Judith Williams - Forensic Science Specialists: Making Sense of Crime Scene Evidence

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Mark Lerner for connecting me to Jonathan Hayes, and Id like to thank Jonathan Hayes for taking time to talk about his work as chief medical examiner for New York City. - DR

Published in 2016 by Enslow Publishing, LLC
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Copyright 2016 by Enslow Publishing, LLC

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rauf, Don.

Forensic scientists: making sense of crime scene evidence / by Don Rauf and Judith Williams.

p. cm. (Extreme science careers)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7660-6962-6 (library binding)

1. Criminal investigation Juvenile literature. 2. Forensic scientists Juvenile literature. I. Rauf, Don. II. Title.

HV8073.8 R38 2016

363.25023d23

Printed in the United States of America

To Our Readers: We have done our best to make sure all Web site addresses in this book were active and appropriate when we went to press. However, the author and the publisher have no control over and assume no liability for the material available on those Web sites or on any Web sites they may link to. Any comments or suggestions can be sent by e-mail to customerservice@enslow.com.

Portions of this book originally appeared in the book Forensic Scientist Careers Solving Crimes and Scientific Mysteries.

Photo Credits: Abel .

Cover Credit: SNL/DOE/Science Source (Forensic researcher).

Contents

A Tale of Telltale Clues

Death in a Dumpster

Bugging Out to Fight Crime

The Case of the Walruses That Lost Their Heads

A Dinosaur Detective

The Puzzle of the Perplexing Person

A Future in Forensics: Prepare for a Career in Forensic Science

Appendix: Forensic Scientists: Jobs at a Glance

Chapter Notes

Glossary

Further Reading

Index

Forensic scientists are part of a team of people who investigate crimes, either recent or in the more distant past. Their findings are often an important part of a criminal trial.

Chapter 1

A Tale of Telltale Clues

A seventy-two-year-old woman was found dead in her bed in Manhattan. She had had a history of heart disease, so at first it did not seem suspicious that a woman this age might die. But when she was seen by the medical examiners office, some subtle signs raised cause for concern. The examiner observed a slight redness on the neck. Red dots were seen over the eyes, over the face, and inside the mouth. Although originally the woman was thought to have died from natural causes, these clues suggested that there had been compression of the neck.

As senior medical examiner for New York City, Dr. Jonathan Hayes said that this case demonstrates the type of work he does in the field of forensic science. Hayes is a medical doctor and forensic pathologist who has worked in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for about twenty-five years. The office is a branch of the New York City Department of Health and Hayes reports to the citys health commissioner.

Forensic pathology is a branch of medicine concerned with determining cause of death by examining a corpse. The findings of the forensic pathologist are often used for legal purposes. Medical examiners are highly trained in death investigation. A pathologist makes diagnoses by examining specimens taken from a patient. Hayess mission is to investigate deaths in New York City that are violent, unnatural, suspicious, or unexpected.

As a type of forensic scientist, Hayes uses scientific methods to assist law enforcement in investigating crimes. Many people think his job must be as action-packed as TV shows such CSI, Law and Order, and Bones. While he does help solve some mysteries, the job takes long hours and serious research.

Fictional accounts of forensic science on television, films, and even in games typically gloss over the gritty reality of the profession. In real life, obtaining DNA results can take weeks. Scientists do not chase suspects down alleys with firearms drawn, either. Most criminalists do not carry weapons, even in major cities like New York. The stories played out on television have little in common with the day-to-day activities of the men and women who pursue forensics as a career.

While solving homicides to keep society safe is important, forensics is not always about murder. Sometimes forensics specialists will investigate a historical mystery. They may seek clues to events so old that the victim has been dead for a hundred years. Also, a forensic scientist may examine evidence in a suspicious fire or a robbery. In one case, a forensic scientist was able to identify a car thief from DNA found on a cigarette butt in a car. But whatever scientific trail leads to a career in forensics, the fascination is the sameusing science to solve a mystery.

Hayes said that he came to his career almost by accident. I kind of fell into this career. I started training in pathology but the place where I was training was in the same place as the medical examiners office. What I liked about the medical examiners office was that every case had a story.

In his job as a medical examiner, Jonathan Hayes often works with New York City police officers and detectives to help solve crimes.

When he realized he wanted to pursue forensic science as a living, he thought it made total sense. As a kid, he had been very interested in detective work. When I was young, I used to go to the library and read books about forensics, he explained. Ever since sixth grade, I was reading about the history of the Secret Service, the history of fingerprints, blood spatter evidence and things like that. Now I love the job. Its really satisfying work.

Factors of Foul Play

In the case of the seventy-two-year-old woman, the signs suggested strangulation, starting with the tiny red dots in the whites of the eyes and in the mouth. When hands go around the neck and compress the jugular veins, the blood keeps flowing into the brain and into the face, but the face becomes purple and congested during strangulation.

If the hands are applying enough pressure for enough time, the blood vessels become swollen with blood. Tiny blood vessels may pop and cause tiny red dots to appear in the whites of the eyes. These capillary hemorrhages are called petechial hemorrhages.

They are a hallmark of a neck compression death, said Hayes. You can see these types of little red dot hemorrhages in the whites of the eyes and in the mouth for a variety of other reasons, but if you see them there, they are a red flag.

Real-life forensic scientists caution that the job of investigating crimes is not as glamorous as it may appear on television shows like CSI (shown here).

An Autopsy Gives a Closer Look

Having seen these suspicious signs, Hayes needed to dig deeper. He ordered an autopsy because some signs of strangulation are only visible by looking inside the body.