Buried In The Basement - Geophysics Role In A Forensic Investigation

Mrs. Pearl Bruns of South Portland, Maine was reported missing in August 199 1. The search for Mrs. Bruns<br>went on for thirteen months. Evidence from various forensic techniques and interviews suggested a remote<br>possibility that Mrs. Bruns may have been interred in the dirt basement (approximate 3.5 foot crawlspace) of her<br>residential home. In July 1992, the Maine State Police contacted ABB Environmental Services inquiring about<br>the use of geophysical methods which could detect shallow graves. Based on site conditions and law<br>enforcements’ desire not to tear the home from its foundation to dig up the cellar, ground-penetrating radar<br>(GPR) was chosen to screen for the presence of a shallow grave. Considering the target was approximately 5<br>feet long and 1.5 feet in width, a one by one foot survey grid was conducted in September 1992 using a GSSI<br>System III GPR unit equipped with a 500 MHz transducer. A strong reflector (approximately 3 feet below the<br>basement surface) was profiled throughout the survey area. A test pit revealed the reflector represented an<br>oxidized, cemented sand which could not be penetrated with hand tools. However, in one comer of the<br>basement next to a foundation wall, GPR data indicated the reflector was conspicuously absent. Mrs. Brims,<br>wrapped in plastic bags and bound by the wrists and ankles, was found buried 2.5 feet below the basement<br>surface at this location. Her husband, Mr. William Bruns was arrested and charged with murder. Mr. Bruns<br>plead guilty to manslaughter in April 1994 and is serving a twenty year prison sentence.