Overview:

Learn from some of the top names in forensic pathology, bite mark evidence, crime scene investigation and forensic toxicology.

Whether you are a new investigator or a seasoned veteran, you will learn valuable information about death investigation including: practicing forensic anthropology in an urban environment, blood stain analysis, altered death scenes, processing of human remains in a mass fatality event, bite mark evidence, coordinating the investigation of apparent natural cardiac deaths , and the role of the forensic nurse in the context of death investigation.

Who should attend?

Investigators
Nurses
Coroners
Paramedics
Crime Scene Technicians
Funeral Directors
Physicians
Dentists
Prosecution & Defense Attorneys
Medical Examiners
Law Enforcement
College Students

Benefits of Attending:

- Improve your investigative skills

- Learn new investigative techniques from the experts and how to apply
this knowledge to your own cases

- Learn about emerging trends in forensic science

- Network with peers

- Earn CEU's or POST-certified hours

2010 Presentations:

Forensic Anthropology in the Urban Setting 

Dr. Mark Guilbeau will discuss his career as a forensic anthropologist and medicolegal death investigator. Special emphasis will be placed on the obstacles encountered when practicing forensic anthropology in a very fluid urban environment. 

Dr. Guilbeau is the Senior Investigator for the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. In addition, he is a Forensic Anthropologist who was taught by the founder of the “Body Farm”, Dr. Bill Bass, at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Guilbeau is nationally renowned expert on the topic of saw marks on human bones. In addition to his duties as a death investigator, he has been both the Forensic Anthropologist for the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office as well as the State of Georgia.

Blood Pattern Interpretation
Altered Death Scene Investigation

George Schiro will address the identification, classification and interpretation of bloodstain analysis. Additionally George will spend time describing the recognition, evaluation and processing of the altered death scene.

Mr. Schiro is a forensic scientist and crime scene investigator with over 20 years experience. He has been court qualified as an expert in crime scene investigation/reconstruction, DNA analysis, shoeprint identification, blood spatter interpretation, latent fingerprint development, serology, forensic science, trajectory reconstruction, fracture match analysis, and hair comparison.

He has qualified as an expert over 140 times in 28 Louisiana parish courts, two Louisiana city courts, federal court, and county courts in Arkansas, California, Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada and New York. He has also consulted on cases in 21 states, for the United States Army, and the United Kingdom. Throughout his career, he has worked over 2800 cases.

Reponses to Mass Fatality Events

Dennis McGowan will address the issues of responding to mass fatality incidents. Particular emphasis will be placed on recovery, processing and identification of human remains on a mass scale. Particular attention will be placed on responses to terrorist attacks with special emphasis placed on biological and nuclear events.

Mr. McGowan is currently a private consultant to the British as well as the Republic of Ireland's government on the topic of Mass Fatalities events as related to acts of terrorism. Intimately involved with the recovery efforts at Ground Zero, Dennis was named Morgue Manager for all human remains recovered at the site of the America's worst act of terrorism.

Dennis is the former Chief Investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office and led the investigations into the Olympic Park Bombings as well the Mark Barton Day Trader Mass Homicide event otherwise known as “The Buckhead Shootings”. Prior to his tenure with FCMEO Dennis was the Chief Investigator for the New Jersey State Medical Examiner's Office. Dennis has author two books, “Bombs and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction” as well as “Mass Casualty Management”.

Examination and Interpretation of Human Bite Mark Evidence

Dr. Richard A. Weems will be guiding students through the process of identification, recovery and matching of bite mark evidence both at the homicide scene as well as in the morgue, with special attention on documentation, preservation and photography of bite mark evidence. He will share his experience in conducting dental identification at the site of the World Trade Center disaster.

Dr. Weems is a forensic odontologist and Assistant Professor of Dentistry at UAB. He has been a dental consultant to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences since 1987 and has investigated over 100 cases involving criminal human bite mark analysis and victim identification through dental remains resulting from homicide and accidental death. He is the Co Director of the Alabama Dental Mass Disaster Identification Team and is a member of the national mass disaster response team, DMORT, of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Weems deployed to New York as part in his regional DMORT Team's activity in assisting in the identification of victims from the World Trade Center disaster. Dr. Weems holds his DMD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry.

The Investigation of Natural Deaths from Cardio Vascular Disease for Police

Dr. Karen Sullivan will be addressing students regarding the investigation of apparent natural cardiac death, which is the most common form of natural death, as well as communication between law enforcement officers and the forensic pathologist regarding needs from investigators at the death scene.

Dr. Sullivan is a Board Certified Forensic Pathologist with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's in Atlanta, Georgia. She completed her medical degree at Morehouse School of Medicine and did her postgraduate residencies in Anatomical, Clinical and Forensic Pathology at Emory University. Dr. Sullivan also holds a master's degree in Human Anatomy from UNC Chapel Hill.

The Role of the Forensic Nurse in Death Investigation

Rae Wooten,BSN,RN,SANE will discuss the role of the forensic nurse in the context of death investigation. She will speak about the unique qualifications that nurses possess which make them uniquely qualified for the role of medicolegal death investigator. She will also focus on her time as the Chief Medicolegal Investigator for Charleston, S.C.

Rae Wooten grew up in Columbia, South Carolina before moving to the Charleston area in 1973. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and subsequently worked as an RN in various settings before joining the Charleston County Coroner's Office in April 1995. She became Chief Deputy Coroner in July 1996 and continued in that position until September 1, 2006. Rae is nationally renowned as the “Nurse Coroner of Charleston”. Over her career, she has played a pivotal role in defining the role of the nurse as it applies to the practice of medicolegal death investigation.

To print the Forensic Symposium 2010 Brochure, click here.

Call North Georgia Continuing Education at 706-864-1918 to register
or to get more information.

Phone: 706-864-1918
Fax: 706-864-1686
Email: conted@northgeorgia.edu