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.
It would still be discoverable up to a point. How much dilution it could take, I'm afraid I don't know.
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Like any other line of work, it all depends upon the mistake made, what effects it had, and how culpable you are. If it's a typo, just fix it and maybe make a note in the file. If you get someone killed, your boss will probably have to fire you. If it was an honest mistake, then you might get a note in your file. If you steal or invent evidence, you'll be fired and probably not work again.
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I'm so sorry but I wouldn't have any idea since I've never worked in toxicology. And since my agency doesn't do it either I don't have anyone to ask.
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Interesting question, but I doubt I can be of much help. A body can do one of two things after death--decompose or desiccate. So it might turn into sludge or it might become a mummy. It might depend on temperature or pH levels (more relevant if the car was buried) to determine which way it would go. Being sealed would definitely slow the process to a crawl. I had a body in an attic once that was partially wrapped in plastic, and after three years the wrapped areas still had plenty of flesh and the unwrapped parts were down to bone.
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Call Center Employee (Retail)
Which cable company do you think has the absolute worst customer service?
Professional Reseller
What kind of mark-ups can you fetch on the clothing you resell from thrift stores?
Sommelier
Do you occasionally get a little turned off by wine snobbery?
Yes, that's what we do at our agency, depending on the analysis required. We can process for latent prints and analyze them and also cell phones and computers. For things like DNA analysis and bullet comparison, we send that to the state lab. Every agency is different depending upon available personnel and equipment.
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I'm sorry to hear about your father. The hyoid would normally be observed during the course of an autopsy, but I have had pathologists tell me that people can be strangled without breaking the hyoid, and the hyoid can be broken due to other reasons,so it doesn't conclusively prove anything one way or the other.
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I had a bachelor's degree in biology when I applied to the coroner's office in 1998. They required a degree in one of the natural sciences, and there were no forensic science degrees back then. Only you can decide what you want to go to graduate school for, but as for career requirements you might look at the American Academy of Forensic Science and the International Association for Identification and look at their job vacancy postings to see what they require. As for other degrees with a bio major, there are many private labs for DNA, drug testing, paternity testing, water and food standards analysis, etc. as well as hospital labs that might require. Again, look at job vacancy postings in all these areas--they should be easily found online and they should state the educational requirements. It will also let you see in what areas more jobs are available.
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