BETHESDA, Md. - More than 3,000 years ago, the world's most famous pharaoh died at the age of 18. Hastily mummified, Tutankhamun lay in an unfinished tomb until its discovery in . Why would a privileged young man die so prematurely, and why would a living god be rushed through Egypt's vital passages of mummification and burial? Egyptologists have for decades suspected murder most foul, but the proof lay scattered under the dust of 30 centuries -- until now.
For more two years, two of America's top criminologists criss-crossed the globe in the first-ever criminal inquiry into Tutankhamun's death. As part of their investigation, pioneering computerized reconstruction techniques were used to create the most forensically-correct interpretation ever of what Tut's face might have looked like -- a visage much different than the image personified in his famous golden death mask. At the conclusion of their investigation, the detectives believe they have enough evidence pointing to murder to take the case before a grand jury.
The investigation -- and the reconstructed facial image of Tut -- will be featured in the upcoming Discovery Channel world premiere documentary, "The Assassination of King Tut," airing Sunday, October 6 from 9-11 PM (ET/PT). The two-hour special is narrated by Oscar-nominated actor John Hurt.
Detectives Gregory Cooper (former FBI agent, chief of police and civil defense director of Provo, Utah) and Mike King (former director of the Utah criminal Tracking and Analysis Project at the Attorney General's office, Salt Lake City) were given special access to the off-limits lower chamber of Tut's tomb, and the actual X-rays of his body taken in the s (other scholars have examined copies only).
Using old-fashioned detective work and the latest forensics analysis, Cooper and King treat the case as they would a present-day death investigation, systematically considering potential causes for Tutankhamun's demise, including accident, natural causes, suicide and murder. To build their case, they examined the scene of the crime by visiting tombs and cities in Egypt; looked at the victim's body via actual X-rays and autopsy reports; recorded circumstantial evidence before, during and after the victim's death; viewed crime-scene photographs; conducted interviews with living "witnesses" (scholars); and utilized criminal profiling and crime scene analysis. With the help of leading Egyptologists, forensic psychiatrists, medical examiners, neurologists, defense attorneys and criminologists, the detectives methodically established both manner and motive for Tutankhamun's puzzling death.
The evidence examined by Cooper and King reveals a very different Tutankhamun than the gentle-faced teenager the world imagines from his death mask. In order to build a profile of their victim, the investigative team scrutinized the turbulent political world into which Tutankhamun was born, and the legacy of religious revolution that he dealt with after the death of his father, the heretic Akenaten. Through a careful examination of Tut's actual X-rays, the investigative team reveals that the king was physically impaired, possibly suffering from a disease of the spine. The documentary also examines a possible blow to the base of Tut's head, and a stray bone in the upper skull -- both clues to the cause of death.
After establishing potential scenarios for how Tut died, and creating a detailed victimology, Cooper and King identify and investigate the likely suspects: Tut's wife and half-sister Ankhesenamun; the prime minister and chief advisor/father figure, Ay; the ambitious commander-in-chief of the army, Horemheb; and the chief finance minister, Maya. Means, motive and opportunity come into focus as the detectives close in on their man, outlining crucial post-crime events and finding the "smoking gun" on the south wall of Tut's tomb.
The documentary was filmed on location in Egypt at Amarna, Karnak, Thebes, the Valley of the Kings, Saqqara and Memphis.
Source: PRNewswire
