Mayhem in the Morgue with Dr. Kendall Crowns
Dr. Kendall Crowns shares stories and cases from his over 35-year career as a medical examiner, covering topics from humorous to horrifying. The podcast features tales of courtroom drama, decapitations, gangland shootings, and other macabre incidents from his work in Kansas, Memphis, Chicago, and Texas. Each week offers a different and unpredictable case, ensuring a unique and often unsettling listening experience.
Episodes
Mayhem in the Morgue | Courtroom Hijinks
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns looks back at some of the most memorable moments from his decades as an expert witness, including courtroom exchanges like being asked "How do you walk?” and “Have you ever shot someone?” during cross-examination, along with a lengthy debate over whether an evidence envelope was
Mayhem in the Morgue | Autopsies
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns explains what happens after a body arrives in the morgue, including the external examination, internal dissection, toxicology testing, and final report. He also discusses the care taken to preserve evidence, minimize unnecessary incisions, and prepare the body for release to the funeral home. Dr.
Mayhem in the Morgue | Tree Fall
In this 50th episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns discusses the forensic realities of fatal helicopter crashes. Drawing from one of his own autopsy cases involving a rancher killed in an ultralight helicopter accident and the reported death of musician Oliver Tree, he explains how aviation fatalities are investigated, the devastating injuri
Mayhem in the Morgue | He’s Alive
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns examines the rare phenomenon known as the Lazarus effect, or autoresuscitation, where signs of life return after a person has been declared dead. He starts with the case that’s been making headlines: 18-month-old Vincent Lorenzo Fiordilino, pronounced dead after a drowning, then found alive
Mayhem in the Morgue | Got Milk? Part Two
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns concludes his two-part series on prescription drug misuse by examining the death of Michael Jackson, whose fatal overdose centered on the anesthetic propofol. He explains why the drug is not a sleep aid, how fast it can turn fatal without proper monitoring, and what makes it dangerous when admini
Mayhem in the Morgue | Got Milk? Part One
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns begins a two-part series on prescription drug misuse and the ordinary ways pills can end up in the wrong hands. He shares a childhood story about missing medication from his mother’s cancer treatment, a residency assignment that blurred an ethical line, and a hospital encounter that highlig
Mayhem in the Morgue | Courtroom Limbo
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns discusses a part of courtroom testimony most listeners never hear about: what happens while a medical examiner waits to be called to the stand. Before smartphones existed, those delays could mean hours alone with nothing but a case file, an empty courtroom, a hard wooden pew, and on one occasion,
Mayhem in the Morgue | Overkill: Part Two
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns continues his discussion of overkill, explaining the five categories recognized in forensic literature: expressive, instrumental, sexual, psychotic, and culturally motivated overkill. He shares two of his own cases, including a Chicago stabbing case that later sent him to the crime scene of a hom
Mayhem in the Morgue | Overkill: Part One
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns examines the concept of overkill through the autopsy reports of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin, four University of Idaho students murdered in Moscow, Idaho. He reviews the timeline of the attack, the alleged weapon used, and the sharp force, blunt force, and defe
Mayhem in the Morgue | H.R. Huffing Stuff
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns discusses inhalant abuse and the everyday household products people use to get high. He explains how substances like spray paint, canned air, Freon, and other chemicals affect the nervous system, limit oxygen, and sometimes trigger fatal heart rhythms. Through cases involving whipped cream canist
Mayhem in the Morgue | Coffin Birth
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns discusses coffin birth, the rare postmortem phenomenon formally known as postmortem fetal extrusion. He explains how human decomposition creates gases, bloating skin, skin slippage, purge fluid, maggot activity, and other artifacts that can change the body after death and sometimes mimic trauma, sexual assault, or o
Mayhem in the Morgue | Doggy Death Penalty: Part Two
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns continues Doggy Death Penalty with an unusual thank-you note, a Texas process server killed by a pack of dogs, and the long civil trial that followed. He explains how bite patterns, wound severity, pack behavior, and autopsy documentation helped the jury weigh the central question in court: did a
Mayhem in the Morgue | Doggy Death Penalty: Part One
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns discusses the rare but devastating reality of fatal dog attacks. He challenges common breed myths, explains the specific triggers behind predatory instincts, and shares a personal childhood memory of surviving a dog attack at age three. Dr. Crowns also examines a fatal case involving an elderly m
Mayhem in the Morgue | Death and Dismemberment: Part 2
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns picks up where Part One left off, returning to the Traci Todd case, where dental work found in a damaged skull helped identify the victim and a confession later clarified her cause of death was strangulation. He then continues through the four categories of dismemberment, from defensive and offen
Mayhem in the Morgue | Death and Dismemberment: Part 1
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns analyzes the autopsy of 15-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered and decomposing remains were discovered inside the “frunk” of a Tesla belonging to the artist D4VD. Dr. Crowns explains how medical examiners read decomposition, insect activity, saw marks, and trace eviden
Mayhem in the Morgue | Cold Cases, Lover’s Lane Murder, and the Brown’s Chicken Massacre
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns examines how forensic pathology, DNA evidence, and meticulous evidence preservation can revive years-long cold cases, specifically focusing on the 1990 Lover’s Lane murder and the 1993 Brown’s Chicken massacre. Dr. Crowns details the physiological realities of neck trauma and the
Mayhem in the Morgue | Lightning
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns examines one of the rarest and most violent natural causes of death: lightning. Using a case involving two teenagers killed in a park, along with the only lightning-related autopsy he has personally performed, Dr. Crowns explains how lightning forms, the different ways it damages the body, and th
Mayhem in the Morgue | Buzzkill
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns examines how an ordinary day outdoors can turn deadly after an encounter with bees, wasps, hornets, or fire ants. Using real forensic cases, he explains the four stages of anaphylaxis, the aggressive nature of killer bees, and how forensic pathologists determine whether an insect attack caused, c
Mayhem in the Morgue | Epstein
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns departs from the show’s usual format to take a forensic look at the Jeffrey Epstein case through the lens of a medical examiner. While Epstein’s death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging, Dr. Crowns re-examines the autopsy findings and scene evidence to address the persistent debate:
Mayhem in the Morgue | Look Out!
In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns looks at the often catastrophic and unexpected ways an ordinary drive can turn deadly when a vehicle encounters a hazard on the roadway. Through memories of his old 1979 Mustang and fatal cases involving wildlife strikes, blown tires, and flying road debris, he shows how quickly an everyday trip
Mayhem in the Morgue | Mom Stuff
Content warning: This episode contains graphic discussion of homicide, dismemberment, and postmortem injury. If these topics are upsetting to you, this episode may not be for you. Understanding violent cases sometimes takes creativity and, in one case, a trip to the local craft store. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns tells the story
Mayhem in the Morgue | In the Water, No One Can Hear You Sweat
Some drowning cases only begin to make sense after forensic pathology reveals what was happening inside the body before death. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns explains how forensic pathologists use vitreous fluid from the eye to detect dangerous electrolyte imbalances like hyponatremia after death, then he shares two memorable
Mayhem in the Morgue | Gallstones
The gallbladder is one of those organs most people don't think about until it suddenly demands attention. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns looks back on one of his less glamorous jobs as an autopsy technician in 1988: spending Friday afternoons in the morgue disposing of the week’s surgical specimens and, in one memorable
Mayhem in the Morgue | Minty Fresh
What happens when people try to get drunk from products never meant to be consumed? In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns explains the forensic reality of non-beverage alcohol intoxication, from mouthwash and rubbing alcohol to antifreeze and even hairspray. He shares real cases and describes what these substances do to the body and
Mayhem in the Morgue | Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of death of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. Chicago commutes can be routine until they are not. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns recounts his years navigating public transportation and the commuter rules he learned the hard w
Mayhem in the Morgue | Grapes of Death
Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of deaths, including the deaths of children. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. Choking is fast, quiet, and more common than most people think. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns explains what happens when the airway is fully obstructed, why panic and oxyg
Mayhem in the Morgue | Outburst
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of death of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. Courtroom testimony is meant to be clinical, controlled, and objective. In reality, it often cracks open the rawest moments of grief, rage and disbelief. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns
Mayhem in the Morgue | The Weather Outside Is Frightful
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of death of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. When winter weather hits, the danger is not only what happens on the roads, but also what happens when the heat goes out, help slows down, and people misjudge how quickly the body loses it margin for error. In this episode of Mayhem in
Mayhem in the Morgue | What's the Manner?
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of death of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. In forensic pathology, a single word on a death certificate can carry the weight of an entire investigation. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns details the difference between cause of deat
Mayhem in the Morgue | Foraging Misadventures
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of death of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. The line between curiosity and catastrophe is thinner than most people expect. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns uses a series of foraging mistakes to show how curiosity, mixed with a hin
Mayhem in the Morgue | Skeletons
Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of human remains and skeletal material. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. After death, decomposition proceeds predictably, but the fate of what remains is not always controlled. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns examines the journeys skeletal rem
Mayhem in the Morgue | Neighbors
Content Warning: This episode discusses the death of an individual. If you’re sensitive tothis topic, this episode may not be for you. Proximity has a way of revealing character, especially when the walls are thin, and patience runs thinner. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns reflects on neighbors whose actions left an enduring impres
Mayhem in the Morgue | Exposure (Part 3): The Nuclear Option
If you ever suspect a chemical or toxin exposure, contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 for immediate assistance. Content Warning: This episode contains information about the deaths of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. In this third installment of Exposure, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns explains the chemical hazards that
Mayhem in the Morgue | Holidays
Content Warning: This episode discusses the deaths of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns reflects on how celebration and death often share the same season. From Christmas music echoing through the medical examiner's office to a door-decorating contes
Mayhem in the Morgue | Cabrini-Green
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of death, decomposition, and violence. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. i In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns revisits a case from his years at the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office in Chicago. He recounts a death investigation that began as
Mayhem in the Morgue | Twins
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of death, decomposition, and violence. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns examines the fallibility of non-scientific identification and the consequences when it fails. The case of “Crackhead Carl
Mayhem in the Morgue | Exposure (Part 2) “TB or Not TB, That Is the Question”
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of infectious disease, autopsy procedures, and workplace exposure. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. In the morgue, danger doesn’t end when the heart stops beating. In this second installment of Exposure, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns recounts two life-threatening&
Mayhem in the Morgue | Pet Food
Content Warning: This episode discusses the deaths of individuals and animal scavenging. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. It started with a song lyric: “She was a winner that became a doggie’s dinner.” But behind that darkly humorous line lies a story stranger (and sadder) than the myth it inspired. In this episode of Mayhem
Mayhem in the Morgue | Parts and Pieces (Part 1)
Content Warning: This episode discusses the deaths of individuals. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. A leg on the shore, a hand with no body, and a pair of feet in yellow socks. Every fragment tells a story, and every story leads somewhere unexpected. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns investigates the u
Mayhem in the Morgue | Hoof Prints (Part 2)
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of autopsy findings, field investigations, and animal-related trauma. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. What begins as a curious question about a patterned injury turns into a full-scale ranch investigation involving a horse, a farrier, a sheriff, and one very angry Chihuahua named Pepe. In this s
Mayhem in the Morgue | Exposure (Part 1)
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of autopsies, workplace injuries, and bodily hazards. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. They say the dead can't hurt you. Anyone who's worked in a morgue knows better. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns begins Exposure, a two-part look at the hidden
Mayhem in the Morgue | Ghost Stories
Content Warning: This episode contains disturbing descriptions of the death of an individual. If you’re sensitive to this topic, this episode may not be for you. In the stillness of dawn at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, a baby’s cry echoes through the halls, breaking the silence of the morgue. In this special Halloween episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medi
Mayhem in the Morgue | Vapors
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of autopsies, bodily fluids, and morgue mishaps. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. In ninth grade, Kendall Crowns spent a day at the local morgue, arranged through his father’s friendship with a medical examiner. One autopsy was enough to set his course for life. Decades later, he has
Mayhem in the Morgue | Submarine
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of decomposition, autopsy findings, and homicidal investigation. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. A floating trash can on the Chicago River leads to a grisly discovery. Inside, duct tape, chains and tarps conceal a body. Nicknamed “the submarine,” the case exposed just how stra
Mayhem in the Morgue | Road Trip
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of autopsy practices and morgue mishaps. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. A $50-a-case job, a scalpel, and almost no training. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns looks back on his early days as an autopsy technician. From botched haircuts and
Mayhem in the Morgue | Hoof Prints
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of autopsy findings and the accidental death of an individual involving animal trauma. If you're sensitive to detailed accounts of injury and investigation, please proceed with caution. In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns unpacks the strange case of a 75-year-old man found dead beside a horse
Mayhem in the Morgue | Fame, Fourth Graders, and Darth Vader
What happens when a classroom of fourth graders learns that their guest speaker once autopsied a Star Wars actor? In this episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns recounts his career day presentations, the bizarre questions kids love to ask, and the one time he was derailed by a child named Monty. From explaining forensic pathology to grade schoolers to calming a
Mayhem in the Morgue | Gator Bait
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of autopsy findings, decomposition, and animal predation. If you’re sensitive to these topics, this episode may not be for you. A fisherman’s disappearance, his empty boat, and circling alligators lead to a grim discovery. In a separate case, a family Labrador retriever trots home with her latest find, a human head. In this ep
Mayhem in the Morgue | Alcohol, Meth, or Showing Off for Women?
Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of fatal injuries and autopsy findings related to a fireworks-related death. If you’re sensitive to detailed accounts of trauma, please proceed with caution. What happens when alcohol, bravado, and high-powered explosives mix? In this explosive episode of Mayhem in the Morgue, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns breaks
Mayhem in the Morgue | Contempt Over a Sticky Note?
Welcome to Mayhem in the Morgue, an unfiltered, often absurd look inside the world of forensic pathology. In this episode, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns recounts the day a routine courtroom testimony over a strangulation case turned into a showdown with a defense attorney, a sticky note, and a very impatient judge. What began as standard expert witness work spiraled toward a contempt c
Mayhem in the Morgue | The Bully
Content Warning: This episode discusses the death of an individual, including details of electrocution and injury, which some listeners may find distressing. Two burn marks on the chest. No sign of fire. A man collapses at work and is pronounced dead. In this episode, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns walks through a case that seemed straightforward until a witness came forward with
Mayhem in the Morgue | First Day
Welcome to the debut episode of Mayhem in the Morgue — an unfiltered, insightful look into the world of forensic pathology, hosted by veteran medical examiner Dr. Kendall Crowns. With more than 35 years of experience in death investigation, Dr. Crowns brings a unique perspective shaped by countless real-world cases. In this premiere episode, Dr. Crowns rewinds to his very firs
Mayhem in the Morgue Trailer
It’s chaos, blood, and body parts. Join Dr. Kendall Crowns each week as he discusses stories and cases from his over 35-year journey with death, from the tornado alley of Kansas, to the bloody Memphis shoreline of the muddy Mississippi River, to the ultra-violence of Chicago, and finally, the methamphetamine fueled insanity of Texas. Encompassing his days as an autopsy tech, medical student,
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