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.
Huh...that's a tough question. Nothing really stands out...everything is a little weird in some ways but not incredibly so. Perhaps the most unusual thing I ever had to examine was a safety harness from a window washer who fell 38 floors. Mostly I'm just amazed at the way people live, and the things people do to their houses. (And what they think looks good in terms of decor.)The most fun thing we had, at a homicide scene, was the homeless victim's cat with her litter of small kittens. That rivaled the litter of puppies who had a temporary bed in the master bath jacuzzi tub of a grow house.
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I actually haven’t seen that movie. Do you mean super bloody homicides or ones where some psycho has set up a torture chamber? (The answers would be yes to the former, no to the latter.)
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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. At the coroner's office we had to have at least a bachelor's in a natural science (this was before they had forensic science majors). At the police department where I am now, they only require a high school diploma but you get more points in the interviewing process for having a four year degree, so we all have one. 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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Sure, email me at lisa-black@live.com.
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That's a pretty broad question. I can tell you that for both seminal stains and blood stains, the best way to package one is to let it dry, then place in a sterile paper envelope or bag. Never plastic! Then keep in a dry, cool environment.
Hope that helps.
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You'd have to ask a pathologist, but I believe that drinking (I assume) formalin and dying of poison would not preserve the body as it would if someone was embalmed with formalin/formaldehyde. So the indicators for time of death would be the same as with any other death. But I don't know that for sure. Best of luck!
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Email me at: lisa-black@live.com.
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