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.
Sure, you can email me at lisa-black@live.com, but I'm traveling and won't be able to get back to you for another week at least.
Sure I'll catch you when I'm back at work tomorrow.
The title 'forensic scientist' doesn't mean anything in particular--job titles will vary by the agency. It would be better to major in a natural science or in forensic science so you could get as much lab experience as possible, but the only way to know for sure what the job requirements are is to call the place(s) you want to work and ask.
Witness statements would be included with the officer's work, not the forensics unit. I'm sorry for your loss. Is there a victim's advocate at the police department that handled the crash that could help you? They could walk you through where to find all the information you want. You didn't include your email address.
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Are professors really subject to the "Publish or Perish" policy?A good knowledge of chemistry is helpful to be able to understand why certain processes work the way they do. We use math to mix reagents and calculate angles in bloodstain pattern interpretation. Any knowledge can be helpful because we deal with every kind of person, job, situation, and object there is.
I'm not sure what you mean by 'specialize in homicide'. Forensic techniques can be utilized to investigate any crime, but if you mean you only want to work on homicides, then I don't know of any positions like that. The closest thing would be to work for an agency where the work is mostly homicides, such as a medical examiner's office. But even they would also investigate suicides, industrial accidents, etc.
I'm sorry, I answered this a week ago but somehow it didn't post. A pathologist will usually estimate time of death during the autopsy. It can be very simple and require the body temperature and not much more, or it can be very difficult and cover a wide range of possible time, especially if a lot of time has elapsed since death. The more time, the harder it gets.
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