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

What is the education needed? The skills needed? The experience needed?

Asked by JaidenKBCL over 5 years ago

That depends entirely on where you want to work and what you want to do. If you want to do DNA analysis and testify in court about it, you may need a PhD in genetics. If you want to work at crime scenes bagging and tagging evidence, you may need only a high school diploma, with added hireability for advanced degrees. The only way to know is to check job opening notices or call the agencies and ask. Best of luck to you.

Do you think Roger Stone is guilty or innocent or unsure?

Asked by JW almost 5 years ago

Who’s Roger Stone?

Hi, so how do you get used to blood and gore?

Asked by Crazy almost 5 years ago

You just do. Somehow you can either tolerate it or you can't, or you learn to cope with it. There are cops who can work homicide for thirty years and still have a weak stomach. They just don't let it keep them from doing their jobs.

If fingerprints are collected from evidence that can be bagged, does this happen on the scene or later, at the lab? Has this procedure changed over time?

Asked by Satoko over 5 years ago

It hasn’t changed. In general it’s best to process an item at the scene so that handling and possible smudging is kept to a minimum, but it depends on many circumstances. If there isn’t a clean dry place to do it or if the person at the scene doesn’t feel their expertise is adequate for the particular item or mostly if the item needs other processing than the simple black powder or mag powder. If it’s a porous item like plastic or vinyl or paper and might need to be superglued or sprayed with dye, then it should be transported to the lab.

Can a hair test that came back false positive for alcohol be retested by another lab?

Asked by Joe about 5 years ago

I don’t see why not. But I wasn’t aware hair could be tested for alcohol, I thought it was only drugs and heavy metals.

Hi! I was wondering something about timing. Say a kidnapping takes place in a hotel room. How long is the room cordoned off? At what point is the evidence collected and taken away? When can the room be let again? (Working on a novel!)

Asked by Nico about 5 years ago

We’ll hold the scene as long as we need to get everything done, and that could be a day or two or three, but for a kidnapping it probably wouldn’t be more than a day, just enough to collect all the victim’s stuff, and collect fingerprints, hairs, fibers, anything that might belong to the kidnapper. We eventually get tired and want to go home (though we can go and come back, so long as it hasn’t been ‘released’) and the police department don’t really want to hold it longer then absolutely necessary, because they have a cop or two sitting there doing nothing but guarding the scene, and it takes them off the road. Hope that helps!

Can we make a profile of a suspect (skin color, eye color, etc.) from DNA? If not, why not?

Asked by Mrs.McGurkin almost 6 years ago

I actually don't know. I haven't done DNA analysis in 20 years so I don't know all the details of what analysis can show. Sorry I can't be more help!