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 don’t really know, but at the coroner’s office I worked at I was told that our coroner was actually the highest law enforcement officer, technically, in the county. She was the only person who could arrest the sheriff if necessary. That never became necessary though so I don’t know how it would actually work.
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Wow, best of luck!! I would suggest you Google the heck out of the facility and find out everything you can about what they do—if it’s a state lab, what kind of evidence they accept from the state agencies. They probably test for illegal drugs, but are they testing the actual drugs seized, or bodily fluids from arrested people, or blood/urine/gastric samples from medical examiners or coroners offices—or all three. If you can’t find the information then that’s a good and reasonable question to ask. They’re sure to ask you what kind of instrumentation you’ve worked with, in class or in an internship, etc.—GC Mass Spec, IR, etc., how much experience and what kind of samples you tested. PS If it’s not posted you might want to ask about hours and/or overtime. They might be 9-5 M-F or they might be 24/7, depending on the size and location.
Best of luck!!
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I have absolutely no idea.
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On the victim’s body? Most likely not because after that much time the victim would most likely be skeletal remains only, if buried and certainly if on the surface. If the body was in some kind of container, sealed, it might be completely decomposed, mummified or preserved, depending on circumstances. If the killer’s blood or semen got on some object that was with the body, it could conceivably survive if protected, but it would be very unlikely to yield a usable DNA profile.
Hope that helps!!
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Trace Evidence, my first book, was optioned and I wrote the screenplay for it. But the producers couldn’t sell it and had to give up. I’ve had nibbles on other books but nothing yet. I keep hoping!
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I don’t know what you’re referring to.
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I’m sorry for your loss. What was the cause of death?
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