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

Why do you delete so many questions?

Asked by Terry almost 5 years ago

Why do you post questions that need to be deleted? Most people have better things to do.

Hi, I’m writing a novel in which a tape-and-murder victim’s remains are found after ten or twenty years outdoors in rural New England. Could investigators find the perp’s dna at that point?

Asked by Laurel over 5 years ago

On the victim’s body? Most likely not because after that much time the victim would most likely be skeletal remains only, if buried and certainly if on the surface. If the body was in some kind of container, sealed, it might be completely decomposed, mummified or preserved, depending on circumstances. If the killer’s blood or semen got on some object that was with the body, it could conceivably survive if protected, but it would be very unlikely to yield a usable DNA profile.

Hope that helps!!

Did you have to get pepper sprayed and tased in training?

Asked by Ashlyn over 5 years ago

Our police officers do, but I'm a civilian forensic specialist, so I didn't. (I also don't carry a gun, don't interview or arrest people and make a lot less money.)

Are you pretty much a unsworn detective? Do you do pretty much everything a detective does with the exception of arresting people or charging people?

Asked by Rae almost 5 years ago

No. I do lots of stuff detectives don’t do, like lab analysis, scene reconstruction, latent print comparison, etc. And they do tons of stuff I don’t do, like track down victims/witnesses/suspects and interview them, run criminal histories, request search warrants, and so on. So our jobs are really very different. We are there to provide the forensic support for the case, but forensic topics are only part of any case. Hope that helps!

Have you ever worked a case that was cold?

Asked by Seth over 5 years ago

Yes, certainly. I didn't manage to find the one piece of evidence that solved the whole thing, but I have worked on several. In my department a double homicide finally broke open after 30 years: https://www.news-press.com/story/news/crime/2020/10/01/joseph-zieler-suspect-two-cape-coral-homicides-seeks-dna-expert/3584935001/

I had crash some OLA 2.5 pills with olanzapine 10 mg tablets together and had kept it. Just few weeks back some police officers came to my house n found it. They tested it with forensic and it came back as heroin.
Please can you explain why

Asked by Malvin over 5 years ago

I’m sorry but I can’t. That’s a question for a toxicologist. I don’t know anything about drug chemistry.

Is it Unauthorized Practice Of Medicine to make someone wear a mask that is classified by the FDA as a medical device? I think so tell my why, why not, or if you can't or don't know how to answr. Thanks

Asked by Maria almost 5 years ago

I have absolutely no idea.