One of the many benefits MWA-NY offers its members is access to the experts who pursue the perpetrators and solve the crimes we write about. We asked a few of those experts to tell us about their work in law enforcement and forensics. Don’t forget to check the MWA-NY calendar for upcoming programs.
Today we’re featuring Barbara Butcher, the former chief of staff and director of the Forensic Sciences Training Program at the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner. Butcher created the Forensic Sciences Training Program, a National Institute of Justice-funded academy for national training on best practices in death investigation. She currently serves as a consultant in medicolegal and investigative services for attorneys, writers, and producers of forensic content for the media. At our November 4 meeting, she will speak to our members about forensic medicine and death investigation.
What made you want to be a death investigator?
I was always curious and eager to figure things out, even as a child. My favorite games were “detective” and dissecting dead animals to see what happened. I had been working in clinical medicine and hospital administration when a career counseling service encouraged me to go into death investigation; the reasons for that will be made apparent during my talk to the MWA.
What’s in your go kit?
The most important tools in my job are an open mind and a pen—I often say, “Take your hands off your ears and put them over your mouth,” because most people talk and think more than they look and listen. Notes and sketches are important; if you don’t write it down it didn’t happen in today’s jurisprudence system.
Who’s on your team?
Death investigation teams are huge—starting with the police, scene investigators, pathologists and photographers, and ending with DNA scientists, histologists and toxicologists. Of course, there are identification specialists like forensic odontologists, anthropologists, and fingerprint techs in the middle.
What’s one thing most people don’t know about being a death investigator?
Most people are not aware of the detachment process that death investigators experience—separating what you see every day from your emotional and home life is beyond difficult.
What’s the most important thing you want crime writers to get right about your job?
Crime writers, especially those who do television, tend to think of death investigation as a technical science. It’s not—it’s an interperative art involving observation, imagination and science, along with a healthy dose of skepticism. Believe 50% of what you see on the surface, 25% of what you hear from witnesses, and drop any preconceived notions before coming to a decision. Only then will you get it mostly right.
—Interview by S.A. Solomon