Share and Follow
In her role as a death investigator, Barbara Butcher acts as a voice for those who can no longer speak, often finding the most crucial evidence right on the body.
One poignant case involved Sandra Bonaventure, whose body was discovered in a New York City tunnel during the summer of 2002. This case is the focus of a new episode of The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher, set to air on Saturday, October 18, at 9/8c on Oxygen.
The episode synopsis reveals, “When a garbage bag containing a young woman’s body is discarded in a NYC tunnel, Barbara Butcher and a rookie homicide detective unravel a seemingly straightforward crime that hides a trail of forensic contradictions and a killer no one anticipated.”
The investigation began to take shape when Bonaventure’s body was sent to The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner. An autopsy revealed the 20-year-old had a fractured hyoid bone in her neck.
“This finding suggests manual strangulation,” Butcher shared in a preview of the episode titled “Two Hearts Stopped.” She continued, “It’s likely someone she knew, as there was no initial struggle. She may have been caught off guard.”
“This evidence is consistent with manual strangulation,” Butcher explained in a preview for the episode, titled “Two Hearts Stopped.” “So it’s probably likely that this was someone she knew and didn’t fight back initially. Perhaps she was surprised.”
The victim’s abdomen was also “very distended.”
Although bloating can be a symptom of decomposition, Butcher explained in the sneak peek that in Bonaventure’s case, the enlarged stomach had an entirely different cause.
“On the opening of the womb,” she noted, “they find that she is seven months pregnant with a baby boy.”
The discovery made Bonaventure’s death all the more tragic.
As NYPD homicide detective Brian MacLeod recalled, “That’s an ‘oh s–t’ moment. You’re talking about a little kid. A baby that hasn’t even been born yet. What the hell did this little kid do, you know?”
The development also sparked a new mystery as investigators tried to piece together the circumstances of Bonaventure’s death.
“We’ll certainly take DNA samples from the fetus and the mother and we’ll develop a profile with it,’ Butcher said. “The big question: Who is the father?”
To find out more about the harrowing case, watch The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher Saturday, Oct. 18 at 9/8c on Oxygen.
