Jonathan Bethard, PhD

Dr. Bethard is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of South Florida.  Prior to that he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine.

Dr. Bethard is a biological anthropologist with research foci in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Dr. Bethard was trained at the University of Tennessee where he received in Ph.D. in 2013. His research interests in include refining methods used for constructing the biological profile in forensic contexts, Andean and Transylvanian bioarchaeology, stable isotope analysis, and geometric morphometrics. He is a member of DMORT-Region IV and has consulted as an instructor for numerous courses in forensic anthropology with the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) in Bogotá, Colombia and Algiers, Algeria. Dr. Bethard and Dr. Smith-Blackmore regularly collaborate on investigations of animal cruelty.

We consider for consultation requests or referrals from: law enforcement in cases suspected of criminal abuse; animal control officers in cases of unknown cause of harm or death; veterinarians seeking second opinions; and attorneys who have accepted cases for potential civil litigation.

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to accept the volume of case inquiries that come in from individuals. Your local veterinarian or veterinary school department of pathology should be able to assist in many cases and your local humane society, animal welfare organization or animal control officer may be able to make a referral to an appropriate resource.

If you are an animal control officer, peace officer, DPW worker or veterinarian seeking examination of an "Animal Doe" with injuries of unknown origins, please contact us by clicking here.