Cases that showed the victim's body

[1990 UM fan]

Jeffrey Digman - a Marine who was found shot in the head on his bed. They showed a photo of him slumped on the bed with his legs over the edge of it sometime after the 7th minute in the episode.

Cindy James - a nurse who claimed to having been harassed repeatedly after divorcing her husband. Her body was found tied up in the yard of an abandoned house years later. They showed her body lying tied up in the grass within the first 25 seconds of the episode.

Jasper Watkins - Probably the scariest of them all. His body was found stuffed inside a steamer trunk in Harper's Ferry National Park in 1996. Due to a standstill in their investigation, authorities had Unsolved Mysteries show a picture of the decedent taken at the coroner's lab in hopes of someone identifying him. They also rendered a composite of what he may have looked like before he sustained his injuries and died. This case is probably remembered because of how grim both photos wereand the circumstances behind the murder.

Now tell me, is it necessary to show the deceased victim's body? Is it for shock value, resolution or both?

[sdb4884]

I guess it's up to the family members to decide, maybe it will help to solve the case.

[Steve W.]

They showed a photo of the bottom half of Eugene Kvett's body (I think it was Eugene instead of Kurt) where it was found in the Kurt Sova segment. I don't think it actually helped in anyway though.

And didn't they show part of the photos of Keith Warren that were sent to his family's home a few years after his death?

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by 1990 UM fan

Now tell me, is it necessary to show the deceased victim's body? Is it for shock value, resolution or both?

In the case of Jasper Watkins yes it was necessary because LE was trying to identify the victim. As for the others, that's up to the family and the investigating officers to decide if it will help solve the case by revealing the photos.

[WishfulDreamer]

Yeah and UM's showing of bodies is far less graphic than other crime shows. I watched the Green Beret case on American Justice and just about fell over that every single body was SHOWN fully. It was really tragic and not as necessary in my opinion. Pictures of the crime scene alone already show the brutality of the crime; the bodies had no need for identification or anything like that so I didn't see a point to it.

[dks64]

For me, seeing the crime scene and body make it more real for me. Just hearing about it doesn't personalize it. Seeing the damage almost puts me more into the story. I know it sounds morbid, but maybe it's because I'm a visual person. It helps me remember details and reconstruct the crime in my head.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by 1990 UM fan

Jeffrey Digman - a Marine who was found shot in the head on his bed. They showed a photo of him slumped on the bed with his legs over the edge of it sometime after the 7th minute in the episode.

Cindy James - a nurse who claimed to having been harassed repeatedly after divorcing her husband. Her body was found tied up in the yard of an abandoned house years later. They showed her body lying tied up in the grass within the first 25 seconds of the episode.

Jasper Watkins - Probably the scariest of them all. His body was found stuffed inside a steamer trunk in Harper's Ferry National Park in 1996. Due to a standstill in their investigation, authorities had Unsolved Mysteries show a picture of the decedent taken at the coroner's lab in hopes of someone identifying him. They also rendered a composite of what he may have looked like before he sustained his injuries and died. This case is probably remembered because of how grim both photos wereand the circumstances behind the murder.

Now tell me, is it necessary to show the deceased victim's body? Is it for shock value, resolution or both?

good lord, when I saw the picture of Jasper Watkins my heart dropped into my pants and the rest was history. it only lasted about a second, but let's just say it caught me off guard. there was something creepy about that entire segment. I don't think I would have wanted to open that box without calling a bomb squad first....