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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That's always a good question. Black powder or superglue will not ruin the DNA, so we can photograph the print and then swab for DNA. Usually we're swabbing areas that we wouldn't normally be able to get a print from (like textured steering wheels or rough gun grips or the edge of a plastic bottle that someone drank from) so we do one or the other.
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See above.
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I don't solve cases. Detectives solve cases. I suppose I actually 'solve' them when I get a fingerprint hit for a burglary where there would have been no other way to ever identify the burglar. That happens maybe 5-10 times a year. Otherwise forensic science is usually confirming or eliminating factors that are already suspected, and often provides information (say, what caliber of gun was used or where the burglar got into the house) that doesn't point to the identity of the criminal but adds details to the overall event.
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I'm sorry, I wouldn't have any idea. You'd have to ask a pathologist.
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No. Almost all blood enhancement reagents will not destroy the blood for DNA testing. I don't think it would affect confirmatory tests either, but If we wanted to do a confirmatory test for blood such as phenolphthalein we would probably just do it on a spot where the marks were smeared or otherwise not useful as fingerprints.
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It all depends on where you want to work and what they require. At the coroner's office we all had at least a bachelor's degree in a natural science like biology, because there were not any forensic degrees then. If you want to be a DNA analyst you will probably need to major in genetics or biochemistry. At the police department where I work, with our very small lab, we are only required to have a high school diploma--but you get extra points in the interview process for advanced degrees so we all have at least a bachelor's.Hope that helps.
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