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.
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.
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Because not everyone's fingerprints are in a database. You only have fingerprints taken when you are arrested or apply for a job or some other license for which it is required. Not all of those necessarily end up in a database accessible to the agency that has the unidentified person. And DNA such as hair only helps when you have a profile to compare it to--if the unidentified person is a convicted felon so their DNA might have been entered when they went to prison, or if there are family members available to give a sample (in which case you would have to already have an idea of who the person might be). It's not really like TV. We don't have databases of every single person and every single substance known to man.
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It will turn a dark red brown once it's completely dry, and will stay that color so far as I know if conditions stay consistent. If it changes further it would probably just fade a bit.
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No. You might be able to estimate muzzle to target distance from a spray pattern, but not firearm type or brand.
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Personal Stylist & Life Coach
What makes someone qualified to life-coach someone else?
Casting Director
Are the melt-down auditions on American Idol staged?
Call Center Employee (Retail)
When do your policies allow you to hang up on a rude caller?
I'm fairly sure that the high temperatures used in melting metal would destroy any DNA.
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I'm sorry but I have no idea. That's a question for a pathologist. Sorry I couldn't help!
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Sure, send me your email address. If you don't want to post it here you can email me through my website: www.lisa-black@live.com.
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