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Practical Cultural Guidelines For Death Investigators

Culture includes the beliefs, customs, and arts of a particular society, group, or place. How people respond to issues of death or dying is directly related to their cultural backgrounds. Anyone who works with families should be sensitive to their culture, ethnic, religious, and language diversity. 10 Practical Guidelines » Allow families to grieve the…

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Professionalism – Respect is Earned Not Granted

If you want to be seen as a professional, you must present a professional image and attitude that will command respect.   You WILL NOT get the respect you need simply by your title. Respect is earned not granted.    There has been a long history of perceived and actual unprofessionalism in the Coroner industry. This…

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Trophy Kill

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 forensics and documentation that goes into the prosecution of a murder of this caliber.  Dan Zupanksy was a prime witness in this case because of his…

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Sandbox Wars – End of Life Battles

Stephanie Payne, author of The Sandbox Wars, talks about the battles that can occur when end of life planning is not completed. As Coroners, Medical Examiners, and death investigators we can be faced with families unprepared for a death of a loved one.  You may also be faced with the “long lost” family member that…

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Autoerotic Fatalities – Interpreting the Scene

The scene of an autoerotic death can hold a wide variety of problems and issues for the investigator. Filled with deceiving information and abnormal behavior, these scenes offer challenges to even the most seasoned investigator. However, it is vital that you get these scenes worked correctly. First and foremost, it is your job to get…

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Shaken Baby Syndrome | Craig Smith

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 the severe intentional application of violent force (shaking) in one or more episodes, resulting in intracranial injuries to the child. Physical abuse of children by shaking…

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Science of Entomology – Prof. Jeffery Tomberlin

Predicting the postmortem interval of a decedent is a major task of law enforcement. Most methods implemented by death investigators rely on qualitative information (i.e. rigor mortis, livor mortis). Microbes represent 99% of somatic cells in and on a human body.   No data are available on the use of these organisms to predict the time…

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Death Notifications | CT14

Death notification is acknowledged to be one of the most difficult tasks faced by law enforcement officers and other professionals, because learning of the death of a loved one often is the most traumatic event in a person’s life. The moment of notification is one that most people remember very vividly for the rest of…

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Coroner & Law Enforcement Scene Cooperation | CT4

It is clear that coroners have crime scene jurisdiction. But what happens when a lay person gets elected to the office of coroner and had no crime scene training. What is local law enforcement supposed to do ?What are Coroners supposed to do when the local law enforcement won’t recognize their authority? The Office of…

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