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'm sorry, I wrote a whole answer to this but somehow it didn't post. It may, depending upon how much different from real blood the fake is, for instance if it's significantly more or less dense. But in terms of fluid characteristics it may not change it enough to even be noticeable or make much of a difference in the final analysis.
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I'm sorry for your loss. It depends on what you mean by 'record.' You shoudl be able to get a copy of the autopsy report from the Medical Examiner's or Coroner's office. You can get a copy of the police report from the Records department of the police station. I don't know if you could get a copy of all the detective's notes, which would likely be just a few jottings in a notebook, or any notes that they took while speaking to witnesses, etc.--that may vary by department/state. You may have to make a public records request through your city hall, and notes, witness statements, etc. may not qualify as 'public record.' Again, this varies by location. And, speaking from experience, I'm sure it hurts that the detectives are blowing you off, but they are not doing it because they're hiding something or because they don't care. A great many people kill themselves (this came as a major surprise to me when I started in this field) and very, very often family/friends don't want to accept it and insist that it couldn't happen. They are figuring that if they give it some time, acceptance will come. Best of luck to you.
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That entirely depends on where you want to work. Each lab has its own requirements. My first job wanted a bachelor’s degree in any natural science. My current job just requires a HS diploma, but it helps to have advanced degrees so we all have at least a B.S. There is no uniform job definition or title for forensic work--your title is whatever your boss says it is, and crime labs can be a small place that only tests drugs and fingerprints or a large, full service place that does everything from questioned documents to DNA.
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Okay, so if I'm following this:The pathologist says he sent the hyoid to the forensic lab.The forensic lab says it didn't receive it. The pathologist report says the hyoid was intact.
It seems to me that the 2nd and 3rd statements contradict the first, and since as far as I know pathologists and not labs examine hyoid bones, my guess is that the first statement is an error, either a typo or a misstatement and the bone was never sent to the lab. The only way to know for sure is to ask the pathologist. Just call the ME or coroner's office and ask for an appointment to come in or to phone in order to ask that pathologist a few questions about the report. Such offices are usually very careful to make a family comfortable so I'm sure they will be willing to address your concerns. Best of luck!
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From live people we usually take a buccal swab from the inside of the mouth. From a deceased person, we can use any part from which we can extract DNA, such as blood, bone, teeth, etc.
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Again that depends entirely upon the circumstances. If someone is shot from a distance, then the clothes aren't going to tell you anything. If someone gets close enough to leave their own blood or their hair on the clothing, then they might.
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