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

Have you ever worked on a animal?

Asked by Barry about 6 years ago

I’ve done microscopic comparisons of animal hairs, when I was doing hair and fiber comparisons at the coroner’s office, to establish a connection between items found on a suspect’s clothing or environment and items found on a victim’s clothing or environment. That’s about it.

Why do you delete so many questions?

Asked by Terry about 5 years ago

Why do you post questions that need to be deleted? Most people have better things to do.

Does gas chromatagraph/chromatagram data always show peaks relative to the solvents used with samples to perform gc/ms analysis?

Asked by Answer Seaker about 6 years ago

That is a great question that I can’t answer! So sorry, but I never worked with a GC or Mass Spec. That was the toxicology department.

Have you ever worked a case that was cold?

Asked by Seth almost 6 years ago

Yes, certainly. I didn't manage to find the one piece of evidence that solved the whole thing, but I have worked on several. In my department a double homicide finally broke open after 30 years: https://www.news-press.com/story/news/crime/2020/10/01/joseph-zieler-suspect-two-cape-coral-homicides-seeks-dna-expert/3584935001/

how do finger[rints get on things, does our fingers leave fluids when we touch things, or we just leave a print on existing dust?

Asked by rekhab about 5 years ago

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you!

Yes, fingerprints are impressions made by the oil and sweat on our fingers. If a surface is very dusty, we take away dust on our fingers instead of leaving prints on the object. It will look like fingerprints should be there because there will be finger marks in the dust, but actually we just removed dust.

Hope that helps!

I am from India.
My father was missing about 1 month ago(23-05-21). after 25 days of missing police got one dead body with only skull and 2 or 3 bones. And there besides my dad clothes there and inside pocket
There has my dad's bike key. this possi

Asked by Kalyan reddy about 5 years ago

See next answer.

If a person is hung on their knees, when cut down and laid on the back with the knees/gegs still stiff and bent, can the blood still pool to the back?

Asked by TK about 6 years ago

That’s really a question for a pathologist, but apparently lividity develops before rigor, so it shoudn’t shift much after rigor has set in. However that can vary depending on temperature and physical/medical conditions. Blood will pool following the law of gravity but if the legs were bent, restricting the blood vessels, then it might pool in the torso. Sorry I can’t be more help.