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

Is their a way to determine which vehicle hit which from the damage say 2 vehicles are stopped on the highway one backs in to the other then insists the back car rammed him. Marks on the road are nonexistent because of a blizzard

Asked by Gabr about 8 years ago

Someone trained in accident reconstruction might be able to do so, but not having marks on the road makes it more difficult.

What type of personality do you think would make a person well-suited to this type of work?

Asked by Violet almost 8 years ago

See above.

What should you major in if you want to go into this field?

Asked by Emily almost 8 years ago

Usually in forensic science or any kind of natural science. If you want to go to into drug testing or toxicology, major in chemistry. If you want to do DNA analysis, then biology or biochemistry.

Greetings. I am writing a murder mystery in which the victim died from a blow to the head. The killer then loaded the body into the back of an SUV, where it lay for perhaps up to 6 hours. Then the killer dumped the body in a location where he was hoping to frame someone.

First question. Several hours after death, could there still be enough blood at the location of the head wound to leave blood evidence at the dump location? Would there be any way for the forensic experts to determine that that blood landed where it did several hours after its owner had died?

Another scenario. What if the killer, in the process of dumping the body, tried to make it look like the victim died in that location by bashing his head, in the vicinity of the wound, on the corner of a dumpster? What kind of evidence might such a maneuver leave?

I hope this question makes sense... Thank you. :)

Asked by CrankyBeach about 8 years ago

First question: My guess is (simply based on experience) is there would still be sticky blood at the head wound enough to smear on stuff, perhaps. It wouldn't be spurting or perhaps even dripping at that point because it should have begun to coagulate. Provided it didn't dry entirely, so the body would need to be in a place that's neither too dry nor too hot and certainly not both. Cool and humid would keep it from drying. The killer might bash the head but there could be a lack of blood spatter or flowing/pooling blood from the wound, since the blood won't be flowing as it would be if the person had still been alive. Also the problem with moving the body is lividity where the blood pools at the lower spots of the body due to gravity (like on the back if the person is lying supine. After several hours it should be fairly noticeable and then if you move the body, the lividity pattern doesn't quite match the position.

Hope that helps!

What are the career advancement opportunities like for a person in your profession?

Asked by Nate almost 8 years ago

There are usually levels of the job, like Tech I, Tech II etc. depending on years of experience that will come with an increase in salary. After that one can progress to supervisory role. But there aren't a lot of steps, really. For instance I have nowhere to go from my current position, and I don't care. I like what I'm doing and have zero interest in being the supervisor.  

Can you work as a CSI and as a forensic scientist at the same time? What I mean is that can you collect the evidence and analyze it as well?

Asked by Alyne almost 8 years ago

Yes, that's what we do at our agency, depending on the analysis required. We can process for latent prints and analyze them and also cell phones and computers. For things like DNA analysis and bullet comparison, we send that to the state lab. Every agency is different depending upon available personnel and equipment.

What are the major responsibilities of your job?

Asked by Violet almost 8 years ago

I spend about 90% of my time sitting in front of a computer looking at fingerprints. The rest of the time I go to crime scenes to photograph and process for fingerprints and collect items of evidence. When I was at the coroner's office I probably spent 40% of the time examining victim's clothing, 10% on gunshot residue testing, 30% on hairs and fibers, and 20% everything else.