. We've also had a lot of rain this year, if she was buried in a shaded area do you think it's possible that slowed the decomposition? I do agree it was extremely shallow and odd they didn't notice or smell something earlier. There has to be more to this to explain how they missed her in the earlier search. The ground was frozen solid when she was buried and likely did not grow back quickly.
I totally agree with you. Unless fact shows otherwise I have great sympathy for the parents.This may not be a well received comment but I agree with Mr. Spurlock. It must have been incredibly hard to realize your son was involved in a murder and to come to the realization he buried her on YOUR property. Devastating, and I do not mean to take anything from the Spurlock's because that kind of devastation, loosing a child, is incomparable and there are just no words to take that pain away.
Having grown up in a country/farm setting it is very possible the father may have smelled decomposition and thought nothing of it until it either got worse or didn't go away. If something disturbed the site it could also make a difference.It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.
I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.
It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.
I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.
It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.
I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.
It also looks like the lawn was very well taken care of, not overgrown with well kept grass. It's a big yard and I think it just depends on exactly where she was found, who mows the yard? I mean it's likely DS mowed it since he was living at home. I can't imagine he would have put her in a place with a lot of traffic but then only dug 19 inches? From all accounts his parents seem like good, decent people. Who wants to think your child is capable of that? I'm sure they smelled it before they reported it, maybe initially thought a dead deer, coyote or something in the field behind them. Then the time finally comes and it reached the point you simply have to face facts. Notice they did NOT dig or disturb anything to try and find out what the smell was. I think deep down they knew but again who wants to believe that about their own child?. We had a rancid smell in our barn and my grandfather tore that barn apart looking for what was causing the smell. A cat had crawled up in the hay baler and got killed, now none of us were suspects in a disappearance but he didn't call an attorney he started looking for what was causing it. IMO this was not premeditated, and I think they are waiting for toxicology to charge him with murder, JMO. He has nothing in his past and no one has come forward to say he was a person with a violent history. Doesn't mean he isn't capable of it, I just will be interested to see how the evidence plays out and the autopsy comes back. The fact they only found a small speck of blood on a closet door that had to be found with a chemical is interesting as well. A violent murder would seem to leave more of a mess and we've established he isn't the brightest at hiding evidence. All of course JMO, thinking out loud
There is an image of a pool. Could an overflow of water pushed things to the surface? Could the winter and bags made things more mummified? Or had there been a slower decomp over those months that wouldn't have caused an obvious smell? Unless you buried a body there.
Are they sure she was there the entire time? Being folded in half could mean she was fit into something else. Digging up the ground in the winter would have been hard and maybe noticed by others.
Savannah Spurlock's remains found after long search; man arrested - CNN"I don't believe there's any indication that she was placed there recently," he said. "I think that the odor (from the remains) ... that's what led us there."
That's exactly what happened. Animals entered the shallow grave, speeding up decomp. I have seen/smelled this with cattle.It’s possible! I just have a really hard time believing they just started smelling the body. It’s such a distinct, pungent smell and I think it would hard to miss once it started getting hot and in the 80s. I had read where parts of the bag were sticking out of the ground so maybe an animal got into them and ripped them open, making the smell stronger.
I noticed that they have a pool in their backyard and it looks pretty new. I just don’t understand how they could be out there and not notice the odor. I wonder if his dad had noticed the smell earlier and tried to explain it away in his head.
Note: I just found this particularly odd. "During Monday’s testimony, Chavies said Sparks had texted his sister on Jan. 4 to ask her where she bought a rug because he wanted to buy another one." ? Just go buy another rug.
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article232677437.html
(a)Police testified in court Monday that 23-year-old Savannah Spurlock's naked remains were found buried in a shallow grave and wrapped in a rug and garbage bags, with her feet bound.
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article232677437.htmlInvestigators were able to confirm the body was Spurlock by using her tattoos and fingerprints, Chavies said.
Decomposition – The Forensics LibraryThe time taken for a body to decompose can vary greatly due to a wide range of factors that can affect the process. Perhaps the most significant factor in the rate of decomposition is temperature and environment. Warmer temperatures will accelerate the process of decomposition whereas colder temperatures will slow the process down and, if cold enough, stop it altogether. The temperature will equally affect insect succession, which will ultimately affect how quickly the body is broken down. Environmental conditions will equally affect the species of insect present in the area, in turn having an effect on the state of the corpse depending on the species colonizing the remains. A dry and windy environment can dehydrate a cadaver, resulting in mummification (see above).
The amount of protection a body has will also play a role in the rate of decomposition. For instance, a body swaddled in blankets or buried under a few feet of soil will be significantly less exposed than a naked, unburied cadaver exposed to the elements. A protected body may also limit insect activity, resulting in a slower rate of decomposition if insects cannot easily access the corpse, in addition to retaining body heat.
I found this really odd too, he had to already know Walmart sold rugs. Can’t wrap my head around why he would ask his sister something like that. I also felt that text must’ve made the hairs on the back of his sisters neck stand up after figuring out a girl went missing after last being seen at his house, it’s too bad she never put a tip in the tip box if she did have suspicions.
Sarah Everts, a senior editor at C&EN, notes that searching for a signature smell of decomposing human bodies is a complicated endeavor. The specific chemicals that waft off of a corpse depend on a number of factors, including time, temperature, humidity and even a person’s lifelong diet. When cadaver-dog trainers don’t have access to a deceased human, they sometimes teach their animals to search for human corpses using the commonly touted “death scent” molecules putrescine and cadaverine. But researchers have found that these compounds don’t always actually emanate from corpses.
I found this really odd too, he had to already know Walmart sold rugs. Can’t wrap my head around why he would ask his sister something like that. I also felt that text must’ve made the hairs on the back of his sisters neck stand up after figuring out a girl went missing after last being seen at his house, it’s too bad she never put a tip in the tip box if she did have suspicions.
I thought he was trying to replace the missing rug with identical one, and that's why he asked. Maybe his sister purchased the first rug.... MOOI found this really odd too, he had to already know Walmart sold rugs. Can’t wrap my head around why he would ask his sister something like that. I also felt that text must’ve made the hairs on the back of his sisters neck stand up after figuring out a girl went missing after last being seen at his house, it’s too bad she never put a tip in the tip box if she did have suspicions.