Forensic anthropology is the analysis of skeletal, badly decomposed, or otherwise, unidentified human remains, and is important in both legal and humanitarian contexts. Forensic anthropologists apply standard scientific techniques developed...

Medicolegal Death Investigator Certification The Medicolegal Death Investigator certificate is designed to give the graduate a recognized credential that can translate into greater recognition within their respective field.  Successful...

Excerpt from C.OD.E   (A Real Story) Josie answered the familiar notes of an incoming call. “9-1-1. What is your emergency?” “Accident. I need help. There’s been an accident.” “Okay...

Police work and in particular, death investigation,   is one of the most stressful jobs in this country. Day after day, investigators see the worst of humanity; absorb the world’s...

One thing you can count on in life is the fact that you are going to die. How’s that for a buzzkill? Most people diligently ignore the reality of...

TOTAL EM is a project devoted to increasing emergency medicine knowledge both to providers and the public.  As demonstrated by previous studies, it can take too long for information to...

On December 29, 1999, high school friends Lauria Jaylene Bible and Ashley Renae Freeman spent the evening together celebrating Freeman’s sixteenth birthday. Bible received permission from her parents to spend the night at Freeman’s...

Coroner and Medical Examiner Offices play an important role in the organ and tissue donation process. Since all unexpected deaths require Coroner or Medical Examiner review, their cooperation and...

A prevalent concern, but under-recognized, a public health problem of distressing and harmful resident-to-resident interactions in dementia in long-term care homes (LTC) (such as nursing homes and assisted living...

The act of killing one’s child is unthinkable for any parent, but owing to long-standing cultural, emotional and biological factors, a mother who kills her offspring has the power...

Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing their own child. The word filicide derives from the Latin words filius meaning “son” or filia meaning daughter, and the suffix -cide meaning to kill, murder, or cause death. “Filicide” may...

Medicolegal / Death Investigation can provide a contextual view of the empirical evidence in both death and non-death cases. We have found that the use of a full medicolegal...

No matter what anyone else says, no matter what we tell ourselves, trying to leave our personal problems at the door just doesn’t work. They follow us inside. Every....

The term “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS) was developed to explain those instances in which severe intracranial trauma occurred in the absence of signs of external head trauma. SBS is...

Not every suicide will have notes, it is estimated that only  25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note.But it is important an investigator look for writings in journals;...

Subsequent to the original murder case Cain vs. Abel, there has always been a small percentage of murders that were unsolved for a variety of case-specific reasons. There have...

We are on the move.  We have moved into our new facility and moving forward and upward.  The new location combines three locations into one. The training center, audio-video...

  When Joyce Bosen was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2012 after losing her son, a doctor prescribed medication. When it didn’t help, she turned to yoga. Now...

A few years ago, the third Monday in January was labeled Blue Monday by many experts in the mental health field. But no matter what day of the week...

In order to determine the direction of an investigation and to prioritize leads, if necessary, death investigators must establish the manner of a death: natural, accident, homicide or suicide....

911 Call Takers and Dispatchers are often the first investigators involved in death calls 911 emergency dispatchers often are the first people contacted when emergency assistance is needed.  They’re...

According to a recent Gallup poll, only 32% of Americans say they have a “fair amount” of trust with news media, (website HERE.)   KUSA Chanel 9 in Colorado has demonstrated they...

  C.O.D.E. addresses this reality in a real, raw, and relevant way, telling stories inspired by true events and authentic cases.   Horrific accidents, savage beatings, murder, suicide, autoerotic...

Cadaver dogs. Also known as human remains detection dogs,  have been trained to smell death. Specifically, the dogs are trained to smell decomposition, which means they can locate body parts, tissue,...

Psychological autopsy is one of the most valuable tools of research on completed suicide as well as many other types of death. The method involves collecting all available information...

The burden of dealing with tragedies associated with the day-to-day duties of police officers, coroners, and medicolegal death investigators, often remains unspoken and follows the officers into their off-duty...

The number of forensic apps available for mobile phones appears to be growing with many current technologies focusing on document and evidence collection. As death investigators we many times...

Hoarding is a psychological condition that results in a person accumulating an enormous amount of trash and things of little-to-no value, or worse, more animals than can be properly...

Infant Loss Resources serves as a source of information and support for healthcare professionals, childcare providers, parent educators, and police and other emergency workers who are the first to respond...

BoneID is a visual guide for forensic anthropologists, law enforcement, naturalists, and the simply curious. This site’s extensive and easy-to-use database will help you identify bones from many common...

Technology has advanced the ease and quality of life immeasurably. Smartphones are handheld computers that can surf the internet; deliver emails, texts, and phone calls; take videos and pictures;...

This episode is a recording of a live Q and A session that was held for the MLDI online Academy.  It’s interesting because we are able to talk with...

A decomposing body goes through four stages: autolysis, bloat, active decay, and skeletonization. During the second stage, trapped gases that are generated primarily by bacteria in the intestinal tract begin to...

New York updates Coroner Standards A new law signed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday requires elected county coroners across the state to complete medical-legal investigation courses...

Soaring numbers of overdose deaths are adding to woes already plaguing medical examiner and coroner offices, resulting in a shortage of places to store bodies and long delays in...

As death investigators, a time will come when you must work a death related to a structure fire.  You have a job to do and evidence needs to be...

Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators. It is abusive conduct that is :   Workplace Bullying Is driven by...

Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators. It is abusive conduct that is :   Workplace Bullying Is driven by...

In the job of investigating death, the investigator may use the resources of several different sciences to help determine many aspects of the death and subsequent  investigation. It is sometimes...

This first hand true account of one of the most horrific  murders in Canadian history gives us an insight rarely gained into the mind of a murderer  and the...

What is a Medicolegal Death Investigator? The role of the medicolegal death investigator is to investigate any death that falls under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner,...

  The stress of 911 call-takers Mark Bond Thursday, January 15, 2015   In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that police...

The determination of the cause of death from exposure to extreme temperatures is a diagnosis of exclusion. Because both clinical and autopsy findings are nonspecific, a thorough investigation of...

Because blood behaves according to certain scientific principles, trained bloodstain pattern analysts can examine the blood evidence left behind and draw conclusions as to how the blood may have...

Forensic anthropology is the analysis of skeletal, badly decomposed, or otherwise unidentified human remains, and  is important in both legal and humanitarian contexts. Forensic anthropologists apply standard scientific techniques developed in...

Ethical behavior goes beyond simply knowing the difference between right and wrong; it is doing what is right. The purpose of promoting ethical investigation practices is to establish and...