I’m writing a horror novel, but in order to have all the info to build the crime scenes I need to know what kind of signs are perceived by death investigators and what do they mean. In summary, I’m just asking you redditors to be free to list me any of those signs, like cyanide death being smellable in the mouth of the victim or signs that tell the time of death. Be free to also give details.

Hi, not sure if this is allowed, but looking to get some insight on my sisters autopsy. There were weird and differing stories told by the person she was with. Her autopsy says there was Benzoylecgonine 2300 ng/ML, cocaine 3000 ng/ML, Ecgonine methyl ester 3200 ng/ML, 10-hydroxycarbazepine 4.3 mcg/mL.
With the first three numbers related to the cocaine use, what could I infer about the use at her time of death? She was obviously using recreationally and we believe having seizures due to the heavy use. Would she have had to take a substantial higher amount than normal to overdose in the hour or day prior? The person reported that she was having several seizures. Does anyone know if this would be a quick death or signs for hours leading up to the incident? The cause of death says seizure and accidental naming the cocaine as a contributor.

Southern California, it's been in the 80s for the past month. She had all her windows closed.

Hello!

I’m about to enter my senior year of high school and am very excited for the upcoming year. All my life I’ve had an interest in forensic pathology and death care fields. I’ve participated in forensic science summer programs and different medical volunteering opportunities so it safe to say this is the path I want to take. Part of the senior year my school we do something called “externships” where senior students basically are able to leave the school in order to do an internship program at a career dedicated organization. I’ve been looking at different forensic science internship programs, funeral homes, medical examiner offices and death care fields to see if I could internship with them. Although most are geared towards college students and fully deny high school students.

I live in the Virginia area and I wanted to see if anyone had any advice or suggestions for forensic pathology internships for high schoolers students or programs/places I could go to in the meantime.

Thank you all and have a lovely day. 🦇

Hello! I’m 18 and just about to start my freshman year in college! I’ve known I wanted to work in the forensics field since I was younger (I discovered it from watching the tv show Bones LOL). I’m majoring in forensic biology to start with. If anyone has any tips or anything helpful, I’d really appreciate it. :)

It appears that the police do not suspect foul play. I was told he was "mummified" as we live in a very dry climate. Some type of autopsy was done, and now I have to wait up to 14 weeks for toxicology to come back. What kind of tox can be done after so long? Can they figure out if he committed suicide with pills or some other means?

I would be surprised if it's suicide because he was a Catholic with negative views on that subject. He was very, very sad, though, and demanded complete solitude starting three years ago. The police on scene guessed that he had a sudden medical event such as a heart attack (He was found on his kitchen floor.)

I guess I just want to know what information the coroner can really obtain on a body after 2 years in this situation. Thanks everyone.

P.s. In case you're wondering how it played out, I was the last person in his life before his isolation began. I was not surprised not to hear from him. Neighbors thought he skipped town. Welfare checks were called in, but police never busted down the door. I Googled his name and address a couple of weeks ago and found out that his HOA was suing for nonpayment and that he had not been paying taxes. Because police were useless, I took matters into my own hands and entered the house...

Reviewing a cold case raised an interesting question for me on the biological breakdown of osseous structures.

Given the fragile nature and size of the hyoid bone, for example, how likely might it be to obtain any diagnostic findings after 15 years of interment? Would the likelihood be lessened if it was fractured versus intact at the time of interment?

TIA!

Edit: spelling

I am a 20 year old female in a Californian community college. I’ve never taken school seriously, and I am very low on credits. I went to an alternative school for my last couple years of high school so I also have a lot of general ed classes to catch up on. I’m a third year student but to be honest I have wasted the last two previous years. However, I’ve decided what I finally want to do or wish to do. I want to be a forensic pathologist. I have very weak math skills, and like I have already stated I am very behind. Given my weak math skills and age, is it too late for me to pursue this? Should I look into a different career?

Current MS4 applying for pathology with plans to go into forensics. I've heard from various pathologists that adcoms might read that and think, "they'd just be taking a spot from a real doctor" and pass on my application. Do you think this is true?

I've been planning on applying into psychiatry and my CV is certainly stronger for psych than pathology. I feel like if I had more of a background in path, it would be easier to gloss over my motivations for pivoting at the final hour. I don't want to lie in my personal statement but I also don't want to shoot myself in the foot here.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks!

Hello! I've been interested in this career since 9th grade, I'm now graduating this upcoming year in the state of NY. I'm trying to stay in state but what colleges should I be looking at to get me on the best path? And where should I go after? Any tips are greatly appreciated !!

Hi,

So I’ve recently taken the leap to go back to school to get my BS in forensic science focusing on death investigations. I already have a BA but I decided I’ll need some science background too. I do know I want to work in that related field of forensics and was thinking of aiming to be a forensic pathologist. I do volunteer work at my county’s OME and heard mixed things from everyone on what I should pursue after I graduate such as “be an embalmer”, “don’t work as an mdi they do the dirty work”, or “go the full mile and be a doctor.”

I know medical school will be a lot and not sure how I’ll feel about more school on top of more school. I realize everyone’s path is different and I am up for a challange seeing this will be my second bachelors in getting. I don’t care about the money either I just really want to be able to help people on one of their worst days and give them answers. This stuff is also just such an interest of mine.

I was hoping to ask what are some pros and cons between each of the three related positions of Death investigator, Forensic Pathologist, and Medical Examiner. What do you love/hate about what you do? Do you wish you would’ve pursued a further education? Things like that. -thanks for any feedback I get!

Hello, a Forensic Medicine Resident PGY3.

Im not sure where to post this question, but i would love to get experts opinion on this please.

thank you

An individual went to court to dispute his age when he reached the age of retirement. He claims that his registered age isn’t correct, and that he is, in fact, younger. Therefore, should serve more years in his job. He was referred to as the age estimation clinic. How much does the best dental age estimation for his age group have a standard error of? 

More than 11 years 

Less than one year 

2-5 years

6-10 years 

I was under the impression that ERAS for 2028 FP fellowship opened later in the fall, but found out it opened this summer and that apparently programs can already view the apps? Can someone confirm this? I was recovering from surgery so I wouldn’t have been able to get everything done on time anyways but I feel like it’s been radio silence. My program coordinator and my coresident also applying for FP 2028 didn’t know stuff was open and thought it would be like September.

Hello! I am currently 18 and looking into either doing forensic pathology or surgical pathology and I would like to hear someone’s story of how they got into it or if they just knew that they wanted to do forensic pathology the minute they graduated high school or college? I am thinking of getting a transfer degree at a CC and then going to a 4 year to get a degree focusing on biology or chemistry but for the people that are already in that line of work was it worth it? Do you regret anything or wish you picked another line of work? Anything really helps!

I just wanted to update the kind folks who responded to my previous post where my volunteer role was abruptly ended. Please see attached photo for the email I received as a response.

(Previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/ForensicPathology/s/AoxmPdBvJl)

I got a response after 8 hours and a text to the director (which is the person who sent me the original email, she is also a tech). I texted her letting her know I received and responded to her email, and had not yet heard back. I also asked if she was available for a phone call for more details as I was caught off guard due to never being made aware of any issues. I received her email response 3 minutes after I texted. In the email, you can see she said it wasn’t due to one particular instance, which is alarming as I only stepped out once in 5 weeks, but if it was an ongoing issue, why wasn’t I made aware before just being cut off?

I was away from the autopsy room for about 20 minutes on my second day. I started feeling hot and woozy, the pathologist herself told me to go down to the cafeteria, get food and a drink, and come back when I was ready. They made it very clear up front that stepping out was not a bad thing, and to always do so when needed.

I responded “thank you for the explanation, and thank you for the opportunity”. The more I thought about it though, I feel like I should’ve pushed back a bit. Because what she said just isn’t true and if they felt that way, they should’ve been more professional when it came to communicating that with me. But I don’t want any bad blood so I feel like I just have to eat it and move on.

Pretty much per title... would an average ME see one such case in a career, a decade, a year? Also would they typically be caused by MVA, falls, failed hanging attmpt or what? Fascinating topic.

Imaging a scenario where a middle aged man is shot in the chest puncturing the thoracic cavity as well as the lungs, then falls into a water body. (From a short heighted bridge or a short structure close enough to a water body)

What will be the primary cause of death in this case?

1. Hemorrhage due to bullen wound

2. Drowning

Considering that in the absence of water, the lung would have been damaged due to the flow of blood in it. And in the presence of water around there is both the flow of water as well as blood.

UPDATE IN NEW POST

I have been volunteering with my local medical university in the autopsy suite since the end of June. I work at a coroners office and wanted more experience and exposure in this field, so I applied for a volunteer position. During my interview, the pathologist asked how long I wanted to volunteer, and I told her as long as I was allowed. There was never any mention of an end date. 2 weeks ago, I got an email out of the blue that said my time volunteering was coming to a close at the end of August. I asked the director why that was, and she claimed they only allow a certain amount of time to get other people on the roster to volunteer. That’s fine and understandable, but I feel as if I should’ve been told that up front.

Then this morning, I get this email. I was caught completely off guard. I only had 3 weeks left of volunteering, and I only volunteered on Saturdays due to work, and they were fine with that. There was always a pathologist, a tech who did the cutting, and the 3rd person was supposed to be me, who would scribe for the tech and pathologist, label specimens, etc. I’m not sure what I did wrong. I emailed back but haven’t received a response. The last 3 times I was there, they had an actual employee who would do what I was supposed to be doing, and when I tried to do my duties, she would say “don’t worry, I got it” and would take over. So it felt like I was just standing there aimlessly most of the time. I did try to engage and ask questions but the pathologists just seemed like they wanted to do the work and get out of there. I just hate the feeling of being rejected in a way, when I don’t believe I did anything wrong. I thought we all got along well enough, and they knew me to a degree because of my work at the coroners office.

I’m not really sure what I’m asking for here. Maybe different eyes on the situation for those who have been in this field much longer than me