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 can't think of any one in particular that was the most 'complicated'--many were difficult and complicated for different reasons. Forensics is only part of the whole investigation, so things really get much more complicated for the detectives who not only have to absorb the information we're giving them but deal with victims, witnesses, suspects, documentation, records, warrants and prosecutors. I worked one where the victim had been taken to three different places before the body was dumped and burned, so there were indoor scenes, outdoor scenes, the suspect's house to deal with. Right now we're dealing with one that spans 30 years, so trying to find reports and piece together who did what and when and what, if anything, still remains to be done. And we had one earlier this year that had inexplicable behavior by about 9 different people over three days and all to cover up an accidental death. Hope that helps.
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I”m sorry but I”ve never used thin layer chromatography. If I had, it most likely would have been to distinguish extracted fiber dyes. As far as I know it’s the only way to determine if natural fibers likely had the same source.
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Either is good. It depends a bit on what you want to do. If you want to work crime scene, then general forensic science is probably good. If you want to go into toxicology, then chemistry, and if DNA, then biology or genetics.
Hope that helps.
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I’m sorry but I’ve never worked in toxicology. Sorry I couldn’t help!
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Police Officer
Have you ever been shot or seriously injured on the job?
Sushi Chef
Is there THAT much difference in quality between the fish served at mid-range vs high-end places?
Dry Cleaner
What happens to clothing at dry cleaners that goes unclaimed?
Sometimes. Perhaps 10% of the time.
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That's never happened to me at the police department, but then there's only my forensic unit with access to our refrigerator so it's not a problem. But it used to happen in the lunch room at the coroner's office all the time! I injected candy with hot sauce once. That stopped it for about a week.
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Contact your local PD and ask what their procedure is. You will probably have to fill out an application and a waiver. Best of luck!
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