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

Do you think Roger Stone is guilty or innocent or unsure?

Asked by JW about 6 years ago

Who’s Roger Stone?

Hello! How easy is it to collect finger prints, scan them and identify a match (I imagine its very hard) but out of say 100 cases how many could actually be solved using fingerprint analysis?

Asked by Eliza almost 7 years ago

Generally about a 6 to 10% identified rate is good. Many prints that are collected at scenes by officers are ‘not of value for comparison ‘ (smudges or only have a few ridges) and many that are good belong to the victim or their friends, family, employees etc.

I am complaining about a civil attorney. He was supposed to send me some photographs. He sent an envelope, said the photographs are enclosed, but they were not. He claims he sent them, and I lost them. Can the envelope be examined for residue?

Asked by Tom over 7 years ago

Almost certainly, no. Unlike television, real forensic equipment is designed to test for certain things. For example the mass spectrometer in the toxicology department is set to test for illegal narcotics and not heavy metals such as arsenic. If arsenic is suspected, it could be detected with a different instrument or different parameters programmed into the same instrument. So I doubt there is any equipment that could be set up to detect microscopic amounts of photographic chemicals, if a photo would even shed any.

Have you ever been emotional with the cases you have worked on?

Asked by Denise_ot5 about 7 years ago

Once in a great while something will catch me when I’m not expecting it. But very rarely.

Are you able to tell if a person was unconscious just before death after examining the body? For example if someone hit their head and knocked themselves unconscious before they actually died?

Asked by TS over 7 years ago

I don't believe so (in fact I believe I address this question during an autopsy scene in my book Perish) but you'd have to ask a pathologist. Sorry I can't help.

Can you visit and read this and possibly help me?

https://ogburn.brainhoney.com/Frame/Component/CoursePlayer?enrollmentid=95998597

Asked by Al over 7 years ago

Sorry, the link just took me to the sign-in page.

I'm going to be graduating high school in a few months and I'm looking to do forensic science, mostly leaning towards biology and examining. I want to know if going to a FEPAC school really matters.

Asked by Morgan over 7 years ago

I'm sorry but I don't know what a FEPAC school is.