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'll email you.
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What was it they were testing?
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That determination is made by the pathologist doing the autopsy, and there are a number of ways--body temperature, rate of decomposition, rigor mortis, but it will be an estimate, not the precise number that you might see on TV. All those things can depend on the environment where the body is, temperature, exposure, physical characteristics of the victim, medical conditions etc. Entomologists can help if there is distinct bug activity at the scene as well.
Hope that helps!
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Hi, sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. Again, titles and job requirements aren't uniform, so the only way to know is to call the crime labs in your area or whereever you might be interested in working and ask them. You can also go on the websites for professional organizations such as the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and check out their job vacancy postings and see what the various positions require. Good luck.
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I believe it’s a presumptive test, so it would not be considered ‘conclusive’ evidence, only an indication that further test (like DNA) would be appropriate.
I have never used an orthotolidine test, unless that’s the reagent in the Hemastix test strips. We used those a great deal at the coroner’s office—they’re very handy, but can have false positives. Deciding what reagent to use will always be a function of ease of use, possibility of false positives and false negatives, expense and hazards (such as carcinogenic properties).
Best of luck!
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Hi Cybill, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I believe that they can use the inside of a tooth for DNA analysis, but of course if the tooth is loose they may not be able to determine which body it came from if there's more than one. I expect a dentist would need the teeth still in the jaw to compare with dental x-rays in order to make a comparison that way, but it may all depend on what work, if any, has been done to the tooth and how distinctive that work is. I'm not a DNA analyst (any more) or a dentist so I'm not 100% sure.
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I'm not trying to be snobby, but first of all it would be very important that you can communicate in English, with proper punctuation.
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