Crime and Science Radio: Deadly Doctors, Killer Nurses and other Medical Miscreants

 

Join Jan Burke and I for a lively interview with Bea Yorker. We will delve into the very odd and not all that rare Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome as well as healthcare professionals who commit serial murders.

 

BIO: Beatrice Crofts Yorker is the Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Los Angeles where CSULA’s forensic science program is located. She is renowned for her own research into Munchausen By Proxy, her landmark study of medical serial killers, and her publications on other topics that bring law, psychology, medicine, and ethics together.

 

LISTEN: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/suspensemagazine/2014/03/09/crime-and-science-radio-with-special-guest-bea-yorker

 

LINKS:

Medicine Net: Munchausen Syndrome: http://www.medicinenet.com/munchausen_syndrome/article.htm

Munchausen Syndrome, Cleveland Clinic: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/factitious_disorders/hic_munchausen_syndrome.aspx

Munchausen By Proxy: Cleveland Clinic: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/factitious_disorders/hic_munchausen_syndrome_by_proxy.aspx

Kid’s Health: Munchausen By Proxy Syndrome: http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/munchausen.html

Medicine Net: Munchausen By Proxy: http://www.medicinenet.com/munchausen_syndrome_by_proxy/article.htm

Angels of Death: The Doctors: Crime Library: http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/doctors/index_1.html

Angels of Death: The Female Nurses: Crime Library: http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/angels/female_nurses/index.html

Angels of Death: The Male Nurses: Crime Library: http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/angels/male_nurses/index.html

Serial Murder By Healthcare Professionals by BC Yorker, et al: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17199622

Serial Murder By Healthcare Professionals by BC Yorker, et al: As PDF File: http://www.chem.sc.edu/analytical/chem107/tox/chem107_toxarticle.pdf

Psychology Today: The Medical Murder Club: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-equation/201206/the-medical-murder-club

 

 

Crime and Science Radio: Dealing With the Dead: A Life in the Morgue: In Conversation with Dr. Cyril Wecht

Join DP Lyle and Jan Burke as they welcome Dr. Cyril Wecht, internationally renowned forensics pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht as we discuss his life in criminal justice and the numerous famous cases he has been involved with over his stellar career.

BIO: Dr. Cyril Wecht holds degrees in both medicine and law, receiving his MD degree from the University of Pittsburgh and his law degree from the University of Maryland. He holds professorships at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University School of Law. He has published nearly 600 scientific articles, is on the editorial board of more that 20 medical-legal and forensic scientific publications, and had published several books on forensic science. His list of famous cases is a who’s who in medical-legal investigation.

 

LISTEN: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/suspensemagazine/2014/03/07/crime-and-science-radio-with-special-guest-cyril-wecht-md

LINKS:

Dr. Wecht’s Website: http://www.cyrilwecht.com

Dr. Wecht’s books and videos: http://www.cyrilwecht.com/books.php

50 Years Later, Wecht Continues To Poke Holes in Report on JFK Assassination: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5017529-74/wecht-commission-specter#axzz2tuBTchS1

Dr. Cyril Wecht Believes Killers of JFK, RFK, MLK Had Help: http://www.vindy.com/news/2013/may/01/renowned-pathologist-makes-a-case-for-co/

Dr. Cyril Wecht Lectures on the JFK Assassination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-muQL-QPKeM

Dr. Cyril Wecht on JFK Assassination: Let’s Uncover the Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtUL-BpZAu8

Crime Library: JonBenet: From Impressions To Book by Dr. Katherine Ramsland: http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics/cyril_wecht/6.html

Dr. Cyril Wecht Discusses Forensic Challenges of Cold Cases: http://www.wtae.com/news/local/allegheny/Dr-Cyril-Wecht-discusses-forensic-challenges-of-cold-cases/19648550

Dr. Cyril Wecht: The Benefits of Forensic Credentialing: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-justice/real-csi/dr-cyril-wecht-the-benefits-of-forensic-credentialing/

Cyril H. Wecht: What I Know: http://www.pittsburghquarterly.com/index.php/What-Do-I-Know/what-do-i-know-with-cyril-h-wecht.html

Dr. Cyril H. Wecht: Pittsburgh’s Polymath: http://www.popularpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-info/pittsburgh-history/famous-pittsburghers/dr-cyril-wecht.aspx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bacteria and Time Of Death

 

 

One of the most important things the ME must determine in any death investigation is the time of death. This determination can support or destroy alibis and suspect and witness statements, and point the finger at certain individuals while directing it away from others.

The ME uses various techniques to make his “best guess” as to the victim’s time of death. Things like body temperature, rigor mortis, lividity, stomach contents, and a few other determinations. Unfortunately, most of these are only marginally accurate.

Here is an article I wrote on this subject: http://www.dplylemd.com/DPLyleMD/Art-Timely_death.html

Any tool that can help make this assessment more accurate would be welcome.

Researchers at Sam Houston State University’s Department of Biological Sciences are looking into just such a tool. Bacteria. Just as insects visit a corpse in a more or less predictable pattern, it seems that bacteria do also.

We’ll see how this pans out but it’s very interesting.

 

 

Look Who’s Teaching at CraftFest

 

 

If you haven’t yet signed up for ThrillerFest and CraftFest, this might nudge you in that direction. ThrillerFest/CraftFest will be held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, July 8-12. 2014.

With the publication of the new ITW anthology FACE OFF, and with many of these NY Times bestselling authors teaching at CraftFest, this year will be special.

Don’t miss it. Sign up now.

ThrillerFest: http://thrillerwriters.org/programs/thrillerfest/

CraftFest: http://thrillerfest.com/craftfest/

CraftFest Schedule: http://thrillerfest.com/craftfest-2/schedule/

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Don’t Look For Me by Loren D. Estleman

 

Don’t Look For Me by Loren Estleman

Forge Books

March 18, 2014

ISBN-10: 0765331217

ISBN-13: 978-0765331212

288 pages

Loren Estleman writes great books and has created a truly iconic protagonist in Amos Walker. I have been a fan for years but this story is one of his best. Old enemies, new enemies, and Walker’s usual difficulties playing well with others are all part of this fast-paced and convoluted story. When a wife disappears and her final note simple states Don’t Look For Me, Amos is brought is to find her. But what begins as a simple missing spouse case becomes something else again—-murder, drugs, foreign agents, organized crime, and much more. As the body count rises, Amos finds himself involved with a young woman known simply as Smoke who just might be more than she seems. An old, tricky, and ruthless nemesis enters stage left and the story kicks to an entirely new level. Loved it.

 

Crime and Science Radio: A New Lab, A New Approach to Forensic Science: An Interview with Dr. Max M. Houck, Director of the Washington D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences

 

Dr. Max M. Houck is an internationally-recognized forensic expert who has worked for the FBI Laboratory, at a medical examiner’s office, in the private sector, and in academia. His casework includes the Branch Davidian Investigation, the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon, the D.B. Cooper case, and the West Memphis Three case, among hundreds of others. He served for 6 years as the Chair of the Forensic Science Educational Program Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) and serves on other committees, including for Interpol. Dr. Houck has published widely in books and journals. He is a founding Editor of the journal Forensic Science Policy and Management and has also co-authored a textbook with Dr. Jay Siegel, Fundamentals of Forensic Science. In 2012, he was in the top 1% of connected professionals on LinkedIn. Dr. Houck lives and works in Washington, DC as the Director of the DC Department of Forensic Sciences (www.dfs.dc.gov).

LISTEN: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/suspensemagazine/2014/03/01/crime-and-science-radio-with-special-guest-max-houck

LINKS:

BOOKS BY DR. MAX HOUCK:

Fundamentals of Forensic Science: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123749895

Science of Crime Scenes:

https://www.elsevier.com/books/the-science-of-crime-scenes/houck/978-0-12-386464-2

Succeeding as an Expert Witness:

http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781420051629

OTHER LINKS:

Washington, DC Department of Forensic Sciences http://www.dfs.dc.gov

Photo gallery for Dept of Forensic Sciences http://dfs.dc.gov/multimedia/forensic-sciences-photo-gallery

Washington, DC Official Website http://dc.gov/DC

American Academy of Forensic Science http://www.aafs.org

Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) List of Accredited Universities http://fepac-edu.org/accredited-universities

Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (National Academy of Sciences study, free download) http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12589

How Does Forensic Science Affect Your Life? http://crimelabproject.wordpress.com/how-does-forensic-science-affect-your-life/

National Forensic Science Technology Center http://www.nfstc.org

FBI Forensic Science Laboratory http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab

Forensic Magazine http://www.forensicmag.com

PBS Frontline: Waco: The Inside Story http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/

National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial http://pentagonmemorial.org

Crime Library: DB Cooper http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/scams/DB_Cooper/index.html