LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
Unless he actually ejaculated in his underwear, I don't see why there would be sperm in underwear he simply wore. But maybe that's one of those questions about men I'd just rather not know! I'm also not sure that semen would go back into solution when re-wetted like sugar or salt. So it might be possible, for all I know, but you'd probably have to ask a serologist or DNA technician. I'm sorry I can't be more help.
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Wow, that's specific. Unfortunately I can't really tell you--that's more of a pathology question. It takes a lot longer when the body is not exposed to the elements, so I would think at least a few years. I had a buried body that still had quite a bit of flesh after 2 years. I had a body in an attic that was a skeleton where it had been exposed and still had flesh where it had been wrapped in plastic after 3 years. The process will also be affected by temperature, so if the building is not heated then the heating/cooling cycle of the seasons will make it go slightly faster than if it were at a nice consistent A/C setting. Also if the room is very well sealed and the atmosphere is not very humid, the body might turn into a mummy instead of a skeleton.
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That depends on the requirements of the agency you work for. Some will require you to go through the police academy, many won't.
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Yes, rain can be extremely damaging, if the evidence is something that can be washed away, like blood, fibers, fingerprints, small bits of anything, even bullet casings. Something permanent like a bullet hole, not so much. It depends on what the evidence is and how hard it rains. A (fresh!) tarp can help unless it's something wet, like blood spatter, that a tarp would smear.
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Help Desk Technician
Are you required to report it if you find something suspicious or illegal on a client computer?
Aircraft Mechanic
Did you ever catch something critical right before a plane was about to take off?
Lifeguard
Are most public pools just gross lakes of bodily fluids?
I'm sorry but I have absolutely no idea. We don't have anything like those types of facilities where I work.
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Sorry I didn't answer this sooner! I'm sure the blood could be used for DNA analysis, and it should be collected in a sterile vial or bottle. But then it would need to be refrigerated.
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That depends entirely on where you want to work and what they require. At the coroner's office they required a bachelor's degree in one of the natural sciences like biology or chemistry. Where I work now, they only require a high school diploma, but give extra points in the interviewing process for higher education so we all have at least a bachelor's. If you want to do DNA work in a laboratory they will probably want you to have a master's or PhD in genetics. If you want to do crime scene work they might want an associate's or bachelor's in forensic science. So there is no one simple answer to that question.
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