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

I ask because I saw Saw VI that day I think & they took prints off a guy's closed eyelids. Speaking of which, they found traces of Freon R-12 within the prints, as the hand possessing them was removed from a 'corpse' & refrigerated. Is that possible?

Asked by R-Mod over 8 years ago

I am not sure that it would be possible to detect freon, particuarly the type of freon, as I have no idea what instrumentation would be used or its limits of detection or what effect contact with live or dead would have on the compounds, whether it would tend to react with them or not. I do think it's highly unlikely they would look for that as they would most likely, after the prints had been developed and photographed for the ridge detail, swab up the prints and test them for DNA from the person who left the prints. That process would be designed to detect DNA and nothing else. I suspect these results would come from a magical movie 'Batcomputer' that can tell you every single thing about anything on the planet you drop into it.

What does DNA contain? Other than a persons identity? Like a fingerprint found on an object, and it is swabbed, are there bactarias found as well?

Asked by Jazmin over 8 years ago

DNA is genetic material. Substances that contain cells that contain DNA, such as blood and sweat and saliva can have many other substances as well, but a crime lab would likely only look for DNA.

Hi, my name is Tyler and I have a lot of questions and was wondering if it was possible to talk to you one on one via email if that's OK. My email is tylerkinsler@yahoo.com.

Asked by Tyler over 8 years ago

Sure, I'll email you.

I’m positive that there was a lot of sexual activity in a bedroom. Therefore, there must be evidence of semen somewhere, right? Even if the person tried to be “as clean” as possible there must be drops leftover. How do u scour room to find evidence?

Asked by PH13 over 8 years ago

Sorry for the delay, I’ve been on vacation. I guess it depends where the activity took place. If it all took place in bed and they washed the sheets, then there may not be any to find. An alternate light source can look for possible spots of semen, but the problem is many things can fluoresce, such as vaginal secretions, sweat, saliva, cleaners, certain fibers, etc.

Why is a fingerprint, glass, tire tracks, handwriting, bloodstain or footwear impressions important in a investiagation? Why do these take a more careful analysis than other evidence like DNA?

Asked by lubashka99 about 8 years ago

Because fingerprints, tire tracks, footwear impressions and sometimes handwriting can, with sufficient individual characteristics, be identified to a specific person or item. (Glass can as well in the case of a 'jigsaw' match, when it physically fits into a piece of evidence.) These analyses require human attention and thorough training and competency and are not quite as simply done as adding a blood sample to a thermocycler for DNA analysis. Explaining DNA analysis takes a highly trained analyst but the actual process is largely automated.

How long does an iPhone have to be submerged in lake water before it can’t be used to find locations or contacts?

Asked by J.H. Paree over 7 years ago

I have absolutely no idea. I asked my coworker (who does digital forensics) this one time because I wanted to get rid of some old phones, but she didn't know either. I smashed them with a hammer and then soaked them in my pool for about ten minutes, but of course I have no way to know if that completely worked.

With respect to drug profiling, could you please explain why it is necessary to have a full understanding of the chemistry of drug synthesis?

Asked by Laura almost 8 years ago

I'm sorry but I've never worked in toxicology.