Crime Bake Medical Examiner and Forensic discussion by Marian Lanouette

Crime Bake Medical Examiner and Forensic discussion.

First, I want to thank the Crime Bake Organizer who once again put on a fabulous conference. You are the best and so was the conference.

I had pictures to display of the discussions but the files are too large for this post.

Sunday morning after breakfast was very interesting if not gross. I’m so glad I have a strong stomach. Although, I found the discussion informative and exciting, some of the audience (very little) had to leave. Two different discussions took place. The first was with Dr. Debra Prince Zinni board-certified forensic anthropologist at the Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii. Before working in Hawaii she was the State Forensic Anthropologist for the State of Massachusetts Office of the Medical Examiner. She’s Bones but with a sense of humor and life.

The second discussion was called The Truth about Crime Scenes: A Day in the Life of a Death Investigator presented by Michelle Clark. Michelle is a medicolegal death investigator for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Connecticut. I found her engaging, knowledge and her sense of humor wonderful. Before the Chief Medical Examiner Office she was a CSI for the Waterbury Police Department ( the real town my fictional one is based on). Michelle is also the case manager for unidentified deceased in Connecticut and teaches Forensic Science at the University of Harford.

As you can see Crime Bake brings in the best in their fields to educate us in our quest to present our stories in a truthful and entertaining manner.

The reason I said you needed a strong stomach was number one the topic. Each presenter discussed their topics with ease while showing pictures of the different stages of decomposition. First up was Dr. Prince Zinni she discussed not only bones but how the entire body decomposes and how weather conditions effect the process. I’m still compiling notes on this discussion (there are six pages) and some are graphic. If anyone is interested I’ll share off the pages as not to gross out anyone. What thrilled me was that Dr. Prince Zinni took the time to discuss what ifs. I found out the body in the third book of the Jake Carrington Series, Mated for Life was in the correct state of decomposition based on the weather and temperature when she was discovered. Phew! I don’t have to revise that section. It helps to have a meteorologist for a nephew too. Thanks, Todd.

Next up was Michelle Clark. I found her not only knowledgeable but entertaining. She reminded me of the undertakers I used to work with. It seems a sense of humor is important when you’re dealing with death and what man does to man. I also took page after page of notes in Michelle’s discussion. She showed crimes scenes and also discussed a subject close to her heart. One that she works diligently to resolve: The Unidentified Deceased of Connecticut. It is a daunting task. It broke my heart the pictures she showed, in particular a picture of a mother and daughter that to date no one has reported missing.

I will share one fact from this class. A slide Michelle showed had a husband and wife who died within minutes of each other displayed side by side. Her body was intact; his was in an advance state of decomposition. Why? He went into the basement (a cool environment), shot her and went upstairs to their bedroom and shot himself. The summer heat on the second follow was enough to cause rapid decomposition. The difference in them amazed me.

When you write your scenes involving a body it is important to make sure you research the weather and how it will affect your corpse.

I personally want to thank both Debra and Michelle for the excellent discussions they each presented. I learned so much.

Filed under: romance