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.
Whatever you’re scheduled to work—depending on your agency’s setup you might work 8, 10, 12 hour shifts, maybe plus overtime call-outs.
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I'm sorry for your loss. It depends on what you mean by 'record.' You shoudl be able to get a copy of the autopsy report from the Medical Examiner's or Coroner's office. You can get a copy of the police report from the Records department of the police station. I don't know if you could get a copy of all the detective's notes, which would likely be just a few jottings in a notebook, or any notes that they took while speaking to witnesses, etc.--that may vary by department/state. You may have to make a public records request through your city hall, and notes, witness statements, etc. may not qualify as 'public record.' Again, this varies by location. And, speaking from experience, I'm sure it hurts that the detectives are blowing you off, but they are not doing it because they're hiding something or because they don't care. A great many people kill themselves (this came as a major surprise to me when I started in this field) and very, very often family/friends don't want to accept it and insist that it couldn't happen. They are figuring that if they give it some time, acceptance will come. Best of luck to you.
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That's an excellent question but you need an anthropologist to answer it. I'm afraid I don't know. Sorry!
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From live people we usually take a buccal swab from the inside of the mouth. From a deceased person, we can use any part from which we can extract DNA, such as blood, bone, teeth, etc.
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3D Games Developer/Programmer
Is the new Oculus Rift thing as cool as everyone says?
Day Trader
What can a good day trader earn in a year?
McDonald's Manager
Did you have to deal with a lot of disrespectful customers? What would they say?
As far as I know, the chlorine bleach alone will do it.
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You have to have good attention to detail, can work under stress and unpredictable circumstances, be patient and cautious.
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I'm afraid those questions are much to broad for me to summarize here. See if your library has copies of Richard Saferstein's Forensic Science Handbooks or his smaller volumes on forensics.
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