Meeting planned to discuss forensics facility at Texas State

By Mark Hendricks
University News Service
March 30, 2007

Texas State University-San Marcos will host a public meeting to discuss a proposal to establish a forensics research facility at the university’s Horticulture Center, located at 4650 Highway 21.

The meeting will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, in Room 3-9.1 of the LBJ Student Center on the Texas State campus. The public is invited to attend.

Jerry Melbye, professor of forensic anthropology at Texas State, will be present to discuss the operation of the facility.

The primary purpose of the facility is to conduct research and gather data that will help law enforcement agencies solve crimes. The facility will be used to research problems related to outdoor crime scenes and decomposition rates for human remains under various topographical and climate conditions.

Researchers will gather data and train law enforcement officers in the areas of time of death, manner of death and victim identification in instances of crime, disaster, accidental death or terrorism.