Sydney, Australia’s Justice & Police Museum has an amazing collection of vintage photos, some of which we’ve featured in our mugshot posts. I love their collection because it’s an un-sanitized look at the past, and a free glimpse into scenes that are now tightly controlled by authorities. Today I’ve put together a more gorey gallery for your enjoyment – scene of crime photos where the main subject is a corpse. Whether by natural causes or murder, these were the first photos taken when police were called to the scene. This was the first official, visual documentation of each person’s death, a moment of the utmost importance. The soul has departed, but the shell remains, and the people left behind are left looking for reasons. Check out this morbid collection below…

Photos via Historic Houses Trust