Roger Byard, known as the Australian ‘Doctor Death,’ has shared insights into various gruesome ways people have met their demise after years of delving into the macabre and morbid. As a forensic pathologist, he has scrutinized a multitude of deaths, from victims of serial killers to fatal encounters with animals such as dogs, snakes, sharks, roosters, and mackerel.
In a recent episode of the I Catch Killers podcast hosted by former detective chief inspector Gary Jubelin, Roger confessed to his fascination with animal deaths, recounting an incident where a fisherman in Australia’s Northern Territory tragically died when a 25-kilogram mackerel jumped from the water and struck him in Darwin Harbour. Describing it as a case of being in the “wrong place, wrong time,” Roger emphasized the unpredictability of such fatalities.
Additionally, Byard, who holds the George Richard Marks Chair of Pathology at the University of Adelaide, revisited one of his early cases known as the ‘bodies in barrels’ murders, a notorious killing spree that plagued Snowtown, South Australia, during the 1990s. Led by ringleader John Justin Bunting, along with accomplices Robert Joe Wagner and James Spyridon Vlassakis, the group carried out acts of vigilante justice by torturing and killing individuals suspected of being pedophiles, as well as targeting LGBTQ community members and victims based on their weight.
Reflecting on the emotional toll of his profession, Roger highlighted the distressing aspects of being a forensic pathologist, sharing the challenges of facing gruesome scenes and the difficulty of providing closure to grieving families. Despite the seriousness of his work, Roger also shared lighter moments from his experiences, including bizarre incidents like an elderly woman meeting her demise at the claws of her aggressive roosters due to her varicose veins, emphasizing the importance of being cautious with such medical conditions to prevent tragic outcomes.