Scott Fairgrieve

Scott Fairgrieve testified for the defense as a forensic anthropologist in Steven Avery's 2007 trial. On Day 20, he agreed with Leslie Eisenberg that the reported remains were consistent with one mature female and that two skull injuries were gunshot wounds sustained before burning. He said the skeletal remains did not allow him to determine whether those wounds preceded death or caused it.

Fairgrieve criticized the photographs and initial recovery methods because, in his view, they did not preserve enough information to locate the original burn site. He agreed that human remains had been moved between locations, but said neither the concentration of bones nor the presence of delicate bones behind Avery's garage established where the body was burned. During his resumed direct examination and on cross-examination, he could not identify an original site or rule out the burn pit. He also had no evidence identifying the barrel as the place where the body was burned. His assessment relied on records and photographs; he had not examined the bones or visited the property. On redirect, he maintained the burn-site uncertainty and described tire-fuel test burns and possible ways remains could be moved. On recross, he qualified his odor testimony.

During Fairgrieve's examination, the State objected that the defense's disclosure had not adequately conveyed his burn-site opinion. The court found the disclosure slightly misleading but allowed the testimony without a sanction. Later, the court denied a defense request for an adverse-inference instruction based on the recovery methods, finding no showing of intentional destruction or bad faith. It also declined a separate instruction about a cross-examination question concerning Fairgrieve's lack of a written report, while cautioning the State not to imply that required notice had been withheld.