Course Description: This comprehensive and interactive course we will build a solid foundation in regards to the methodology and best practices for investigating the causes of deaths. We will dive deep into interviewing techniques for law enforcement professionals. We will learn how to properly utilize a plethora of neurological cognitive interviewing techniques for suspects, victims, and witnesses. We believe these technological skillsets are essential in solving major crimes. The curriculum focuses on the analysis of various death types, including traumatic injuries (mechanisms, wound patterns, and firearm wounds) and complex fatalities like strangulation (manual, ligature, autoerotic) and poisoning. Key topics include postmortem changes (rigor, livor, and algor mortis) for estimating the time since death, and interpreting findings in an autopsy report.
Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:
• Execute effective rapport building cognitive interviewing techniques that create trust between the investigator and the victim of a violent crime.
• Perform a sophisticated eight-step cognitive adversarial suspect interviewing technique, to elicit a comprehensive narrative that can be rigorously analyzed for truthfulness and consistency.
• Learn how to properly execute “Funnel Questioning” interviewing techniques.
• Analyze how Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT) characterizes deception as a continuous, mutual, and adaptive process rather than a static event, by identifying key concepts such as truth bias, cognitive load, and behavioral leakage.
• Analyze and document suspect injuries to correlate physical findings with witness statements and defensive struggle patterns.
• Synthesize evidence and contextual data to accurately reconstruct the sequence of events and motives in a Dyadic Death investigation.
• Distinguish between the physical findings associated with manual strangulation, ligature strangulation, traumatic hanging, ligature decapitation, and suicidal hanging wounds.
• Interpret specific findings within an autopsy report to accurately diagnose death resulting from dehydration.
• Differentiate between the key scene characteristics, bindings, and safety mechanisms present in cases of Autoerotic Asphyxia from those associated with homicidal strangulation.
• Identify the physical and environmental attributes that indicate potential poisoning at a death scene.
• Explain the characteristics of postmortem changes (e.g., livor mortis, algor mortis, and rigor mortis) and relate each to the estimation of the time since death.
• Differentiate cadaveric spasm from postmortem rigidity (rigor mortis) by accurately identifying its distinguishing characteristics.
• Identify the critical physical, environmental, and forensic observations that guide the investigation of a potential drowning death.
