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

As a forensic scientist, do you use the diameter of blood splatters as clues to how the crime happened?

Asked by Rylee over 7 years ago

Yes, the arcsin of the width divided by the length of the stain will give you the angle of impact at which the blood struck the surface (usually a wall). The direction of the stains can be traced back to a point of convergence and from there the angles can be traced back to a distance from the wall, giving you the approximate point in space where the blow was struck.

What can be said about a time(frame) of death if a deceased was found with no lividity and no rigor mortis?

Asked by Emonzi almost 8 years ago

Barring any bizarre circumstances i would think they have only been dead for a short time. But that's really a pathologist's question.Hope that helps!

If you smoked weed within the past few years of applying to be a tech in a crime lab, could you still get the job or is that a deal breaker?

Asked by Cayla over 7 years ago

It almost certainly would not be a deal-breaker. Just tell them the truth.

s it possible to determine trajectory that a gun was fired, if so, how?

Asked by Noah B about 7 years ago

At it’s most basic, a trajectory is just geometry. If you can find two fixed points then you can draw a straight line between and beyond them.

A dead body washes up on a beach, and is investigated by forensic scientists. What evidence on the body would indicate sustained tiger attacks spanning a duration of three days + proof that the person died as a result of drowning and not the attacks?

Asked by Don Barry/Screenwriter almost 7 years ago

At a guess, I would suggest: slash marks that are too wide for a knife, some partially healed, would indicate animal claws inflicted at different times, but none deep enough or near vital arteries to cause bleeding out. Then water in the lungs would indicate drowning, though that is not always a definite indicator. Drowning is an elimination diagnosis, as in you eliminate other possible causes.

What college classes would benefit a forensic degree best? Biology, Chemistry ?

Asked by Sarah over 7 years ago

That depends on what you want to go into. If you want toxicology, go with chemistry. If you want serology or DNA, go with biology. If crime scene, general forensic science.

During interviews, is there a certain type of "personality" that forensic scientists look for?

Asked by kwow111 almost 7 years ago

No, just attention to detail and patience.