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.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer any of these!1. No one has asked me about the new OJ knife, and in any event I don't know any more than anyone else who has read the papers. 2. That's impossible to say. It would depend on what kind of DNA evidence is there, what the soil was like around the object and how exposed it would be to elements like rain and heat. If it were simply buried in the yard I would think it highly unlikely that anything could be recovered after all this time, but we never say never. 3. I have no idea what the future holds. More technology might be able to detect ever tinier amounts of DNA, but it can't construct DNA where none exists. Sorry if that's not too enlightening!!
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Sure, I'll email you!
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I have not because I am not trained in facial construction. We did have a case in which we had a reconstruction done on a skull which helped identify the person. As for the casket, I don't see why not, depending upon the skill of the wax worker.
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That's impossible to say, since there's no way to know if perhaps it was left but simply not discovered. Perhaps they touched something that didn't appear out of place so we didn't fingerprint it. Perhaps they touched everything but have very dry skin so they didn't leave prints. Perhaps they left DNA on the steering wheel of a stolen crime but we didn't collect it because the state lab doesn't do touch DNA analysis on non-violent crimes. There are too many factors involved.
I can say that burglars cut themselves climbing through broken windows perhaps 2-5% of the time. But only a fraction of burglars break windows, so....
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Professional Reseller
What kind of mark-ups can you fetch on the clothing you resell from thrift stores?
Election Inspector
Do most poll staffers agree that the ballots are REALLY confusing?
Fashion Model
How much do promo girls at convention booths get paid?
Vomit, horseradish, copper (as in pennies) and some cleaning compounds can also give a positive luminol reaction.Good luck on your project!
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Yes, there are visible differences (under a microscope) between the different kinds of body hair.
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I'm not really in the medical field, so I don't know how to answer that. Can you clarify?
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