Coroner Talk™ | Death Investigation Training | Police and Law Enforcement

There are over 900,000 law enforcement officers in the United States, and they are honored on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (L.E.A.D.), being shown that the community recognizes the difficulty of their job and supports them as they provide a public service. The day is dedicated to all members of law enforcement, but the focus is on police and similar state and local agencies. It was started by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S), which partners with organizations across the country to make the day happen.

First observed in 2015, National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day came about in the wake of the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, officer-involved shooting of Michael Brown, at a time when there was much scrutinization of police officers and concerns about police brutality. Observants of the day spend it thanking police officers, wearing blue, and turning on blue lights at their homes.

Having a police force is a relatively new concept in the scope of history. During colonial times, forces were part-time and privately funded. Volunteer night watches were also common. Boston started one in 1636, followed by New York City in 1658 and Philadelphia in 1700. These were not very efficient, and those who were put on duty were often put there for punishment.

When cities grew larger, night watches were even more ineffective. The first full-time, publicly funded police force in the country was formed in Boston in 1838. Boston was a large shipping area and the need for policing grew out of the need to protect shipping. Merchants had long hired officers to watch over their goods, and then found a way to pass off the costs to the public by convincing them it was for the common good.

In the south, slavery was the original driving force behind the creation of police forces. Beginning in the early eighteenth century, officers chased down runaway slaves and prevented slave revolts. Following Reconstruction, many local sheriffs did similar work to that of the earlier patrols, by enforcing segregation and the disenfranchisement of freed slaves.

By the late 1880s, all major cities had police forces. Officers were there to protect public order, which meant different things to different people. Businessmen with connections to politicians did not want disruptions to their workforce from labor-union organizers and immigrants. Political machines were also rampant at the time, and heads of police were picked by political bosses. It was not until well into the twentieth century that there was a move towards the professionalization of police officers.

National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, also known as L.E.A.D., is observed next on Wednesday, January 9th, 2019. It has been observed annually on January 9th since 2015.

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

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Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

In this episode, I discuss the ending of the Coroner Talk Podcast and the decisions we made going forward.  After 4 years and 500 thousand downloads in over 140 countries, it was time to retire this work and move efforts somewhere else.

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

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Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

A Postmortem Reconstruction is developed by reconstructing facial characteristics of an unidentified deceased person with decomposed or damaged human tissue. The image will first show trauma to the victim and is repaired digitally or by applying paints directly to the photograph, covering the injured area making the features recognizable. The drawing repairs the trauma to the victim so that the final image will be more presentable when asking for law enforcement or the public's assistance in identification. The final reconstruction is used as an investigative aid for identification and can help to expedite an investigation to lead to the discovery of the unknown.

SketchCop® FACETTE Face Design System Software is arguably the first facial composite software capable of yielding the same quality product offered by that of a police sketch artist. It is designed to help produce a consistent end-product to assist in the reduction of investigative cycle times.

SketchCop® FACETTE is portable and easy to use.   Our database is populated with sketched facial components.  This is especially helpful for non-artists who want to create high-quality facial composites.  Our Adobe® licensed editing tools allow users to fine-tune their composite images to make the same subtle changes a police artist would using a pencil and eraser.  Those who want to increase eyewitness satisfaction can use our latest version of SketchCop® FACETTE to import their composite images into Adobe® Photoshop® to further refine their images. With SketchCop® FACETTE, users can focus on the most important part of creating any facial composite – the eyewitness interview.

Sergeant (Ret.) Michael W. Streed is an internationally-recognized forensic facial imaging expert providing facial identification services to America's largest police agencies.

Web Site URL: www.sketchcop.com

Public Email address: [email protected]

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

.

Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

Many investigators are unaware of the extreme risks that are present when dealing with blood and bodily fluids. There are many bloodborne pathogens (BBP) infections that can be transmitted through contact with another person’s blood or bodily fluid that may contain blood including but not limited to, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV. Most exposures are caused by a lack of universal precautions on some level, whether they are the result of failure to use proper personal protective equipment (PPE) or are due to an unintentional sharp left in an inappropriate container for disposal.

Once you look at some crime scene bio-hazards statistics you will have a new respect of crime scene protection.  The caution here is; don't let the day to day work desensitize you from the real dangers of blood and body fluids.

That’s a pretty sobering statistic, but very real. Here are the CDC stats to prove it:

1 in every 26 people has Hepatitis B.

• Approximately 12 million Americans have been infected with Hepatitis B.
• Over 1.4 million are chronically infected.
• About 50% of the people in the United States with Hepatitis B are unaware of their infection.
• Up to 100,000 new people will be infected each year.
• Approximately 5,000 people will die each year from Hepatitis B and its’ complications.
• Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than the AIDS virus.
• The virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.

1 in every 77 people has Hepatitis C.

• Approximately 3.2 million people in the United States have Hepatitis C.
• Over 75% of the people in the United States with Hepatitis C are unaware of their infection.
• Hepatitis C is the most common bloodborne pathogen infection in the US.
• Hepatitis C is the most common cause of death from liver disease.

1 out of every 258 people has HIV.

• There are an estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States.
• 1 out of 5 are unaware of their infection.
• There are 50,000 new HIV diagnoses every year.
• Every 9.5 minutes someone in the United States is infected with HIV.
• Over 25% of people living with HIV or AIDS also has Hepatitis

Sources: Centers for Disease Control, WHO 

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

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Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

I this episode I share the conversation  I had on the podcast Tending Your Dreams. The host draws out background information not regularly shared on this show. We also talk about the development of the Academy and the book CODE. This is an interesting episode because it gives a good behind the scenes look at this show and the Academy.  

Find the Tending Your Dreams Podcast on  Apple Podcast or your favorite podcast directory.

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

.

Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

Water intoxication, also known as water poisoning, hyperhydration, overhydration, or water toxemia is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside safe limits by excessive water intake.

Under normal circumstances, accidentally consuming too much water is exceptionally rare. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume large amounts of water or from long bouts of exercise during which excessive amounts of fluid were consumed. In addition, water cure, a method of torture in which the victim is forced to consume excessive amounts of water, can cause water intoxication.

Water, just like any other substance, can be considered a poison when over-consumed in a specific period of time. Water intoxication mostly occurs when water is being consumed in a high quantity without adequate electrolyte intake.

At the onset of this condition, fluid outside the cells has an excessively low amount of solutes, such as sodium and other electrolytes, in comparison to fluid inside the cells, causing the fluid to move into the cells to balance its concentration. This causes the cells to swell. In the brain, this swelling increases intracranial pressure (ICP), which leads to the first observable symptoms of water intoxication:  headache, personality changes, changes in behavior, confusion, irritability, and drowsiness.

These are sometimes followed by difficulty breathing during exertion, muscle weakness & pain, twitching, or cramping, nausea, vomiting, thirst, and a dulled ability to perceive and interpret sensory information. As the condition persists, papillary and vital signs may result including bradycardia and widened pulse pressure. The cells in the brain may swell to the point where blood flow is interrupted resulting in cerebral edema. Swollen brain cells may also apply pressure to the brain stem causing central nervous system dysfunction. Both cerebral edema and interference with the central nervous system are dangerous and could result in seizures, brain damage, coma or death.

 Dr. Banerjee has been a practicing forensic pathologist for 6 years after training at the top programs such as The Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.  She is board certified in both Anatomic and Forensic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology. In addition, she brings a unique perspective with insight into medical conditions as she completed a year of internal medicine training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

During her career, she has conducted over 1400 postmortem examinations including handling over 100 homicide cases. She also has been called to multiple crime scenes to provide immediate expertise.

In addition to postmortem examinations, she prides herself in academic endeavors. Dr. Banerjee is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology at Brown University. She has also published multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals.

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

.

Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigator.

The purpose of an investigation is to obtain information that will provide clues for further inquiry,  establish facts on which to base probable cause and develop enough evidence to convict the perpetrator

All of these actions are governed by a number of rules that apply to all facets of the investigation. Those rules are commonly referred to as rules of evidence. If an investigator violates any of the rules of evidence during the investigation the evidence gathered may be declared inadmissible in court and therefore create an obstacle for the prosecution.

While there are times when it is permissible to use deception when performing an investigation, it is important to understand the limited times when deception is appropriate. Undercover operations employ deception when investigators pose as criminals to gain the confidence of suspects or suspect groups.

However, the use of deception has its limitations and does not include the actual evidence, reports, or other types of information submitted to be true and accurate.

If an investigator does any of the following it not only negates the value of the evidence but also may be the basis for the investigator to become the subject of a criminal investigation.

• Creating evidence or planting evidence
• Lying in court (testifying)
• Lying in reports, notebooks, or other administrative or investigative reports
• Lying in any administrative or civil proceedings

Investigators often must conduct searches to obtain physical evidence. Those searches must fall within the restrictions of the 4th amendment to be considered reasonable and the evidence obtained from the search to be admissible.

Searches for evidence fall into two primary categories.

1.) A search pursuant to a duly executed search warrant; and

2.) A warrantless search.

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

.

Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

In our society, Public support is key in every aspect of policing from the needed appropriations to fund a department to the cooperation of individuals on the street. It is important to consider public perception when examining both the role and consequences of police in a democratic society. How the public views the police can determine the legitimacy of police authority and citizen compliance with the law.

Public perception has a tremendous impact on the success on an investigation in the interview process. Statements are more easily gotten when both the investigator and the agency present a positive and professional image.

We live in an era where law enforcement is coming under greater scrutiny as advances in technology has armed members of the public with the ability to video record and publish law enforcement contacts through a variety of social media outlets.

Sir Robert Peel said, “Police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.”

There are two major factors that influence the public’s perception of law enforcement. Those factors are:

1. The investigator’s appearance
2. The investigator’s behavior

A well-groomed investigator can portray confidence, professionalism, and a command presence that helps to enlist the cooperation of those with whom the investigator must interview. Beards, long mustaches, offensive tattoos, morbid obesity and any other element of unprofessional appearance creates a negative image in conflict with the professional objective that the investigator is attempting to achieve.

To enlist public support, an investigator must first earn the public’s respect. An investigator’s presence sends a message and the degree of support that the investigator receives depends on whether the message is positive or negative.

The first level of force on the force continuum is often a police presence. A professional image that exudes confidence is an effective force and can be instrumental in maintaining control when interacting with members of the public.

It is often said that investigators live in a glass house. It is certainly true that uniformed investigators draw the public’s attention and are often scrutinized more closely than the general public. The public holds investigators to a higher standard than that of other citizens and expects those investigators to be an example to the community. Any violation of the law will be noticed and likely reported.

Investigators who have a reputation for even minor violations begin to lose their effectiveness as an investigator once the habitual violations become known.

We are living in an era that encourages citizens to become more watchful of law enforcement and to report any violations. With today’s technology and the proliferation of cell phones with video capability, the report of such violations are often supported with video footage. Even the slightest indication of bias can have a negative effect on the professional image.

In our society, Public support is key in every aspect of policing from the needed appropriations to fund a department to the cooperation of individuals on the street. It is important to consider public perception when examining both the role and consequences of police in a democratic society. How the public views the police can determine the legitimacy of police authority and citizen compliance with the law.

Public perception has a tremendous impact on the success on an investigation in the interview process. Statements are more easily gotten when both the investigator and the agency present a positive and professional image.

.

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

.

Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

Summer Yancey

Experienced Investigator with a demonstrated history of working in the executive office industry. Skilled in Emergency Management, Death Investigation, Private Investigations, Confidential Document Management, Event Management, Team Building, and Public Speaking. Strong mental/behavioral health and medicolegal professional with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), focused in Criminal Justice/Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage.

A digital magazine focused on the death investigation community. Dedicated to improving skills and enriching lives of investigators.

Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, Police, and Forensic students. This hybrid course looks at death investigation from a combined perspective of law enforcement and medicolegal death investigations.

MLDI online Academy is a Nationally Accredited online training designed to teach all aspects of death investigation and scene management. Unlike any other coroner training today,  this course offers a blended learning style combining online self-paced video training, along with opportunities for live interaction with instructors several times throughout the program, and a unique private Facebook group open only to students of Coroner School™ where everyone can interact and ask questions.

MLDI online Academy is a six-week guided course with certified instructors. However, at the end of the six weeks, you still have access to all videos, downloadable material, and the private Facebook group. You can return to the online school anytime to finish up the courses or as a refresher in certain topic areas.

This exclusive first of its kind Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) kit contains all the items you need to document and collect evidence from the most important piece of evidence at any death scene – The Body. Designed for Coroners, Medical Examiner Investigators, and anyone responsible to investigate and process a death.

This kit is equipped to collect fragile evidence such as DNA and fibers, take post-mortem temperatures, document the scene through photography and sketching, as well as properly collect transport, and store material evidence.

This MLDI Kit can be used in large agencies for multiple MDI’s or one single kit for smaller agencies. Packaged in a sturdy Pelican carry case with custom dividers and a pocketed pouch system. Built strong to withstand the demands from scene to scene.

The Death Investigation Training Academy was founded to play an integral role in the death investigation community.  The need for quality accredited training is in short supply and high demand. Using a combination of classroom training, live on site scenario exercises,  and web-based training, the Death Investigation Training Academy is filling the need of 21st-century investigators.

A thousand questions littered my brain.  The three letter word everyone waited for was lodged in my throat.  My stomach wanted to heave.  My knees buckled.  Arms supported mine.  I was a marionette.  They waited patiently but no words came. The procedure was repeated.  I again faced the decomposing, torn mask of a face that used to smile at me, at a mouth that offered encouragement.  I finally blurted “Yes!”

This arcane cavity was a vault, a cage, a bunker. I felt cooler and weaker with each footstep.  We stopped.  I tried not to breathe.  The pungent odor inside that chamber was a suffocating mix of used kitty litter, rotten eggs and unwashed Styrofoam meat tray from the market carelessly left out overnight.  Disinfectant did not neutralize the foulness of death, grief, or confusion.  He’d been submerged inside a desolate, warm, bog for a week before being exhumed.

 My eyes closed reflexively. Detective Landeros leaned in and quietly said: “When you’re ready.”

 I felt I’d never be ready.  How can a wife ever be prepared to gaze upon the bludgeoned, detached head of her spouse five feet away? Seconds passed like minutes. My eyes slowly opened whereupon I saw Al’s contorted face, supported by a white sheet wrapped tightly around his severed neck. His eyeglasses were missing.  His face was knotted, his eyes puffy and black, incongruent with his light gray skin. Wide lacerations crisscrossed his head like a network of roads. His mouth was open and round with a swollen tongue which protruded off to the right at an angle. A cavernous gash framed his badly swollen right eye where a section of scalp was missing.

It was horrific. He was badly defaced. What did he do to deserve this viciousness?  What kind of monster inflicted this destruction?

A thousand questions littered my brain.  The three letter word everyone waited for was lodged in my throat.  My stomach wanted to heave.  My knees buckled.  Arms supported mine.  I was a marionette.  They waited patiently but no words came. The procedure was repeated.  I again faced the decomposing, torn mask of a face that used to smile at me, at a mouth that offered encouragement.  I finally blurted “Yes!”

On a summer day in July 1985, police made a grisly discovery in Northern Michigan: a satchel buried a mere couple of feet beneath the forest floor. A collection of garbage bags were inside, each one containing the severed limbs of a human body. The hands, feet, and head all belonged to Alan Canty—a local man who had disappeared the previous week. The rest of Canty's blood-encrusted remains would be found days later, scattered across the state.

To his family and friends, Alan Canty was a married, successful psychologist from the affluent Grosse Pointe neighborhood. Behind closed doors, he was something else entirely: the "Sugar Daddy" to teenage sex worker Dawn Spens. Over the course of their two-year relationship, Canty showered her with gifts, shelling out thousands to support her and her pimp-boyfriend John Carl Fry—who was known as "Lucky."

But even a man as wealthy as Alan Canty could not maintain such a lifestyle. When he revealed that his money had run out, Spens and Fry's patience had run thin. Furious that Canty wanted to end the relationship, Fry attacked the psychologist with a baseball bat. The grisly mutilation that followed, all done with a serrated Ginsu knife, was also Fry's handiwork.

John Carl Fry received a life sentence for his crimes. Spens, who was just 19 at the time of the murder, escaped with dismemberment charges and probation. Today, she walks free.  Partial Reprint from https://the-line-up.com/murder-and-dismemberment-in-the-motor-city 

Jan Canty, Ph.D. holds a Ph.D. in psychology. In 1985 her spouse was murdered and we were asked to identify his severed head in the morgue a week after he was exhumed. She has since written a yet-to-be-published book entitled Till Death We Did Part: Memoir of Deception, Murder, and Recovery

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