Watch: Tampa Doctor Is Real Life ‘Bones’

LAND O’ LAKES, FL — Much like Emily Deschanel’s character on the television show “Bones,” University of South Florida associate professor Dr. Erin Kimmerle works tirelessly to unravel the mysteries behind suspicious deaths. Unlike Deschanel’s Dr. Temperance Brennan, Kimmerle is a real doctor; she doesn’t just play one on TV. The work Kimmerle performs is meant to provide new clues in cases that have long been classified as cold.

Kimmerle’s high-profile work has made her a bit of a celebrity in the Tampa Bay area where she’s assisted local law enforcement on many cases. She’s also made headlines for her work uncovering the remains of dozens of people buried on the grounds of the Robert G. Dozier School for Boys. Those remains were found in 55 unmarked graves on the site that once served as a reform school in Marianna.

Kimmerle also is a frequent visitor to Pasco County where she’s assisted the sheriff’s office in several unidentified body cases. Now, she’s working closely with that agency, Pasco-Hernando State College and the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners to bring the first-ever “body farm” to Land O’ Lakes. The facility would be the seventh in the country and a first of its kind in the Tampa Bay area.

Pasco County picked up the forensic “body farm” project after plans to build a facility in eastern Hillsborough County fell through. The Pasco facility would be located on the grounds of the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center on U.S. 41 should a $4.3 million funding request receive approval from the state.

“This project will have an immediate, positive impact on Pasco County, including economic development potential through conferences, training and other research opportunities,” the sheriff’s office said in explaining its commitment to the effort. “This will also assist law enforcement across the state by providing forensic training and also allow medical examiners and others involved in forensics to train with industry leaders.”

Outdoor facilities such as the one being pitched for Land O’ Lakes are designed to help researchers and law enforcement better understand the changes in human remains that occur under different outdoor conditions. While similar programs are operating in states such as Colorado, Illinois, Maine and Texas, there is no similar research facility in subtropical Florida, where the elements can have dramatically different effects on human remains.

In pitching the original proposal for Hillsborough County, Kimmerle said having a facility in the Bay area is important because decomposition varies based on temperature, humidity, regional insects, water and other factors that set Florida apart from states where similar facilities are already in operation.

While the Florida Legislature considers the funding request, Kimmerle and her team are hard at work trying to unravel clues related to the deaths of 50 unidentified dead people in Florida and Pennsylvania. Using a $385,000 National Institute of Justice grant, the group of USF researchers is using DNA testing, facial recreation and other techniques to try to solve mysteries that have long stumped law enforcement.

“To help bring those pieces together and give families that resolution is an incredible gift to give,” Kimmerle told the Associated Press during an interview on her grant-related work.

Back in Pasco County, officials are anxiously waiting for news on the funding. Just how soon the forensics facility might be constructed, if approved, remains unclear.

Photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office