Forensics: It Must Take A “Special” Person

In Murder by Degrees, Dr. Lydia Weston works alongside police to investigate the suspicious death of Anna Ward, a young chambermaid found in the Schuylkill River. This event explores the collaboration between medicolegal investigators and forensic scientists in solving mysteries.

Forensic anthropology, the study of human skeletal material in criminal investigations, was Kori’s first love in science; initially enchanted with the poetic names of various skeletal features, this first gateway opened up the larger scientific world of histology, morphology and pattern recognition, and taphonomy, and eventually led to a lifelong career in forensic science. Kori will review her most favorite aspects of forensic anthropology including the analysis of human bone microscopy in age-at-death estimation, human vs. non-human skeletal features of the skull and pelvis, and some fun facts about animal scavenging of human remains. She’ll also share some thoughts on working with the dead: the challenges and rewards of this unusual line of work and provide a glimpse into how one attempts to be a somewhat functional human when their day job is working violent person crime cases.

Sari will also be reviewing the role of the medical examiner and Medicolegal death investigator within Deschutes County. **The presentation will include photographic and descriptive examples of challenging scenes and bodily changes that professionals encounter in real life.**