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.
Usually the biggest worry is getting sick or faint around dead bodies. But actually they rarely do.
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Yes, absolutely.
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Sending it through the mail is not a problem if packaged properly. The color of the top depends on what kind of testing is requested, drug, DNA, etc.
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I would never want to discourage someone from this field because I love it. But it's a very popular field right now so I would also advise anyone to have a career plan B.
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Navy Officer (Former)
What's the most dangerous situation you were ever in?
Auto Mechanic
If I know nothing about cars, how can I tell if a mechanic is ripping me off?
Correctional Officer
Were there a lot of suicides in your prison, and what's the most common way prisoners do it?
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.
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Where I live we have many burglaries. There really isn't a busiest time of year, though things sometimes pick up when the kids are out of school. When I worked at the coroner's office I also swore there were more homicides in September and December.
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That's impossible to answer. Things can range from something like the Orlando shooting, which was massive to process but in terms of 'whodunit' it was over as soon as it began. Then you might have a person shot on the street, no casings, no witnesses--a very simple event, but nearly impossible to solve unless someone talks. Then there's every possible combination in between.
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