|
The
Fascination of
Forensics
 |
| Dr.
Bob Barsley,
course director,
(on right) with
presenters Drs.
Kathy Reichs and
Robert Dorion. |
Americans have always
been fascinated with
forensics. The first
recorded case that
depended on dental
forensics to identify a
body occurred in 1775, one
year before the signing of
the Declaration of
Independence. Paul Revere,
American hero,
silversmith, and dentist,
identified the remains of
Major General Warren who
died during the Battle of
Bunker Hill, a major
battle of the
Revolutionary War. In
1850, the first courtroom
case involving dental
forensics took place when
the body of a Harvard
Medical School professor
was pulled from the school
furnace and later
identified by his dental
prosthesis.
These and other
intriguing facts were
presented by a stellar
lineup of experts in
forensics during a two-day
continuing education
course presented by the
LSUSD Continuing Education
Department. The conference
drew about 250 dentists,
physicians, attorneys,
coroners, death
investigators, medical
examiners and law
enforcement professionals
from around the country.
The course directors were
Robert Barsley, DDS, JD,
and Robert B. Brannon,
DDS, MSD, both professors
at LSUSD, as well as
Philip J. Levine, DDS,
forensic specialist from
Nova University in
Florida. Dr. Barsley was
active in the Katrina
Disaster Mortuary
Operational Response Team,
helping to identify bodies
following the hurricane.
In 1982, he led the dental
forensic team that
identified the 154 victims
of the crash of PanAm
Flight 759.
Dr. Brannon is
internationally recognized
in forensic dentistry. His
assignments have included
the infamous 1978 Jim
Jones mass suicide in
Jonestown, Guyana; the
1981 Iranian hostage
crisis, the terrorist
bombing of U.S. Marines in
Lebanon, Operation Desert
Shield/Desert Storm; and
the 1993 ambush of U.S.
soldiers in Mogadishu,
Somalia.
World Renowned
Speakers
The conference speakers
included Henry C. Lee,
PhD, who gained
international renown
during the O.J. Simpson
trial; Kathy Reichs, PhD,
author of the Temperance
Brennan novels that
inspired the television
series, "Bones"; Michael
M. Baden, MD, host of
HBO's "Autopsy"; and
Christopher G. Fielding,
COL, DC, USA, a leading
expert in the field of
military dental forensics.
 |
| Dr.
Michael Baden,
host of the HBO
series "Autopsy",
presents evidence
in the case of
Medgar Evers who
was murdered in
1963. Thirty-one
years later,
during the third
trial to convict
his murderer,
forensics evidence
resulted in a
conviction. |
Also presenting were Sam
Brothers, widely known for
his expertise in the
forensics of cell phones,
GPS and computers; Robert
Dorion, DDS, a bitemark
expert; Joe Navarro who
has authored books on body
language and non-verbal
communication; and Tommy
Martin, a nationally
recognized speaker on
crime scene
investigations. Mary
Manhein, director of
FACES, the forensic
anthropology laboratory at
LSU Baton Rouge, and Dr.
Frank Minyard, coroner for
the City of New Orleans
since 1974, also spoke.
According to Robert
Leaman, director of
continuing education at
LSUSD, a similar course in
forensics is being planned
for late August 2011.
Since 1969, the Continuing
Education program has
presented over 1,000
courses that have
attracted more than 52,000
attendees. For a list of
courses, go to: https://www.lsusdce.org/Content.aspx?topic=Home
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