Forensic Research Facility opens with ribbon-cutting, media tour

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
September 26, 2008

Texas State University-San Marcos unveiled its new Forensic Research Facility Sept. 26 with a ribbon-cutting and tour of facility at the university-owned Freeman Ranch Friday.

The Forensic Research Facility--a 10-acre site located on the sprawling grounds of the 4,000-acre Freeman Ranch at the edge of the Texas Hill Country--is the largest such human research center in the world.

Researchers at the post-mortem forensic research facility 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, natural disaster, accidental death or terrorism.

The primary purpose of the FRF is for work on research problems related to outdoor crime scenes and decomposition rates for human remains under various topographical and climate conditions. The FRF will serve as a resource for students of forensic anthropology as well as state and national law enforcement agencies. The work conducted there will have a direct impact on law enforcement and forensic investigations throughout the state of Texas, and beyond.

Guests included representatives from the University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center, Homeland Security, the governor’s office and the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.

For additional information, contact Jerry Melbye at (512) 245-2472 or via email at dr4n6@txstate.edu.