A photograph can provide documentation but can’t tell the whole story. This week on Pathology with Dr. Priya, a Zone 7 series, Dr. Priya Banerjee joins Sheryl McCollum to share why revisiting a cold-case scene, sometimes decades later, can completely shift an investigation. When she traveled for hours to inspect an identical car tied to a cold case, she discovered details impossible to see on paper. They talk about how vehicles can become part of the forensic story, why the setting itself matters, and how today’s technology can clarify what investigators once assumed. From seat position to power locks, their conversation highlights what’s lost when professionals rely only on reports and what’s gained when they return to the scene.

Highlights

• (0:00) Sheryl welcome listeners and introduces the topic: why visiting a scene is essential in cold-case investigations

• (1:00) Dr. Priya describers visiting a cold-case scene and inspecting an identical car for accuracy

• (2:15) The car as a crime scene: how transport vehicles create multiple evidence locations

• (3:30) How changing car technology, from manual locks to sensors, alters forensic interpretation

• (5:00) What revisitng a scene reveals that photos and reports cannot

• (10:00) Revisiting old neighborhoods and the effects of time, urban change, and memory on case context

• (12:00) Dr. Priya’s methodical process for documenting and photographing scene and how that strengthens her courtroom testimony

• (13:15) Returning submerged and long-missing vehicles and bringing families long-awaited closure

• (14:30) Dr. Priya on method, teamwork, and why working cold cases feels like giving back

• (20:45) Revisiting old files with fresh eyes: how old photos, modern technology, and tools like Othram and NamUs can finally move cold cases forward

About the Hosts

Dr. Priya Banerjee is a board-certified forensic pathologist with extensive experience in death investigation, clinical forensics, and courtroom testimony. A graduate of Johns Hopkins, she served for over a decade as Rhode Island’s state medical examiner and now runs a private forensic pathology practice. Her work includes military deaths, and high-profile investigations. Dr. Priya has also been featured as a forensic expert on platforms such as CrimeOnline and Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. She is a dedicated educator, animal lover, and proud mom.

Website: anchorforensicpathology.com

Twitter/X: @Autopsy_MD

Sheryl McCollum is an Emmy Award–winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnline, and the Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. She works as a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department and is the co- author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute (CCIRI), a nationally recognized nonprofit that brings together universities, law enforcement, and experts to help solve unsolved homicides, missing persons cases, and kidnappings.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter/X: @ColdCaseTips

Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

Instagram: @officialzone7podcast

If this episode gave you a new understanding of cold case investigations, share it with a friend and leave a review. Your support helps others discover the science, the stories, and the heart behind Pathology with Dr. Priya | A Zone 7 Series.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.