Forensic Scientist

Forensic Scientist

LIsa Black

Cape Coral, FL

Female, 49

I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.

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Last Answer on July 21, 2022

Best Rated

I need to know how can I get blood group from old dried blood?

Asked by Mou over 4 years ago

They used to do that in serology, taking threads soaked in the blood and putting them in tiny pools of blood type reagents. I don’t know exactly what the reagents were, sorry, that had never been part of my duties. But if you research old serological techniques you should find it.

Best of luck!

Hi,

You recently advised that a simple black powder would reveal glove prints deposited by Nitrile gloves. Would Latent Silk Black Print Powder, manufactured by a company called Sirchie be a good choice?

Thank you.

Asked by Richard Gray about 5 years ago

Sure--any good quality black powder should have the same effect.

How can we detect the GHB from urine sample by LCMS?
Is there any simple method?

Asked by Eman almost 5 years ago

I’m sorry but I’ve never worked in toxicology. Sorry I couldn’t help!

Are there any famous cases in history that involved thin layer chromatography (TLC) that you are aware of? Or any interesting facts many would not know?

Asked by Mike over 4 years ago

I”m sorry but I”ve never used thin layer chromatography. If I had, it most likely would have been to distinguish extracted fiber dyes. As far as I know it’s the only way to determine if natural fibers likely had the same source.

Is there anyone who you have known do this job because it looked good on TV? How did it go for him or her?

Asked by Bart about 5 years ago

Probably everyone gets interested in the field because it looked interesting in a TV show. But by the time you’re sufficiently trained to actually get a job, you’d know that it’s not like TV.

Have you ever almost got fired before?

Asked by Mike almost 5 years ago

Not that I know of.

I would like to know if an autopsy conducted on a woman buried in dry soil for three years
could determine if she had an abortion, being the cause of her death.
Thank you
Karen

Asked by karen_west@bigpond.com almost 4 years ago

That’s a good question…I know that the human body will either decompose or desiccate, so if the conditions were right and she dried out instead of breaking down, then the body might be largely preserved. But what could be determined from an autopsy would be a question for a pathologist, I’m afraid. Sorry I’m not more help.