KN Magazine: Articles
Under the Microscope with Steve Bradshaw
For all you crime writers out there, it’s important to have a working understanding of how investigators set about to collecting evidence, and the gravity of every second, every random phenomenon or clue found at the scene of death.
Steve Bradshaw, author and founder-president/CEO of Active Implants Corporation has investigated a lot of deaths—thousands, actually. In all his experience, one fact has remained constant: the moment a person dies, the clock begins ticking for medical investigators and their affiliates to collect and evaluate evidence. In many cases, the amount of time between death and investigation is one of the largest determining factors of whether the truth of an incident can ever be unveiled.
Steve Bradshaw understands that urgency. In this installment of “Under the Microscope”, Bradshaw recounts an investigation and how, if it weren’t for diligence, skill, and a quick response time (and maybe just a little luck), it could have come to a much different conclusion.
Death Scenes are Castles in the Sand
By Steve Bradshaw
When I investigated 3,000 unexplained deaths for the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office, I did not know one day I would be writing mystery/thrillers. Now, four novels later, it is clear my forensic experience profoundly assists my efforts to meet the expectations of today’s CSI-sophisticated audience.
Mark Twain once said, “A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn no other way.” I believe these words are true to a point. Today I am learning the art of prose—I am carrying a new cat by the tail. However, I am greatly influenced by established authors sharing knowledge gained from their journeys. They have enhanced the quality of my writing and accelerated my growth as an author. In that vein, I often draw from my experiences as a forensic investigator and share with fellow mystery/thriller writers in pursuit of authenticity.
On November 22nd, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. For many there are still more questions than answers. The chaotic death investigation, compared to today’s standards, fueled this fire and led to the establishment of the Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas. A renowned forensic pathologist—Dr. Charles S. Petty—assumed the position of Chief Medical Examiner. Among his many contributions, Petty went before the House Select Committee on the Kennedy Assassination and talked about lessons learned from that fateful day. His high profile recommendations only further reinforced the medical examiner process in our country. I had the privilege of working for this forensic icon after graduating from the University of Texas. As one of his field agents, I learned a great deal. One lesson learned would define my forensic career—death scenes are castles in the sand.
I brought him in the night before. Now I stood at the bare feet of the dead man lying on the stainless steel table—another inquest—cause and manner of death would be determined. For those outside the autopsy room, the thirty-year-old, white male was another unfortunate victim of a tragic automobile accident. For the forensic team, our work had just begun.
From the edge of the white light, I shared findings and thoughts and made suggestions I knew would aim the M.E (medical examiner)—an enormous responsibility. I was the one who controlled the death scene and brought #48432 to the county morgue. Leaning over the bloody corpse with his hands clasped chest high, the M.E. listened to my every word and studied #48432. This was our time. Although the autopsy room was full and bustling, the only dialogue was between the M.E. and his forensic investigator. I was one of seven hand-picked, well-trained, field agents. I was his eyes and ears in the field. My next words would change everything . . .
The night before was cold and wet and empty until I turned onto the dead end street in south Dallas. Spinning blues washed over the stick trees and dilapidated houses in the poorest and most dangerous part of town. Huddled shadows under rising steam stood outside the police tape between me and my next body. A quiet ambulance and dark fire truck sat idle. There was nothing more they could do until the medical examiner arrived. I had just left #48432 and was pulling up to my third death scene.
I parked under a fat elm a half block away—easy exit for my next case. Absorbing the macabre scene before me and leaving the last death scene behind me, I yanked the camera strobe light cord out of the charger and grabbed my metal suitcase. As I approached the undulating shadows, the buzz stopped. Police waved open a path and blank stares followed me. Now they knew for a fact someone was dead. Their questions moved to who, how, and why. In their eyes I was Sherlock Holmes. They watched TV, the news. They believed I solved all the murder cases in Dallas single-handedly. The people working the death scene (police, paramedics, fire) thought I was the M.E. No matter how many times I said I was a field agent working for the medical examiner, it never resonated. After a year, I stopped explaining.
The three-story, broken-down, boarding house sat on a dark hill behind ten-foot hedges and a line of trees. When I left the crowd, ducked the tape, and passed through the gnarly branches, I saw the sheet draped over the body next to the head-scratchers and smokers. As I approached, the lead officer met me and the others backed away. It was my death scene now.
The call came as a forty-year-old, white male—accidental death. He fell down porch steps. I lifted the sheet and felt the carotid—he was dead (sometimes they are not). Taking in the surroundings (my most important moment), I pronounced him dead, made a notation, and asked for ID. No one prepared me; the dead man had a full leg cast and crutch. Now the shattered plaster and twisted appendage hung over his left shoulder. The contorted image and stiff smell of alcohol strengthened the case for accidental death. And it fit the story of the two eyewitnesses, a prostitute and her pimp.
Death scenes are castles in the sand. Every minute that passes another wave climbs the beach and takes something away—transforms the prior world. Death scenes change. The body changes: moving and manipulation, liver/rigor mortis, decomposition, temperature, weather, insects and animal activity to name a few. Physical evidence disappears by mistake, on purpose, and just because. The most information is available at time of death. Every minute that passes, something important to determining cause and manner of death can be lost. I arrived twenty-eight minutes after the call in to the medical examiner’s office. After inspection of the body, it was clear we were several hours after death. What I do or don’t do will aim the M.E. down the right or wrong road. It is my mission to provide him with the most complete picture possible at the inquest where all final determinations are made.
After photographic documentation of the scene, the real work begins. I expect numerous abrasions, contusions, and broken bones from a fall down twenty steps onto hard cement. Where the injuries are located and their shapes (visually and/or tactilely) can give me important pieces to the puzzle. It was my methodical inspection of the head trauma that put me on the hidden trail. I felt the back of the skull—it was wet (blood), and mushy (crushed bone). But there was a straight edge of solid skull ear to ear. Because the victim was found face-down on the cement, the posterior head injury (oddly isolated to the occipital region) was produced before the landing.
Climbing the stairs visualizing the “witness-claimed” event raised more doubts. The victim’s left leg was in a full cast. He had a left armpit crutch rash; I would expect him to move to the right railing before attempting the stairs. But trace blood and signs of the fall were isolated to the left side of the steps. There was evidence of tampering—blood wiped. My growing suspicions took me from the porch into the boarding house. The entry was an enclosed hallway with doors and a staircase to the second floor. It was dark. An out-of-reach lightbulb hung from the ceiling—it was out. With my flashlight and magnifying glass I got on my knees and inspected the floors and walls and door. What I found was pivotal.
It was a single speck of blood—splatter—and it was fresh. The lightbulb was loose. I tightened, restored light, and suggested DPD hold the eyewitnesses—they had lied. It was not long before we found more blood in the difficult-to-clean areas. Although the walls had been wiped and floor mopped, it was not good enough. Behind one door was a mop in a bucket of dirty-red water. Beneath the stairs was a blood-stained, two-by-four. We had enough. The body was transported to the county morgue, and physical evidence was collected and processed. My field report was changed from accident to homicide—blunt trauma force to the head. Before the inquest the prostitute plea-bargained. Her pimp killed for twenty dollars.
Now standing at the feet of my automobile accident victim in the autopsy room, my head was at the boarding house. As the medical examiner worked case #48432, I was thinking about what could have gone wrong if I had not closely inspected the head trauma at the death scene. I would have missed the tell-tale damage to the occipital region. I would not have climbed the stairs looking for more. I would not have searched the dark entry on my knees with a flashlight. I would have missed the blood splatter. Like castles in the sand, I would have left the death scene and more would disappear—the mop, the bucket of dirty-red water, and the blood-stained board. The medical examiner would ask about the head injury. My half-answer could throw him off. We would fail the dead man we represented. Someone would get away with murder.
I think the medical examiner called my name a few times that morning, as I stood in my atypical daze at the feet of case #48432. I remember his bloody gloves and fingers up and his brow ready to dip—we had five cases to go. The medical examiner politely shared that he was working on the accident case #48432 and wanted to know if I would like to join him. It was another complicated death scene I worked the night before. It too was less than straight forward—two in one night. Then the M.E. smiled and winked—he knew I was having a sandcastle moment. I thought that was the best time to tell him #48432 was a suicide . . .
Steve is a mystery/thriller author drawing on life experiences as a forensic investigator and biotechnology entrepreneur. He received a BA from the University of Texas and trained at the Institute of Forensic Sciences where he investigated over 3,000 unexplained deaths for the Medical Examiner’s Office. As the founder-president/CEO of Active Implants Corporation, he raised millions and led the development of a game-changing knee meniscus implant. Steve places his readers on the front row in fascinating worlds of fringe science, chilling forensics, and the pursuit of real monsters. Other page-turner mystery/thrillers by Steve Bradshaw are the BLUFF CITY BUTCHER, THE SKIES ROARED, and BLOOD LIONS. To connect with Steve, visit the following:
Website stevebradshawauthor.com
Email steve@stevebradshawauthor.com
Facebook.com/steve.bradshaw.9400
Twitter.com/sbauthor
Linkedin.com/pub/steve-bradshaw/18/246/660
Under the Microscope with Dr. Robert Jacobs: Borderline Personality Disorder
In our October issue, Richard Helms’s "Cradle of Criminality," gave us a look at the inner workings of the criminal mind. For you crime and mystery writers out there, a basic understanding of the criminal psyche is pivotal to crafting believable, authentic characters. But not every criminal, or antagonist, for that matter, possesses those specific markers laid out in Helms’s article.
In keeping with February’s Romantic Suspense theme, we’ve elected to take a look at a common trope among literature and film alike, i.e., the obsessive significant other. In this installment of Under the Microscope, Dr. Robert Jacobs, psychologist, explores the tendencies of someone suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder.
Borderline Personality Disorder and Romantic Relationships
By Dr. Robert Jacobs
Adam met Liz by chance in the aisle of a department store, and the two began a playful banter right away. Her laugh was airy and carefree, and she touched his arm while they talked. Before they parted ways, she said to him, “I know you want to text me, so why don’t you give me your phone and I’ll put my number in.” He placed his phone in her hand. Her candor was thrilling. Liz seemed so open and familiar.
They arranged to meet for a drink the following day. When Adam arrived at the bar, he spotted Liz easily despite the crowd; she was wearing a short, tight dress. She stirred her drink and kissed his cheek as he sat beside her. Her touch felt electric. Her eyes never seemed to leave him. Hardly an hour passed before they were at his apartment, turning off the lights.
The first three weeks of the relationship were invigorating; Adam felt energized and constantly turned on. He’d never had such great sex. Work seemed unimportant, and he often left early to spend time with Liz. He felt unusually protective when she mentioned her ex-boyfriend; thinking the guy sounded vain, even abusive. Fleetingly, Adam marveled at how quickly he and Liz had connected—in moments. The pace was dizzying. She texted a lot, and he noticed that when he didn’t respond immediately, she often asked if everything was okay. Or if he was mad at her. He found himself having to reassure her that he felt fine, and that the relationship was “great.”
“How great?” She would ask flirtatiously.
Something inside Adam began to tighten.
The next time he picked Liz up for a date, she seemed irritated at his being s a few minutes late. Adam noticed several magazines related to his hobbies on the coffee table in her living room, and that she’d stocked the refrigerator with his favorite type of beer. Over dinner, Liz wanted to decide on a vacation destination for the following summer, and had several ideas. When he told her he would need to check his work calendar, and that it was too early to decide, she bristled.
The following week, Adam realized he was woefully behind at work and needed to catch up. When he called Liz to suggest they postpone their date, she screamed and hung up. Startled, he immediately called back and when Liz answered, her voice sounded completely different. Sobbing, she explained that her doctor had phoned earlier to tell her that she had a rare form of cancer. “I’m sorry,” Adam offered. “What can I do?”
“Can you just come over so we can talk? I don’t want to be alone.”
An hour later, Adam arrived, and found Liz to be in a mysteriously positive mood. In fact, she didn’t seem to want to talk about her health at all. She wanted to have sex. The change seemed odd, and when Adam pressed for details, Liz was vague and annoyed. The tightening inside Adam continued. Her cancer diagnosis was never mentioned again.
A week later, Adam decided he decided he needed some space from the relationship, and explained to Liz, in the kindest way he knew, that he wanted to slow their pace and take time for himself. Liz turned over her chair as she stormed away. Five minutes later, Adam’s phone lit up with a text message from her. “I have something I need to talk about, too,” it said. Below was a picture of a positive pregnancy test.
Human behavior is inherently fascinating. Most of us have puzzled over the motivations of our friends and loved-ones, and, at times, been curious about the intent of our own actions. We want to be more effective participants in our relationships, but at times we’re at a loss for how they work. We ask questions like, “Why would (s)he do that?” and often in hindsight wonder, “What was I thinking?”
Certain diagnoses in particular are especially intriguing. Any time the subject of Borderline Personality Disorder comes up, curiosity and questions follow, and it’s easy to understand why. People with this diagnosis have an easy time capturing the attention and igniting the frustrations of people around them; they engage others and act out in ways that are intense and often destructive. They show a pervasive pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, affective states, and marked impulsivity. The pattern typically begins by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts (DSM-V, 2015). They are frequent characters in fiction. About seventy-five percent of those diagnosed are female, though research on males with Borderline Personality Disorder continues to come forth.
Patients with Borderline Personality Disorder, or BPD, lack emotional regulation and exhibit strong, sometimes wild, behavioral extremes in their relationships. Many times the goal of this behavior is to elicit the concern of a caretaker, but nowhere is the pattern more acutely observed than in their romantic connections.
In therapy, when patients characterize their exes as “crazy,” what do they mean? What is a romantic relationship like with someone who has BPD? Many people describe them as childlike and manipulative, constantly testing a relationship, often showing wild emotional swings when they sense real or perceived abandonment. Having little emotional regulation, they’re prone to tantrums. It can feel to people around them that “something” is missing, or didn't develop; a critical sense of stability, of being fundamentally okay despite normal relational fluctuations, is distinctly absent. Their impulsive, acting-out behaviors are even more notorious for being self-damaging: recurrent suicidal behavior, self-mutilation, substance abuse, reckless driving, overspending, promiscuity, and intense and inappropriate anger are common.
What Borderline patients excel at is eliciting an emotional response. The clinical folklore among some therapists is, that if in the first session the therapist wants a romantic, inappropriate connection with the patient, he or she is probably Borderline. If that sounds circular and patronizing, it’s because it probably is. Even if the idea offends some, (I do think that a therapist’s awareness of his or her emotional response to a patient can help diagnosis and guide treatment. For example, our own reactions likely resemble the reactions of others around them, as well.) it does raise an important truth: Borderline patients are skillful at provoking.
Borderline Personality Disorder is fueled by emptiness and insecurity, and the misguided goal of all of this self-destructive and manipulative behavior, after all, is to gain stability and feeling cared for. One cruel paradox of Borderline behavior is that the backing-away response elicited from relationship partners is precisely the reverse of what the person desires: more love, assurance, and intimacy. The conventional thinking among many psychologists is, that when it comes to having a relationship with someone suffering from BPD, the best strategy is avoidance altogether. Or, as one friend suggested, “Run, don’t walk.” And most of the time, this self-protective drive comes from a very understandable source: frustration and fear. We sense right away that we want no part of the toxic behavior at hand, or worse, worry that we’ll reinforce it, making it more likely to recur.
Theatricality may distract us in other ways as well. It’s tempting to marvel at the foreignness of Borderline behavior, and in doing so, we may be miss the universality of the particular feelings themselves. The strength of the particular emotions at play—abandonment, sadness, emptiness—may be alien, but the feelings themselves are likely quite familiar. Truth be told, people with a Borderline Personality Disorder may fascinate us because we see ourselves in them. Fundamentally, all personality disorder diagnoses describe characteristics and ways of being that are simply extreme versions of common traits and urges. I’ve never heard someone say, for example, “I just love feeling abandoned,” or “I never wonder where I stand with people I care about. I never need assurance.” Tragically, the disproportionate reactivity of the Borderline patient obscures the underlying ubiquity of their emotional experience.
Given all the difficulties that exist in these types of relationships, why would anyone start a relationship with someone with a Borderline diagnosis? Contrary to my friend’s advice, not everyone runs, or even walks away. It’s important to note that while there may be intense and disruptive behavior, Borderline patients often have qualities that produce a rewarding romantic partnership much of the time.
Often warm and kind, they may also be described as fun, exciting, and passionate. Here, people often speak of the disorder in terms of its deficit, like any other organic or medical concern. Even in troubled moments, they will report seeing a flicker of deep recognition and awareness in their partner’s eyes, enough to know that the person they know and love is still there covered beneath their insecurities. I understand the notion of duality. I too have been taken aback and puzzled over the recklessness and irrationality (and astonishing immaturity) I’ve seen among otherwise very high-functioning people. Borderline patients don’t seem to have figured out how to keep their feelings, particularly their anger, in check. This juxtaposition between high and low-functioning can be shocking at times. We may ask ourselves how it’s possible that this composed, professional person, mother, from whom I received a Rockwellian Christmas card the year before, is acting the way she is.
Some are drawn to these patients because they have intense emotions and strong desires for intimacy—and because they themselves have precisely the same emotions and desires. This is often more challenging to recognize and contend with, because, again, the behavior of the Borderline patient positions them in such an obvious position of scrutiny and vulnerability. As it plays out, Borderline patients aren’t often offered much empathy. Many times, they describe feelings of being used, and often do allow themselves to be used by their partners, because of their neediness. Many times, their friends and family admit that if the patient’s acutely descriptive behavior stopped long enough that they could feel safe, they would run for the hills. Not much of an incentive to stop, even as BPD patients recognize they have worn out their supports.
In writing characters with similar diagnoses, it is often too easy to dehumanize the subject and make him or her out to be villainous and completely alien from the rest of us. But in order to craft authentic, believable characters—regardless of his or her psychological well-being— it’s important to understand that character’s psychology, and that it isn’t much different from our own.
In navigating relationships (and, perhaps, storylines) with Borderline patients, acceptance may be our best course. Learning emotional regulation as a couple may be helpful, as may be developing an understanding of common triggers and de-personalizing reactivity. Context helps understanding, and it’s important to bear in mind their (and our) story leading up to the beginning of the relationship. For the relationship to be successful, we have to accept that our partner really does need more emotional reassurance than most. And we have to look in the mirror to examine our own attraction to that particular person, at that particular moment in our lives.
Robert Jacobs grew up in Fort Myers, Florida. He completed his Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and has been a practicing psychologist in Nashville since 2003. Clinically, he focuses on treating anxiety as well as addressing family and couples’ issues. Outside of work, he enjoys athletics, spending time with family, and working on creative fiction. Learn more about his practice at www.robertjacobspsychologist.com.
Under the Microscope with Todd Matthews and Joshua Savage: Behind the Scenes at NamUs
In this installment of “Under the Microscope”, Todd Matthews, Director of Communications and Case Management for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and Joshua Savage give us a behind-the-scenes, myth-debunking look at NamUs—what it is, does, and how it works.
Behind the Scenes at NamUs: The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System
By Todd Matthews and Joshua Savage
In 2015, nearly every major television network had a lineup of programs that focused on forensic investigations. Through their programming, television networks have given the public a never-before-seen look into the world of forensics—a look that, unfortunately, is not entirely accurate. Many of these programs are limited to a 30 or 60 minute time slot, with many of those minutes being devoted to commercial breaks, resulting in a program that has to solve a crime or a mystery in an extremely short time period. In so doing, the networks have inadvertently given the public an inaccurate accounting of the actual processes involved. The paragraphs that follow will give readers and writers an accurate account of the various resources that are available to law enforcement and the public through NamUs, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Since its inception in 2007, NamUs has made great strides towards combatting our nation’s Silent Mass Disaster. Beginning as a centralized repository for information regarding missing and unidentified persons, NamUs has expanded into a world-class organization that has become the gold standard for countries around the world seeking to replicate its successes. It is the go-to tool for authorities nationwide, offering its services free of charge, thanks to a generous grant from the National Institute of Justice.
Entering Into the System
Once a Missing Persons (MP) case is entered into the NamUs MP Database, the case is assigned an MP number located in the top left near the subject’s name and photograph (if one is available). The investigating agency will receive a default set of automated possible matches based on a standard search criteria. The default setting is a general system search based on geography, chronology, and physical characteristics. Once entered into the system, the search can be fine-tuned to be more specific based upon available information and biometrics. The more information that is available, the more accurate the search will be.
Forensic Odontology
The NamUs subject matter experts will then work with investigators in their process of elimination. NamUs currently has two Forensic Odontologists on staff who can analyze and enter dental coding information into the NamUs MP and Unidentified Persons (UP) Systems, allowing for comparisons and exclusions based on available dental records. Recently, they have made great strides in this area by building a working relationship with the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Through their efforts, they have opened the door to quick and easy access to military dental records for comparison to current unidentified persons cases.
Fingerprint Unit
In addition to Forensic Odontology, we also have a Fingerprint Unit that can analyze and enter fingerprint information and conduct comparisons using our sophisticated Cogent Automated Fingerprint Identification System (CAFIS), the first of its kind in the United States. This system allows NamUs to store and compare fingerprint information related to missing and unidentified persons cases from across the United States, creating the only database of its kind in the country. Other databases allow for local storage or one-time searching of missing and unidentified fingerprints, but do not serve as a permanent repository for these types of biometric records. In addition, the CAFIS system ensures that identifications are not missed, especially when dealing with fingerprints from unidentified decedents, which are often of inferior quality due to decomposition of the remains.
So long as we have the needed biometric information for comparisons, we can issue an exclusion based on scientific evidence. If we do not have the needed criteria to compare or exclude a case, we do our best to further enrich the cases. Our Regional System Administrators will then contact local authorities to inquire about the cases, and secure the relevant information, if available. This information could also include securing a family reference DNA sample from any living relatives in the area. Written records might also be available, but not digitized and uploaded.
Shared Information
With the biometric data entered (dental, DNA, and fingerprints) the investigator not only gets to compare his or her case to the system suggested matches, but through their efforts, they are also making their information available to other investigating agencies who might be searching for the same information. Furthermore, NamUs is the only organization that not only allows access to the general public, but encourages it. Family and friends can oftentimes provide critical information that can assist authorities with their investigations. Our staff can further aid this process by facilitating contact between the public and investigators, allowing for efficient use of resources and time on both sides.
Future Updates
In the very near future, NamUs will be entering its newest iteration dubbed “NamUs 2.0”. This upgrade will provide additional features, and make the system easier for everyone to use—from the input of new cases to searches across the databases. One of the newest features currently in development is a system designed to assist families and law enforcement during “critical incidents”. While the NamUs Unidentified Persons and Missing Persons Databases largely deal with the long-term missing and unidentified, the Critical Incident (CI) Database will be an entirely different entity within the NamUs system. Drawing from its already established successes as a web-based platform and its capable and highly-trained staff, NamUs can activate the CI Database in emergency situations when needed.
When activated, emergency personnel will gain a centralized repository for information relating to the missing, injured, or deceased, as well as those found alive during CI events. Government officials and other agencies will be able to access the information entered into the CI Database by logging into the system using their username and secure password. By creating the CI Database, NamUs hopes to provide a simple, secure, and scalable system to provide accurate tracking and documentation during any event that might require use of the system.
NamUs will continue to grow as these new features come online, so please stay tuned to our website, http://namus.gov/new-features.htm, for more information.
Todd Matthews serves as Director of Communications and Case Management for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. In his current role, he manages the NamUs Regional System Administrator staff, oversees quality assurance and quality control of NamUs data, performs outreach and training, coordinates all NamUs print and broadcast media, and serves as the media spokesperson for NamUs. Matthews previously served as a NamUs Regional System Administrator and was a member of the NamUs Advisory Board for the development of the NamUs database and program. In those roles, he piloted efforts to coordinate data exchanges between NamUs and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. He has also served as the Media Director for two important volunteer programs related to missing and unidentified persons: The Doe Network and Project EDAN. He has worked as a blogger for Discovery ID and served as a consultant for Jerry Brukheimer on "The Forgotten" and Dick Wolf on "Lost & Found", two scripted series related to missing and unidentified persons.
Joshua Savage joined NamUs in February 2015 as a Communications Specialist. He is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University (B.A. History, 2011) and East Tennessee State University (M.A. History, 2014). During his time at ETSU, Josh served in a number of roles ranging from President of the Alpha Epsilon Epsilon Chapter of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society to Councilman on the ETSU Graduate Council. His research centered on the American Experience in World War II, with a focus on the Tennessee Army Maneuvers of June 1941 which ultimately became the focus of his Master's Thesis. Because of his service with the History Department of ETSU, Josh received a full graduate assistantship for the 2013-2014 academic year and the Dale J. Schmitt Outstanding Graduate Student Award in May 2014.
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
Under the Microscope with Richard Helms: The Cradle of Criminality
Welcome to “Under the Microscope,” Killer Nashville’s very own exclusive Forensics Corner. We will unearth, demystify, and bring you interesting, factual information about the world of forensics from experts in various fields. From dead bodies, to suspicious substances, to computers with a mind of their own, this column will explore the macabre, gory, and unexplainable with the truth in scientific terms for writers to use at their will.
Writers who incorporate crime in their stories need to understand forensic psychology and its importance. Forensic psychology has become integral to crime solving, and is a valuable piece of the puzzle in judicial system. Those who practice forensic psychology may work with law enforcement agencies, or testify in trials as expert witnesses. They can come from different branches of psychology, like clinical or social psychology. In his debut column for Killer Nashville Magazine, author and psychologist Richard Helms takes us to the psychological origins of crime.
The Cradle of Criminality
By Richard Helms
In my novel Bobby J., I examined a fictitious Middle American urban juvenile detention center, and the impact that a single brutal crime committed by a teenager has on the lives of multiple people associated with that detention center, among others.
In many ways, this is my most autobiographical novel, given that I was the clinical director in a twenty-four bed locked juvenile treatment center in North Carolina for seven years in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Following that, I was the court psychologist for four counties in North Carolina for almost a decade, before retiring from active practice to become a college professor. My primary income during that decade came through grants from the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, and from another organization called Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, so a great deal of my forensic work with the legal system focused on the juvenile courts.
Juvenile courts today are almost ubiquitous in the US, but this was not always the case. It’s a curious coincidence, but the battle for legal rights for children might not have occurred at all had it not been for an organization devoted to non-humans.
In New York, in 1873, a nurse named Etta Wheeler visited the home of Francis and Mary Connolly, and found their adopted daughter Mary Ellen Wilson chained to a bed, covered in bruises, and emaciated from a diet of bread and water. Nurse Wheeler, enraged by this cruelty, demanded that the girl be handed over to her, but the Connollys told her to mind her own business.
Unable to get Mary Ellen’s parents to hand over the child, and aghast at the treatment they believed they were allowed to inflict on her, Etta Wheeler approached local agency after local agency, seeking any organization with police powers, that might help her to liberate Mary Ellen Wilson from her monstrous parents. None of them would help her. Many stated that it was inappropriate for them to interfere in what they considered sacred parental rights. Others simply could not be bothered.
Desperate, and knowing that time for Mary Ellen Wilson was drawing short, Nurse Wheeler approached a man named Henry Bergh, and asked him to help. Unlike the other agencies, Bergh agreed to do whatever he was able.
Bergh petitioned the court to take charge of Mary Ellen. However, in order to gain custody of Mary Ellen, Bergh had to testify in court that she was “an animal”. This was because Bergh was the director of the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the only agency in New York that would advocate for Mary Ellen. The only grounds available to Bergh were to prove that the Connollys were violating the only applicable statute available at the time: cruelty to animals.
That’s right. True juvenile justice in this country for a human child was only available from the ASPCA.
Mary Ellen Wilson was placed, eventually, into the care of Etta Wheeler’s sister, and grew up to marry and have children of her own, whom she undoubtedly treated with greater love and humanity than she had ever received from Francis Connolly.
One of the reasons justice was so difficult to achieve for Mary Ellen Wilson was the fact that there was only one court system in the United States, and it was focused on adults. Children, who were largely seen as the property of their parents or guardians, had no avenue of last resort when their rights were violated.
Sixteen years later, in 1899, the very first Juvenile Court in the United States was founded in Illinois.
Many people believe that Juvenile Court is only a place for the meting out of justice to juvenile delinquents. In fact, a great deal of the work of Juvenile Courts in most jurisdictions of the U.S. is focused on prevention of delinquency, by providing interventions early in the developmental process for children at extreme risk of illegal activity.
As a court psychologist, I was charged with providing psychological evaluations to the court, in order to assist judges in making appropriate plans for intervening in the lives of youths headed for greater trouble. As such, I was always acutely aware that every evaluation I performed was, by definition, a developmental evaluation. Children and adolescents do not think like adults, because their brains and cognitive abilities are still forming until long after age eighteen.
In the average fifteen-year-old, for instance, the part of the brain that engages in rational decision-making, analytical activity, and future-oriented thinking (the prefrontal cortex) is very poorly developed compared with the part of the brain most involved in emotional responses (the limbic system), which is almost fully developed by the middle teens. Because of this, teenagers tend to make most of their decisions based on emotional factors, rather than thinking through all the possible physical/emotional/social consequences of their actions.
This is why you can get Marty McFly, in the movie Back To The Future, to do just about anything you want him to, simply by calling him ‘chicken’. It’s also the reason why, for far too many teenagers, the very last words they will speak will be, “Hey, y’all! Watch this!”
While supervision and careful guidance can help protect children and teenagers from their emotion-based decision-making, more direct preventive action may be necessary when it comes to stopping youthful delinquency before it becomes adult lifelong criminality. There are many warning signs that, if observed, might serve as impetus for such an intervention.
For instance, the FBI has developed a profiling tool called the McDonald Triad. After examining the histories of dozens of serial killers, they discovered some key actuarial variables that each of them had in common. They included bedwetting after age ten, fire setting as a child, and animal cruelty as a child.
The problem with the McDonald Triad is that it is not universal among children who grow up to be serial killers. While it may be a contributory factor to the overall developmental trajectory in children who do become serial killers, it is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause serial criminality in adults. One reason for this is that adult criminals are a heterogeneous population. They are not a one-size-fits-all class of people. Each adult criminal has different motivating factors that promote his or her individual criminal behavior.
One of the tasks of forensic researchers is to try to develop taxonomies of criminal behaviors. A taxonomy is nothing more than a system of classification, which allows researchers to place people into groups organized along common characteristics.
A researcher at Duke University named Terrie Moffitt has attempted to develop just such a taxonomy focused on juvenile offenders, based on the likelihood of continued criminal behavior into adulthood. She suggests that there are two primary groups of adolescent offenders. She calls the first group Life Course Persistent Offenders, and the second group Adolescent Limited Offenders.
Life Course Persistent Offenders tend to demonstrate significant levels of juvenile delinquency—including felony behaviors—beginning in early adolescence, and continuing long into adulthood.
Adolescent Limited Offenders, as their name suggests, only seem to engage in delinquent behaviors during adolescence, and stop as they near adulthood.
When Moffitt began looking closely at the developmental experiences of these two groups, she noted significant differences between them, which may be predictive of their life-long criminal potential.
Life Course Persistent Offenders, she discovered, generally demonstrate a clear progression of antisocial behavior across the lifespan, and continue antisocial behavior across all kinds of conditions and situations.
She noted a dependable progression of behavioral and cognitive problems in these children throughout childhood into adulthood, including: biting and hitting at age 4; shoplifting and truancy by age 10; selling drugs and stealing cars by age 16; robbery and rape at age 22; fraud and child abuse at age 30.
According to Moffitt, Life Course Persistent Offenders exhibit significant neurological problems during childhoods. They tend to have difficult inborn temperaments as infants that include irritability, strong mood swings, excessive tantrum behavior, and aggressive behavior toward other children that often results in injury.
Developmentally, Life Course Persistent Offenders present with a significant history of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, learning disabilities, and lower general IQ scores compared to general population.
Socially, Moffitt has determined that a significant number of Life Course Persistent Offenders could be classified in a peer status referred to as “rejected children” by two researchers named Wentzel and Asher. Rejected children are not accepted by many of their peers. They tend to be children whom no other children name as being ‘best friends’. Many rejected children are the product of homes in which their parents neither provide clear expectations and limits, nor provide a sense of acceptance and involvement.
These children are largely left to their own devices to learn the ins-and-outs of society, and they tend to do so with a marked preference for meeting their own elemental needs. As a result, they demonstrate self-serving behavior from a very early age, and continue to do so throughout life.
Children who later become Life Course Persistent Offenders tend to have lower self-esteem, feelings of insecurity, inferiority, and inadequacy, poorer impulse control, shorter tempers, and more readily aggressive behavior than their peers.
They also demonstrate what University of Vancouver psychology researcher Robert Hare describes as “Criminal Versatility”. Their crimes tend to be diverse, and often spontaneous and opportunistic. Their crimes tend to be progressive in nature over time, and may become somewhat more sophisticated. These individuals, as they progress from juvenile delinquency to adult criminality, may have significant periods of incarceration with progressively shorter periods between incarcerations.
Most importantly, Life Course Persistent Offenders probably represent between 5-10% of male juvenile court-adjudicated delinquents, and perhaps 2% of female adjudicated delinquents. It probably should come as no surprise that this small group of juvenile offenders account for an inordinately large percentage of actual crimes that come to the attention of juvenile court judges.
In contrast to Life Course Persistent Offenders, Dr. Moffitt has discovered that Adolescent Limited Offenders present with a somewhat less extreme history of problems. While, like Life Course Persistent Offenders, they begin offending during their adolescent years, they also stop offending around the 18th birthday (or earlier in states that have an earlier cutoff age for adult prosecution, such as North Carolina). Their teenage offending patterns may be similar to or identical to those of Life Course Persistent Offender adolescents in terms of severity, violence, and frequency, but they display these behaviors only during adolescence.
One huge distinction between Life Course Persistent Offenders and Adolescent Limited Offenders is the nature of their developmental divergences. Adolesent Limited Offenders, as a group, demonstrate fewer identifiable neurological and cognitive problems. They have much better social statuses compared to Life Course Persistent Offender adolescents, and tend to have learned how to get along with others better during childhood. Adolescent Limited Offenders tend to demonstrate higher levels of self-esteem, and better emotional regulation and behavior inhibitions.
More importantly, they tend to be better at learning from their mistakes, which means that they can begin to engage in greater behavioral and emotional control as they near adulthood, in contrast to Life Course Persistent Offenders, who do not appear to readily learn from their experiences, and as a result make the same mistakes over and over into adulthood.
The offenses of Adolescent Limited Offenders are more likely to involve behaviors symbolizing adult privilege and autonomy from parental control (vandalism, theft, drug and alcohol offenses, for instance), and their offenses tend to be more geared toward acquisition of financial gain rather than expression of anger and frustration.
As I mentioned earlier, I came to regard every psychological evaluation I conducted for the juvenile courts, during the time I worked as a forensic psychologist, to be—first and foremost—a developmental evaluation. By examining the historical, educational, intellectual, physical, and social histories of youthful delinquent offenders who were sent to me for evaluation, I could begin to develop a sense of their long-term potential for continued criminal behavior. In a sense, that was what the judges were asking for—some way to determine just which level of intervention would be most successful in deterring the children and adolescents who came into their courts from a life of crime.
With the possible exception of true psychopaths—who are born with physical brain deformities that more or less determine their antisocial life course—lifelong criminals are made rather than born. They are very carefully shaped by their life experiences, by their neuropsychology, by their parenting, and by their psychosocial relationships with their peers. In the time of Mary Ellen Wilson, there was no real way to intervene in these destructive developmental trajectories, because there were no social institutions such as the juvenile courts that cared enough to try.
Today, because of the work of people like Etta Wheeler, Henry Bergh, Terrie Moffitt, and many, many hundreds of others researchers, legal scholars, and direct service providers, we have the tools to recognize the danger signals in children and adolescents, and to help those children move from a path that would otherwise guarantee a life of crime, to a new path of personal responsibility and achievement.
Richard Helms retired from active practice in 2002, after a quarter century as a forensic psychologist, to become a college psychology professor at a North Carolina community college, where he now teaches Forensic Psychology as one of his course offerings. The author of eighteen novels and numerous short stories, Helms has been nominated for the Private Eye Writers of America Shamus Award five times, the Short Mystery Fiction Society Derringer Award five times, twice for the ITW Thriller Award, and once for the Mystery Readers International Macavity Award. He has won the Derringer Award twice, and the Thriller Award once. In addition, he has been nominated four times for the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award. His most recent novel, Older than Goodbye, was released by Five Star/Cengage in October 2014. He is presently working on the fifth novel in his New Orleans-based Pat Gallegher Series, and the first title in a new private eye series set in Charleston, SC. Richard Helms and his wife Elaine, the parents of two grown children, live in a small town in North Carolina. www.RichardHelms.net
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
Under the Microscope with Mike Tabor: Finding Victims Through Odontology
Welcome to “Under the Microscope,” Killer Nashville’s very own exclusive Forensics Corner. We will unearth, demystify, and bring you interesting, factual information about the world of forensics from experts in various fields. From dead bodies, to suspicious substances, to computers with a mind of their own, this column will explore the macabre, gory, and unexplainable with the truth in scientific terms for writers to use at their will.
There are about 85,000 reported persons missing in the United States – many of them children – and it is up to members of the forensic community such as Dr. Mike Tabor to attempt to identify them.
Mike has been a veteran of the Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference, sharing his knowledge of forensic dentistry with the goal of identifying individuals through teeth.
Finding Victims Through Odontology
By Mike Tabor, DDS, DABFO
Joe Craig, one of TBI’s leading detectives looked curiously over my shoulder. I stared intently at Chloie’s dental x-ray, then at Gage’s. My brow wrinkled as I gazed back at each child’s photo. This never gets any easier. It seems like I know these kids and I’ve never met them. In thirty years of putting names with dead bodies for the Tennessee State Medical Examiner’s Office, it’s the missing children that really get to your heart. Thousands of families go to sleep each night not knowing whether their son or daughter is dead or alive. Sometimes it’s a runaway, sometimes a marital custody abduction, but all too often it is a child vanishing in the middle of the night. Just like Gage and Chloie.
On September 23, 2012, the home that Gage, 7 and Chloie, 9, shared with their grandparents, Molli and Leon McClaran between Murfreesboro and Shelbyville, Tennessee, went up in flames. Tragically, both grandparents perished in the fire, and for a while, it was presumed the children died there as well. After days of searching by forensic/arson experts, only the grandparents’ remains were located. Forensic anthropologists sifted in vain, through each piece of burned debris to locate the children. We x-rayed every fragment that even resembled a pediatric bone or tooth, but no other human tissue was discovered. The children had apparently just vanished.
What originally was thought to be a house fire killing four people turned into two confirmed adult fatalities and two missing children with many questions unanswered. Over two years later, it still remains a cold case with nothing further known about the children’s whereabouts or condition.
There are about 85,000 reported persons missing in the United States today. Nearly half are children. There are two national databases (NCIC for law enforcement and NAMUS for the general public) whose mission is to match missing person’s records with the John and Jane Does at medical examiner’s offices and morgues around the country. Between, 4,000-5,000 bodies are buried anonymously annually, their identity never discovered. The goal of the forensic community is to reduce this number and bring closure to suffering families.
Identification of these bodies is accomplished by fingerprints, DNA, or dental radiographic comparison. DNA has quickly replaced fingerprints as the gold standard in forensic identification. But sometimes the evidence has decomposed or deteriorated and the DNA is not readable. The fillings or restorations in human teeth are virtually impervious to environmental elements.
Before the advent of NAMUS, only law enforcement officials had access to the database which is so powerful in tracking down missing persons. With the increasing popularity of forensic sciences, NAMUS now provides an easy access for the lay public to become directly involved in helping solve mysteries.
There are many characteristics that can be logged into the database that could help with the identification process. Hair color, height and weight, as well as tattoos and dental record details are among bits of information that law enforcement, lay public, or medical examiner’s offices can add to this database.
Since teeth are the most durable substance in the human body, they are valuable tools in identifying these bodies that would otherwise forever remain a mystery. The clues these teeth hold are virtually indestructible, which makes forensic odontology one of the most reliable forms of human identification in the field of forensic science. With 32 permanent teeth, each containing five surfaces, the number of mathematical combinations for ID purposes is greater than the total number of people that have ever lived on our planet.
Before the introduction of NAMUS, many missing persons had not even been entered into either one of the national databases. An incompletely populated database will, of course, oftentimes lead to a dead-end street with the identification process. It is hoped that with the ever-increasing popularity of forensic sciences on national television will help reduce the number of missing or unidentified persons.
The University of Tennessee, Graduate School of Medicine, located at University Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, is launching the first postgraduate Master of Science degree in forensic odontology and human identification in the United States. It is anticipated that with programs like this pilot, more individuals throughout our country and the forensic world will continue to develop a more thorough presence in the field of forensic identification.
Dr. Bill Bass, one of the founding fathers of forensic anthropology and founder of the world’s first Body Farm is one of the faculty members in this new venture. The program will encompass topics like human bite mark analysis, with guest lecturer Miami/Dade County forensic odontologist, Dr. Richard Souviron, who testified in the world famous Ted Bundy trial.
Several of the faculty, like Dr. Dick Weems from UAB College of Dentistry, have extensive experience with mass disasters such as the World Trade Center attack on 9-11-2001, to the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina. Attendees will actually experience a “hands on” section simulating a mass disaster and missing persons identification.
It is hoped that with ever increasing public awareness about the number of cases like Gage and Chloie, the long and difficult journey of helping to find missing children might someday come to an end.
For more information about these programs contact the course director Dr. Murray Marks at mmarks@utmck.edu.
With a freshly earned DDS in 1973, Dr. Mike Tabor left Carson-Newman College and The University of Tennessee College of Dentistry, and began his career as a family dentist. Ten years later, his career took a unique turn and he found himself in the highly specialized field of forensic dentistry. As one of only a handful of forensic dentists in the United States, Dr. Tabor became a highly sought after expert in this field, performing identifications and examinations on homicide victims, as well as aiding police departments, investigators and medical examiners all over the country in the prosecution of thousands of crimes. He has served as the president of the Tennessee State Board of Dental Examiners, and is currently the Chief Forensic Dentist for The State of Tennessee Office of the Medical Examiner. His first novel Walk Of Death was released in 2013. www.drmiketabor.com
Killer Nashville is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. If you purchase a book from the links on this page, Amazon will give Killer Nashville a small percentage of the total sale.
Under the Microscope with D.P. Lyle: Time of Death Part 2
Welcome to “Under the Microscope,” Killer Nashville’s very own exclusive Forensics Corner. We will unearth, demystify, and bring you interesting, factual information about the world of forensics from experts in various fields. From dead bodies, to suspicious substances, to computers with a mind of their own, this column will explore the macabre, gory, and unexplainable with the truth in scientific terms for writers to use at their will.
This is the final installment in a three-part series by physician, author, and former Killer Nashville Guest of Honor Dr. D.P. Lyle. Through the imagined lens of a coroner, he shares critical information about the business of death and the elements of a great investigation.
The Coroner’s Most Important Determinations: Part 3
In this third and final installment in this series I will continue the discussion of “Time of Death.”
Time of Death, Part 2
Last time we looked at body temperature, rigor mortis, and lividity as methods for determining the time of death. In this article, we will look at several other tools at the Medical Examiner’s disposal:
Degree of Putrefaction
Stomach Contents
Corneal Cloudiness
Vitreous Potassium Level
Insect Activity
Scene Markers
Rate of Body Decay: Putrefaction is the term used for decay or decomposition of a body. Under normal circumstances it follows a predictable pattern, which the Medical Examiner, or ME, can use in his estimation of the time of death. During the first 24 hours, the abdomen takes on a greenish discoloration, which spreads to the neck, shoulders, and head. Bloating, due to the accumulation of gas, a byproduct of the action of bacteria, within the body’s cavities and skin, soon follows. This swelling begins in the face where the features swell and the eyes and tongue protrude. The skin will then begin to marble in a greenish-black web-like pattern over the face, chest, abdomen, and extremities. This marbling occurs within the blood vessels and is due to the reaction of the blood’s hemoglobin with hydrogen sulfide. As gasses continue to accumulate, the abdomen swells and the skin begins to blister. Soon, skin and hair slippage occur and the fingernails begin to slough off. By this stage, the body has taken on a greenish-black color.
The fluids of decomposition (purge fluid) will begin to drain from nose and mouth. To the untrained eye this might look like bleeding from trauma, but is due to extensive breakdown of the body’s tissues. This process is highly dependent on temperature. In a warm garage in Texas it will occur much more rapidly than it will in a cold stream in the Rockies.
The onset and progression of decay is highly temperature dependent. A body in a Louisiana swamp might completely decay in a week or two while one in the Colorado mountains in February might not even begin its decay until the spring thaw.
Stomach Contents: After a meal, the stomach empties in approximately 2 hours and the small intestines in approximately 12 hours, depending on the type and amount of food ingested. If a victim’s stomach contains largely undigested food, then the death likely occurred within an hour or two of the meal. If the stomach is empty, the death likely occurred more than four hours after eating. If the small intestine is also empty, death probably occurred 12 hours or more after the last meal. If the ME can determine through witness statements when the last meal was consumed, he can use this to time the death.
Let’s say a man is found dead in a hotel room and the ME determines that his stomach is full of undigested food. If he had dinner with a business associate from 8 until 10 p.m., the finding of a full stomach would indicate that the death occurred shortly after he returned to his room. The ME might place the time of death between 10:00 p.m. and midnight.
The Corneas and the Vitreous of the Eyes: The clear covering over our pupils are called corneas. At death they become cloudy and opaque in a very few hours if the eyes are open at death or may take up to 24 hours if they are closed. The vitreous humor is the liquid substance that fills our eyeballs. After death the concentration of potassium within the vitreous increases at a constant rate over the first few days. Measuring the potassium level can give a general estimate of the time of death.
Insects: A dead body attracts numerous insects. These are typically flies, beetles, and other insects that feed off the corpse’s flesh. They tend to appear at predictable times and in a predictable sequence, and the ME will use this to aid in his determination of the time of death. For example, blowflies appear early, often within the first hour after death, and immediately begin to lay eggs. The eggs hatch to larvae (maggots) within hours. Over the next 10 days the larvae feed, grow, and repeatedly molt. There are tables that show the growth rate of these larvae so that the ME can compare those found at the scene with the tables of length and estimate the age of the larvae. After the larval stage the maturing flies become pupae, when their outer covering hardens. Approximately 12 days later adult flies emerge. So, this entire cycle takes from about 18 to 22 days. The mature flies will then lay eggs and the cycle repeats.
Unfortunately, these patterns vary greatly, depending upon geographic region, specific locale, time of day, weather and temperature patterns, and the season. Because of the complex nature of the bug world, the ME will often request the assistance of a forensic entomologist, a professional who studies the insects that populate a dead body. This is an extremely complex subject and can’t be adequately covered here.
Scene Markers: Scene markers are any information at the scene, or from witnesses or family and friends. Missed appointments or work, missed daily walks or visits to the coffee shop, uncollected mail or newspapers, and dated sales receipts can be useful. Even the victim’s clothing might be helpful. For example, if the victim has missed work for two days and is found near the front door of his home, dressed in work attire, and carrying his car keys, it is logical to assume that he was headed to work at the time of his death.
As you can see the determination of the time of death is complex and always a best guess. Experience and keen observation are critically important.
D. P. Lyle is the Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning and Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, and USA Best Book Award nominated author of many non-fiction books (Murder & Mayhem; Forensics For Dummies; Forensics & Fiction; More Forensics & Fiction; Howdunnit: Forensics; and ABA Fundamentals: Understanding Forensic Science) as well as numerous works of fiction, including the Samantha Cody thriller series (Devil’s Playground, Double Blind, and Original Sin); the Dub Walker Thriller series (Stress Fracture; Hot Lights, Cold Steel, and Run To Ground); and the Royal Pains media tie-in novels (Royal Pains: First, Do No Harm and Royal Pains: Sick Rich). His essay on Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island appears in Thrillers: 100 Must Readsand his short story “Even Steven” in ITW’s anthology Thriller 3: Love Is Murder.
Along with Jan Burke, he is the co-host of Crime and Science Radio. He has worked with many novelists and with the writers of popular television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Judging Amy, Peacemakers, Cold Case, House, Medium, Women’s Murder Club, 1-800-Missing, The Glades, and Pretty Little Liars.
Visit D.P. Lyle's: Website | Blog | Crime and Science Radio
D.P. Lyle has become a regular feature at Killer Nashville. Join us and learn more.
Under the Microscope with D.P. Lyle: Time of Death Part 1
Welcome to “Under the Microscope,” Killer Nashville’s very own exclusive Forensics Corner. We will unearth, demystify, and bring you interesting, factual information about the world of forensics from experts in various fields. From dead bodies, to suspicious substances, to computers with a mind of their own, this column will explore the macabre, gory, and unexplainable with the truth in scientific terms for writer’s to use at their will.
This is the second installment in a three-part series by physician, author, former Killer Nashville Guest of Honor Dr. D.P. Lyle. Through the imagined lens of a coroner, he shares critical information about the business of death and the elements of a great investigation.
The Coroner’s Most Important Determinations: Part 2
By D.P. Lyle
In the first part of this series I discussed the critical determination of the Cause and Manner of Death, and what gets the authorities’ attention. Now let’s take a look into the all-important Time of Death.
Time of Death: Part 1
One of the most important determinations made by the Medical Examiner (ME) is the time of death. This alone can exonerate or focus suspicion on a suspect. It can substantiate or refute witness and suspect statements. It can literally make or break the case.
The timing of death is both an art and a science and requires that the ME use several techniques and observations to make his estimate. The sooner after death the body is examined, the more accurate this estimate will be. The changes that a body undergoes after death occur in widely variable ways and with unpredictable timeframes. There is no single factor that will accurately indicate the time of death. It is always a best guess.
To help with his estimation, the ME employs various observations and tests. These include:
Body Temperature
Rigor Mortis
Livor Mortis (Lividity)
Degree of Putrefaction
Stomach Contents
Corneal Cloudiness
Vitreous Potassium Level
Insect Activity
Scene Markers
Let’s look at each of the techniques.
Body Temperature: Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. After death, the body loses or gains heat progressively until it equilibrates with that of the surrounding medium. Under normal circumstances a corpse will lose body heat at a rate of approximately 1.5 degree/hour. This means that a corpse with a core temperature of 92 degrees has been dead about 4 or 5 hours. Sounds simple enough. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that straightforward. The 1.5-degree-per-hour factor varies, depending upon the environment surrounding the body, the size of the corpse, clothing, and other factors. For example, a body in a temperate room will lose heat much more slowly than will one in an icy, flowing stream. A body in a hot environment such as an enclosed garage in Phoenix in August where the ambient temperature could be 125 degrees or more will actually gain heat. The key is that the corpse will lose or gain heat until it reaches equilibrium with its environment. Once the body reaches ambient temperature, this factor is no longer useful.
Rigor Mortis: Rigor mortis is the stiffening of a corpse after death and is due to chemical reactions that take place within the muscle cells after death. This chemical reaction is the loss of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) from the muscles. ATP serves as energy for muscular activity and without it our muscles could not contract. The presence and stability of ATP depends upon a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are lost with the cessation of cardiac activity that occurs at death. When the ATP levels fall, the muscles contract and stiffen, producing the rigidity of rigor.
This rigidity is first detectable in the small muscles of the face, neck, and hands and then progresses to the larger muscles. The rigor begins in about 2 hours and the entire process takes about 12 hours at which time the body is completely stiff. This is called the rigid stage and tends to remain so for another 12 hours. The process then reverses itself with rigidity being lost in the same fashion, beginning with the small muscles and progressing to the larger ones. This process requires another 12 or so hours. The muscles are now flaccid (relaxed) and this is termed the flaccid stage of rigor mortis.
A good general rule is 12-12-12. Under normal conditions, rigor begins in about 2 hours, maximizes at about 12 hours, remains unchanged for 12 hours (rigor stage), and resolves over the next 12 hours (flaccid stage). So, rigor is only useful in the first 36 hours or so after death.
This rule assumes “normal” circumstances. If the death was associated with violent activity such as drowning of the victim fighting or running for his life, then the ATP can be consumed during these activities and rigor can appear much more quickly, even sometimes almost instantly at death---a condition often termed cadaveric spasm. In a drowning, the rigor might be universal while in the fleeing victim it might be confined to the legs, the body part doing the work and depleting its ATP supply prior to death.
Also, cold conditions might delay rigor while warmer ones can hasten it. See? It’s not that simple.
Livor Mortis: Lividity is a purplish hue of the tissues and is caused by the stagnation of blood in the vessels that occurs after the heart stops beating. Gravity then causes the stagnant blood to settle into the dependent (lower) areas of the body. This means that a supine corpse will develop lividity along the back and buttocks. It typically appears between 30 minutes and 2 hours after death and reaches its maximum by 8 to 12 hours. Initially, rolling the body to a different position can shift this discoloration, but by 6 to 8 hours, it becomes fixed. This means that rolling the body to another position will not result in a shifting of the discoloration. The reason is that after about 6 to 8 hours the blood vessels in the area begin to breakdown and the blood seeps from the vessels and stains the surrounding tissues. As opposed to the blood that remains within the vascular system, this blood in the tissue is fixed in position. The ME can use shifting and fixed lividity to estimate time of death and to determine if the body has been moved or repositioned, something the dead do not do without assistance.
As with rigor, the onset and the fixing of lividity is often slowed in a cold environment and quickened in a warmer one.
Next time, we will look at the other factors listed above that the ME uses to estimate the time of death.
D. P. Lyle is the Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning and Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, and USA Best Book Award nominated author of many non-fiction books (Murder & Mayhem; Forensics For Dummies; Forensics & Fiction; More Forensics & Fiction; Howdunnit: Forensics; and ABA Fundamentals: Understanding Forensic Science) as well as numerous works of fiction, including the Samantha Cody thriller series (Devil’s Playground, Double Blind, and Original Sin); the Dub Walker Thriller series (Stress Fracture; Hot Lights, Cold Steel, and Run To Ground); and the Royal Pains media tie-in novels (Royal Pains: First, Do No Harm and Royal Pains: Sick Rich). His essay on Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island appears in Thrillers: 100 Must Readsand his short story “Even Steven” in ITW’s anthology Thriller 3: Love Is Murder.
Along with Jan Burke, he is the co-host of Crime and Science Radio. He has worked with many novelists and with the writers of popular television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Judging Amy, Peacemakers, Cold Case, House, Medium, Women’s Murder Club, 1-800-Missing, The Glades, and Pretty Little Liars.
Visit D.P. Lyle's: Website | Blog | Crime and Science Radio
D.P. Lyle has become a regular feature at Killer Nashville. Join us and learn more.
Under the Microscope with D.P. Lyle: Cause and Manner of Death
Welcome to “Under the Microscope,” Killer Nashville’s very own exclusive Forensics Corner. We hope to unearth, demystify, and in general, bring you interesting, factual information about the world of forensics from experts in various fields. From dead bodies, to suspicious substances, to computers seemingly with a mind of their own, this column will explore the at-first possibly macabre, gory, and unexplainable and then explicate the truth in scientific terms for writer’s to use at their will.
For the next three issues, physician, author, former Killer Nashville Guest of Honor, and one of the nicest guys on the planet Dr. D.P. Lyle, will share critical information about the business of death and the elements of a great investigation.
Cause and Manner of Death
By D.P. Lyle
WHAT GETS THE AUTHORITY’S ATTENTION?
In this three part series I will discuss two of the most critical determinations that the coroner or medical examiner must make in any potential homicide: The Cause and Manner of Death and The Time of Death. Whether an investigation is begun or not depends on the former. If the manner of death is natural, no criminal investigation will follow. The same is true of most cases of suicide or accidental death. But if the medical examiner determines that the manner of death is homicidal, then the investigative folks go to work.
Time of death is critical in that it is the linchpin of the crime timeline and can support or refute witness and suspect statements and explode alibis. It is the ticking clock around which all else revolves.
DETERMINING CAUSE AND MANNER OF DEATH
In any potentially criminal death, the coroner or Medical Examiner (ME) is asked to answer three basic questions: How did the person die? Why did the person die? When did this person die? In forensic terms, these are the cause, manner, and time of death, respectively.
People die every minute of every day, but only a very few of these attract the attention of the medico-legal investigative system. To the forensic professional it is the cause and manner of these deaths that are of paramount importance.
The cause of death is why the individual died. A heart attack, pneumonia, a gunshot wound, drowning, or traumatic brain injury from an automobile accident or a fall from a high building are causes of death. They are the diseases or injuries that caused death. This is fairly straightforward and, in most cases, easy for the coroner to determine.
The manner of death is a bit trickier. It can be defined as the root cause of the sequence of events that lead to death. In other words, how and why did these events take place? Who initiated the events and with what intention? Was the death caused by the victim, another person, an unfortunate occurrence, or Mother Nature?
THE 5 MANNERS OF DEATH
The five manners of death:
Natural: Death from natural disease processes. Heart attacks, cancers, pneumonias, and strokes are common natural causes of death. This is by far the largest category of death that the coroner sees.
Accidental: Death from an unplanned and unforeseeable sequence of events. Falls, automobile accidents, and electrocutions are examples.
Suicidal: Death by the person’s own hand. Intentional self-inflicted gunshots, drug overdoses, or self-hangings are included here.
Homicidal: Death by the hand of another.
Undetermined or Unclassified: Used when the coroner can’t accurately determine the manner of death.
These classifications are critically important since the official manner of death will determine what follows. In natural, accidental, and suicidal deaths, the police are rarely involved. Perhaps in the case of an industrial accident or if an insurance policy won’t pay in the case of a suicidal death, the police might be called in to investigate the situation further. But, in the end, if the coroner decides that the death falls into one of these categories, the police will not open a true investigation. In fact, in most such cases, they legally can’t do much.
But, if the coroner concludes that the manner of death is homicidal, or if he is unsure, the entire spectrum of police investigative techniques might be employed. Or not. Police investigations get corrupted, botched, or simply ignored for various reasons. This is fertile soil for the crime writer.
What about this undetermined category? Can’t the coroner always uncover the manner of death? Unfortunately no. Real life is often untidy.
CASE STUDY: ENTER THE AUTHOR
Let’s say a known drug addict is found dead in an alley with a needle in his arm and the coroner finds that the cause of death is a heroin overdose. What would be the manner of death? We can rule out natural since a heroin overdose is not a natural event. If the victim accidentally gave himself too large a dose, then the manner of his death would be an accidental overdose. Happens all too often. Or what if he has had enough of his miserable existence, no family, no friends, no future, and decides to inject himself with a massive dose? Here we have a suicide. But, what if the user is a snitch and his dealer knows about it. What if the next dime bag he gets is 90% heroin and not the typical 15%. He’s not a chemist. He only knows to cook up a certain amount and inject it. Here, the dose would be six times his usual. Roll the credits.
Heroin is a narcotic with very powerful sedative and what we call Central Nervous System (CNS) depressive effects. This means it will put you to sleep and suppress your drive to breathe. Too much and you will quickly lapse into a coma, stop breathing, and die from asphyxia.
At autopsy the coroner would see a dead guy with a boatload of heroin in his system and conclude that the cause of death was a heroin overdose. But, that’s all he could say. The manner of death would depend on who gave him the heroin and for what purpose. That’s where police investigation comes in. The results of this investigation will then guide the coroner in his determination of the manner of death.
This where storytelling enters the picture. Your sleuth will give the coroner the information he needs to make the correct call.
In the next column, I will discuss various observations and tests that medical examiners use to determine time of death. Among those tests and observations are checking the victim’s body temperature, the contents of their stomachs, rigor mortis and insect activity.
D. P. Lyle is the Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning and Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, and USA Best Book Award nominated author of many non-fiction books (Murder & Mayhem; Forensics For Dummies; Forensics & Fiction; More Forensics & Fiction; Howdunnit: Forensics; and ABA Fundamentals: Understanding Forensic Science) as well as numerous works of fiction, including the Samantha Cody thriller series (Devil’s Playground, Double Blind, and Original Sin); the Dub Walker Thriller series (Stress Fracture; Hot Lights, Cold Steel, and Run To Ground); and the Royal Pains media tie-in novels (Royal Pains: First, Do No Harm and Royal Pains: Sick Rich). His essay on Jules Verne’s The Mysterious Island appears in Thrillers: 100 Must Readsand his short story “Even Steven” in ITW’s anthology Thriller 3: Love Is Murder.
Along with Jan Burke, he is the co-host of Crime and Science Radio. He has worked with many novelists and with the writers of popular television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Diagnosis Murder, Monk, Judging Amy, Peacemakers, Cold Case, House, Medium, Women’s Murder Club, 1-800-Missing, The Glades, and Pretty Little Liars.
Visit D.P. Lyle's: Website | Blog | Crime and Science Radio
D.P. Lyle has become a regular feature at Killer Nashville. Join us and learn more.
Submit Your Writing to KN Magazine
Want to have your writing included in Killer Nashville Magazine?
Fill out our submission form and upload your writing here: