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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

989 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on July 21, 2022

Best Rated

Can DNA (skin cells) if someone just taps you on your shirt, can that be removed just by water? Like if the shirt is cleaned with just water?

Asked by Jackson over 8 years ago

Most likely.

Do some of the remains you have to investigate make you uncomfortable?

Asked by jasmine Nunez about 7 years ago

No, I can't say that they do.

If I keep a lock of hair in a bottle and it's stored in a humid area, will the hair still disintegrade over time? Thank you!

Asked by :) almost 8 years ago

If the bottle is sealed well, I don't think so. Hair is pretty tough.

If I already have a degree in Chemistry, how would I go about becoming a forensic chemist?

Asked by Tori about 8 years ago

Just apply for it. Check the websites of your local city, state, county police agencies and see if they have a position posted and what the requirements are. You can also check www.aafs.org and www.theiai.org for national postings. Best of luck!

Okay. Also, won’t my own skin cells like disturb her skin cells? Like over the course of 6 months? I have touching many things like in the bus and train handles and then touching my phone. Won’t the new germs like destroy her germs and dna as wll?

Asked by HELena over 8 years ago

As far as I know germs don’t ‘eat’ other germs. But they can’t live long by themselves so on an inanimate surface, they would die sooner rather than later.

What can you tell me about death related to homicide, suicide and car fatalities.

Asked by Annette Davis over 7 years ago

That’s an exceedingly broad question that could take a stack of textbooks to answer.

A criminal stabbed to death two victims and then inflicted wounds upon themselves The killer's shirt was covered in blood. Is it possible to determine that one victims blood was on top of another persons blood? Can they tell who was stabbed 1st or 2

Asked by Chunky Monkey almost 8 years ago

As far as I know, no. The DNA tests of the shirt will just show a mixture of the victims, so that the analyst would only be able to say the blood could have come from these two or three people--in other words there are no alleles that definitely couldn't have come from those three. But because it is a mixture, they can't say it did come from these three exact people. And they couldn't tell, again as far as I know, which blood was deposited first.