All articles tagged with #field museum
A 2009 Burr Oak Cemetery scandal over desecrated graves led investigators to rely on tiny moss fragments found with the remains to time the reburials; a 2015 conviction followed, and a 2026 paper in Forensic Sciences Research explains how moss metabolism and chlorophyll degradation showed the moss was buried for less than six months, placing the crime within the workers’ timeframe and strengthening the evidence against them.
Former Alderman Edward Burke is on trial for alleged extortion, and jurors heard testimony from a Field Museum worker who described a phone call with Burke as a perceived threat. The call took place after the museum considered a fee increase and failed to secure an internship for the daughter of a former alderman. The worker testified that Burke warned her the proposal would go nowhere if he called the president of the Park Board. The trial was briefly halted when one of the judge's therapy dogs became sick after a juror gave it a bag of treats.