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

During interviews, is there a certain type of "personality" that forensic scientists look for?

Asked by kwow111 about 7 years ago

No, just attention to detail and patience.

If we report a script that was stolen please tell me they'll finger print the bottle or is it not considered that important

Asked by Shannon McTighe almost 8 years ago

They might. I couldn't say for sure one way or the other.

Hello Lisa
Iam a researcher for a major company and Iam looking for a test method that would allow me determine how much blood would be left on the body after a bandage or fem pad was removed? Can you help? Thank you

Asked by Rodger over 7 years ago

I'm afraid not. I'm guessing that would depend entirely on how large the bandage is and how much the person bled. Best of luck!

Do you usually have a lot of free time or none at all?

Asked by Emily about 8 years ago

Not much free time, no. There's always work to do.

Hello. I'm a high school student trying to become a forensic anthropologist. My parents and many relatives disapprove of my career choice because they think it's morbid. Please tell me something I could use to reason with them. Thanks.

Asked by Maeve over 7 years ago

Well, you could simply say you're going to be an anthropologist, which is true--I believe you'd have to be an anthropologist first and then specialize in forensic work. They might be disapproving because they believe it will be difficult to get a job--which is probably also true. When I was at the coroner's office our anthropologist was a college professor who would drive two hours to come and consult whenever we had skeletal remains. Very few agencies are large enough to have a full-time anthropologist on staff. So you might want to have some sort of back-up plan.

If you smoked weed within the past few years of applying to be a tech in a crime lab, could you still get the job or is that a deal breaker?

Asked by Cayla over 7 years ago

It almost certainly would not be a deal-breaker. Just tell them the truth.

research for a novel:
How would a severed hand found on a Cornish coast in autumn after two weeks at sea reveal that it had been in the sea that long and would you know roughly, how long the hand's owner might have lived for at sea? Thank you hugely!

Asked by Helene du Mauri over 7 years ago

Generally bodies in the water decompose more slowly than bodies exposed to air, but more specifically than that I cannot tell you. I did find this: https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/4078

It's really a pathology question and not my area. Also colder temperatures will cause slower decomposition than warmer temps.

I definitely can't answer your second question but also, are you asking a) how long the person lived as a sailor b) how long the person was in the water before the hand was cut off or c) how long they might have survived in the water after the hand was cut off (assuming they had no access to a tourniquet and such like)? If you could locate someone who worked as a ship's doctor they might be a big help.

Best of luck!!