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

Can you test for how long dna evidence is present. Like if I cut myself on accident three days ago could you time stamp that without me telling you how long ago the accident happened.

Asked by PF over 8 years ago

No. There is no time stamp on DNA, so far as I know.

how long does it take to become a forensic scientist?

Asked by ali almost 9 years ago

If you look over previous answers, you'll see that it depends upon the requirements of where you want to work. My job requires only a high school diploma but gives extra points for college degrees, so we all have at least a BS. A larger lab might require a BS. If you're doing DNA work they might require a PhD. The only way to know for sure is to call a few places you might be interested in and ask what they require. Best of luck!

When looking at a murder scene, could you simpky check the body for fecal matter or urine in their groin area to see if that is where the murder took place?

Asked by Quincy almost 8 years ago

I think you mean to check for that wherever they're lying to see if the body had been moved?

Well, not everyone evacuates upon death. Also the clothing absorbs most of it, and any that leaks through could also have leaked through after being moved. But yes, that could be an indication that the body had been moved just as bloodstains would.

Hope that helps!

how often is DNA/fingerprint evidence actually left behind at crime scenes?

Asked by danielle almost 9 years ago

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....

If you were given a 20GB hard drive that had been used to image an 8GB USB device and
found during analysis that more than the 8GB image was on the disk, what would this
indicate? How would you then proceed?

Asked by Parbh over 8 years ago

I have no idea, so I asked my co-worker. She said:My first question would be was the 20GB forensic wiped? Was it completely empty when the 8GB was put on it?Second, does the software that you use to image produce working files or executable programs that are needed to view the image? Otherwise 8 GB is 8 GB so there can't be more.

when i was in third grade i had a chemistry set- on day a relative gave me conc nitric acid; glycerin and some powdered magnesium - i almost got hurt -got lucky- do u think this person meant me harm- i've often wondered

Asked by markboutwell65@gmail.com over 8 years ago

Without knowing you or your relative, I really couldn't guess. Maybe they hoped you'd read the instructions first?

Hi,
I'm worried I wouldn't be able to handle seeing the bodies knowing what they went through. Like I read about children that are abducted murdered and dumped and it scares me. Have you investigated a child murder? How do you distance yourself?

Asked by Landon over 8 years ago

I've been involved with a number of child murders but in every case the child was killed by someone in their own family, usually a parent. In one case a 6 year old was shot by an acquaintance of his older brother's, but the 6 year old wasn't the target, simply an inconvenient witness. I've never worked one where the child was abducted. I don't have chilidren so it's actually easier for me than for people who do. To me it's largely the same as any other murder, though harder in some ways because the victim looks so vulnerable. You handle it because there's so much to be done and you have to do it right, so thinking about all that keeps you from thinking about the tragedy of this young life.