Whether you are a Forensic Files fanatic, or just fascinated by the dazzling new world of forensic super-sleuths, you will love going behind the scenes of the show that has set the standard for true crime television. The Official Forensic Files Casebook takes you into a world of violence and mayhem, but also shows how the dedicated forensic scientists are making it harder than ever for anyone to get away with murder. Book jacket.
Never-before-seen case histories, explanations of how forensics can solve even the most obscure crime, examples of major forensic breakthroughs and blunders, and more are included in this second book from the producers of Court TV's "Forensic Files."
THE ULTIMATE READERS’ GUIDE TO THE ART OF FORENSICS! An intrepid investigator crawls through miles of air conditioning ducts to capture the implicating fibers of a suspect’s wool jacket . . . A forensic entomologist discovers insects in the grill of a car and nails down a drug dealer’s precise geographical path . . . A gluttonous criminal’s fingerprints are lifted from a chocolate truffle. . . . Filled with these and many other intriguing true stories, and packed with black and white illustrations and photographs, The Forensic Casebook draws on interviews with police personnel and forensic scientists—including animal examiners, botanists, zoologists, firearms specialists, and autoposists—to uncover the vast and detailed underworkings of criminal investigation. Encyclopedic in scope, this riveting, authoritative book leaves no aspect of forensic science untouched, covering such fascinating topics as: • Securing a crime scene • Identifying blood splatter patterns • Collecting fingerprints—and feet, lip, and ear prints • Interpreting the stages of a body’s decay • Examining hair and fiber evidence • Trace evidence from firearms and explosives • “Lifting” DNA prints • Computer crime and forensic photography • Career paths in criminal science Lucidly written and spiked with real crime stories, The Forensic Casebook exposes the nitty gritty that other books only touch upon. Here is a reference book as addictive as a page-turning novel of suspense.
Looks at the investigative process of five murder cases, including the O.J. Simpson case and the Woodchipper case, detailing how the forensic evidence was used at trial, and how it was used to exonerate or convict the killers.
"Features over 150 archival photographs never before released from the forensic files of the Division of Physical Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC"--P. 2 of cover.
Lee presents a true-crime page-turner on five notorious cases, including the Phil Spector shooting case, the brutal murder of a nun in Toledo, and genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“Brilliant and persistent scientific work that brought murderers like John List, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey MacDonald to justice.”—Publishers Weekly “Landmarks of forensic science [that] are representative of the evolution of the discipline and its increasingly prominent role in crime solving.”—Library Journal Modern ballistics and the infamous Sacco and Vanzetti case. DNA analysis and the 20th century’s most wanted criminal—the hunt for Josef Mengele. “The Iceman”—a contract killer and one-man murder machine. Scientific analysis and history’s greatest publishing fraud—the Hitler Diaries. How the “perfect crime” can land you in prison. In a world so lawless that crimes must be prioritized, some cases still stand out—not only for their depravity but as landmarks of criminal detection. Updated with new material, this collection of 100 groundbreaking cases vividly depicts the horrendous crimes, colorful detectives, and grueling investigations that shaped the science of forensics. In concise, fascinating detail, Colin Evans shows how far we’ve come from Sherlock Holmes’s magnifying glass. Although no crime in this book is ordinary, many of the perpetrators are notorious: Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, John List, Bruno Hauptmann, Jeffrey Macdonald, Wayne Williams. Along with the cases solved, fifteen forensic techniques are covered—including fingerprinting, ballistics, toxicology, DNA analysis, and psychological profiling. Many of these are crime fighting “firsts” that have increased the odds that today’s techno sleuths will get the bad guys, clear the innocent—and bring justice to the victims and their families.
Death. It’s not only inevitable and frightening, it’s intriguing and fascinating–especially today, when science continues to make ever more stunning advances in the investigation of the oldest and darkest of mysteries. To discover the how and why of death, unearth its roots, and expose the mechanics of its grim handiwork is, at least in some sense, to master it. And in the process, if a criminal can be caught or closure found, so much the better. Enter Robert Mann, forensic anthropologist, deputy scientific director of the U.S. government’s Central Identification Laboratory, and, some might say, the Sherlock Holmes of death detectives. When the dead reveal some of their most sensational, macabre, and poignant tales, more often than not it’s Mann who’s been listening. Now, in this remarkable casebook, he offers an in-depth behind-the-scenes portrait of his sometimes gruesome, frequently dangerous, and always compelling profession. In cases around the world, Mann has been called upon to unmask killers with nothing but the bones of their victims to guide him, draw out clues that restore identities to the nameless dead, recover remains thought to be hopelessly lost, and piece together the events that can unlock the truth behind the most baffling deaths. The infamous 9/11 terror attacks, which killed thousands; the unplanned killing that inaugurated serial murderer Jeffrey Dahmer’s grisly spree; mysterious military fatalities from World War II to the Cold War to Vietnam, including the amazing case of the Vietnam War’s Unknown Soldier–all the fascinating stories are here, along with photos from the author’s personal files. Mystery hangings, mass graves, errant body parts, actual skeletons in closets, and a host of homicides steeped in bizarre clues and buried secrets–they’re all in a day’s work for one dedicated detective whose job begins when a life ends.
Forensic mental health assessment (FMHA) continues to develop and expand as a specialization. Since the publication of the First Edition of Forensic Mental Health Assessment: A Casebook over a decade ago, there have been a number of significant changes in the applicable law, ethics, science, and practice that have shaped the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of FMHA. The Second Edition of Forensic Mental Health Assessment is thoroughly updated in light of the developments and changes in the field, while still keeping the unique structure of presenting cases, detailed reports, and specific teaching points on a wide range of topics. Unlike anything else in the literature, it provides genuine (although disguised) case material, so trainees as well as legal and mental health professionals can review how high-quality forensic evaluation reports are written; it features contributions from leading experts in forensic psychology and psychiatry, providing samples of work in their particular areas of specialization; and it discusses case material in the larger context of broad foundational principles and specific teaching points, making it a valuable resource for teaching, training, and continuing education. Now featuring 50 real-world cases, this new edition covers topics including criminal responsibility, sexual offending risk evaluation, federal sentencing, capital sentencing, capacity to consent to treatment, personal injury, harassment and discrimination, guardianship, juvenile commitment, transfer and decertification, response style, expert testimony, evaluations in a military context, and many more. It will be invaluable for anyone involved in assessments for the courts, including psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and attorneys, as well as for FMHA courses.
