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Dennis C. Dirkmaat, PhD, D-ABFA.
Department of Applied Forensic Sciences, Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA.
Steven A. Symes, PhD, D-ABFA.
Department of Applied Forensic Sciences,
Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA.
Dennis P. Donovan, Pennsylvania State
Police, (retired) Department of Applied
Forensic Sciences, Mercyhurst University,
Erie, PA.
Eric B. Emery, D-ABMDI, Coordinator,
Medicolegal Operations, National
Transportation Safety Board,
Washington, D.C.
Patricia M. Ross, D-ABMDI, Blair County
Coroner, President, PA State Coroner’s Asso-
ciation
Richard M. Scanlon, DMD, Forensic Odontologist,
Lewistown, PA.
Joyce L. deJong, DO, Forensic Pathologist, Sparrow
Forensic Pathology, East Lansing, MI.
Dennis J. Kwiatkowski, Cambria County Coroner,
Johnstown, PA.
Wallace E. Miller, Somerset County Coroner,
Somerset, PA.
Scott M. Grim, D-ABMDI, Lehigh County Coroner,
Allentown, PA.
David Mattiko, Chief, Vital Events Registry, Harrisburg,
PA
Modern Death
Investigation: Goals,
Methods, & Principles
and
The 2012 Pennsylvania
State Coroner’s Basic
Education Course Co
ur
se
I
ns
tr
uc
to
rs
Registering for Coroner Basic Education
certification, please contact:
Christine Hake, Administrative Officer
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Harrisburg, PA
Phone: (717) 783-6333
chake@attorneygeneral.gov
Mercyhurst University D e p a r t m e n t o f A p p l i e d
F o r e n s i c S c i e n c e s E r i e , P A
P r e s e n t s :
Mercyhurst University
Department of Applied
Forensic Sciences
501 East 38th Street
Erie, PA 16546
A t T h e P e n n s y l v a n i a S t a t e P o l i c e
A c a d e m y
I n H e r s h e y , P A
A p r i l 1 6 - A p r i l 2 1 , 2 0 1 2
Single day registration and continuing education
credit, please contact:
Kathi Staaf, Administrative Assistant
Department of Applied Forensic Sciences
Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA
Phone: (814) 824-3119
kstaaf@mercyhurst.edu
For more information concerning daily course
registration, the course syllabus, instructors
and more...
please visit our website at http://mai.mercyhurst.edu/coronerseducation
The course will be held at::
Th e Pen ns ylvania State Po lic e Acade m y
1 7 5 Eas t He rs h ey Park Drive
He rs he y, PA 1 7 0 3 3
Single Day Course Registration: $ 295.00/day*
Approved by the Pennsylvania State Coroners’ Education Board for 8 hours of Continuing
Education Credits
ABMDI accepts PA Coroners Association credits as approved
Continuing Education hours.
* 20% discount for multiple days
Monday, April 16 Open Enrollment Introduction to the Office of the Coroner:
Roles and Duties
The first day of training will focus on the role, jurisdiction and duties of the
coroner’s office. Included in this discussion will be: (1) the history of the
coroner’s office; (2) an overview of the roles and duties of the coroner,
including dealing with the media, politics and families; (3) a general review
of the types of deaths and death scenes falling under the jurisdiction of the
coroner’s office; (4) interaction with the various levels of law enforcement;
(5) interactions with first responders and fire fighters; (6) interactions with
the district attorney’s office; and (7) interactions with various forensic
specialists. It will also include an overview of the day-to-day activities of
the coroner’s office and will include discussion of financial/accounting
considerations, processing and handling of personal effects, dealing with
the media, litigation concerns, and continuing education. A hands-on ses-
sion will be conducted that will involve filling out a PA death certificate.
Tuesday, April 17 Open Enrollment
Recovery of Physical Evidence and Context at the Indoor Crime Scene
The second day will be devoted to describing the goals and techniques for
processing the indoor crime scene and fatal motor vehicle accidents. Fol-
lowing an introductory lecture, participants will conduct a walk-through of
mock indoor scenes in which the roles and duties of each of the individuals
involved in the forensic processing (from law enforcement, coroners,
District Attorneys, and forensic specialists) of the scene will be discussed at
length. Critical thinking will be emphasized, as will discussion of rules of
evidence and chain of custody. Case studies of Indoor Crime Scenes and
Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash investigations will provide the focus of the
afternoon session. An evening session on Blood Sample Collection in the
event of a motor vehicle fatality has been added to curriculum.
Wednesday, April 18 Open Enrollment
Recovery of Physical Evidence and Context at the Outdoor Crime Scene
Day 3 will focus on the outdoor crime scene. Mock scenes will augment
classroom lectures on surface-scatter of human remains and buried body features. Participants will walk-through the scene, and be able to review
and ask questions regarding methods and materials. Discussion will focus on evidence to be found at these scenes, types of analyses that can be
completed on this evidence, and expected results from these recoveries. The afternoon session will also include a cadaver dog demonstration. The
day will conclude with presentations on Mass Fatality events as experienced by on-site professionals including Somerset County Coroner, Wally Miller,
who was in charge of the recovery of Flight 93 in 2001.
Thursday, April 19 Open Enrollment
Forensic Pathology and Evidence Recovery at the Medicolegal Autopsy
Day 4 will consist of an overview of the goals and objectives of the
postmortem examination and a description of the mechanics of the
autopsy. Collection and interpretation of histological, toxicological
and radiographic evidence will be detailed. Extensive discussion of
common types of cases encountered by the forensic pathologist will
be presented. Discussion will focus on how cause of death is deter-
mined. In the afternoon, focus will shift to the manner by which
positive identification of the victim is accomplished, and details of
soft tissue trauma analysis. Interesting case studies will serve to illus-
trate key points of the forensic pathological discussion.
Friday , April 20 Open Enrollment
Establishing Identification and Circumstances of Death: Forensic Specialists and Court Preparation
The fifth day of the course will begin with a lecture by an ABMDI
Diplomat on court preparation for the coroner. The morning session will continue with the importance of Forensic DNA collection and
analysis. Forensic Odontology will follow in the afternoon, focusing on remittance of dental samples for identification and submissions to
NAMUS. The day will conclude with an extensive lecture on Forensic Anthropology and the role of the discipline in death investigation.
Analytical methods in forensic anthropology used in the interpreta-tion of hard tissue trauma (gunshot, blunt force, sharp force, and fire
trauma) will be discussed. This session will be strongly supplemented with a hands-on session that will include actual case specimens.
Saturday, April 21 Not offered as a daily class The final half-day of the course will entail discussion of mental health
issues related to the coroner’s office, and ruling on cause and manner
of death. Following a quick review and question-and-answer session,
the Coroner’s Basic Education three-hour examination will be given.
Modern Death Investigation:
Goals, Methods, & Principles
Purpose of the course:
This course can be taken for: 1) certification with the PA Coroner’s
Education Board, or 2) as single day courses for continuing educa-
tion credit.. Continuing Education Credits of 8 hours are offered for
the PA Coroners Continuing Education and for ABMDI.
The course provides intensive instruction in the main techniques and
the specialists involved in death investigation. The week long course
is also aimed at familiarizing new coroners, coroner’s deputies, and
forensic investigators with the primary duties and common investiga-
tive scenarios of the Pennsylvania coroner’s office. Particular em-
phasis is placed on new investigative and analytical protocols and
techniques, as well as on complex and particularly challenging scenar-
ios that require rapid decision-making that depends heavily on the
early selection and interaction with other specialists, following appro-
priate initial response by the Coroner’s Office.
How the course will be presented: Within this framework, the course participant will be presented with
a comprehensive review of a variety of case scenarios, focusing on
the different professionals involved, and their specific tasks during
the investigation. The ultimate goal is to provide the participant with
a broad-based background that will allow them to recognize a wide
variety of evidence that can potentially be analyzed by each forensic
specialist. At course completion, the student will have a good under-
standing of the main investigative techniques employed, and the
primary questions that each forensic specialist can answer relative to
the investigation of death. This will result in the recovery and preser-
vation of evidence and contextual information in a manner that
allows for the efficient analysis and presentation in court.
Target Audience:
1) The week long course is offered to new coroners, deputy coroners
and investigators that are required to take the course for certification
by the PA Coroner’s Education Board.
2) It is also offered as individual, day-long courses to medical and
forensic personnel who currently participate in death investigation
and who wish to acquire Continuing Education Credits.
Modern Death Investigation
and
Pennsylvania Coroner’s Basic Education Course
Hershey, PA
April 16 – April 21, 2012
Sponsored by
Applied Forensic Sciences Department
Mercyhurst University, Erie, PA
Course Syllabus
Monday: The Office of the Pennsylvania Coroner: Roles, Duties, Nuts, and Bolts
7:30-8:00 Registration
8:00-8:30 Introduction, Course Content (Eshbach, Dirkmaat)
8:30-9:30 1 History of the Office of the Coroner (Ross)
9:30-9:45 Break
9:45-11:30 2 Roles and Duties of the Coroner (Kwiatkowski)
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:00 3 Types of Deaths Investigated by Coroner’s Office (Kwiatkowski)
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-4:00 4 Nuts and Bolts of the Coroner’s Office (Kwiatkowski, Ross)
4:00-4:15 Break
4:15-5:45 5 Filling out the death certificate (Mattiko)
Tuesday: Recovery of Physical Evidence and Context at the Indoor Crime Scene
8:00-9:30 6 Role of Law Enforcement in Death Investigations: Lecture (Donovan, Grim)
9:30-9:45 Break
9:45-11:30 7 Processing the Indoor Crime Scene (Donovan, Grim)
11:30-12:30 Break
12:30-2:00 8 Investigating the Indoor Crime Scene: Mock Scene (Donovan, Grim)
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-3:30 9 Investigating the Indoor Crime Scene: Case Studies (Grim)
3:30-3:45 Break
3:45-5:45 10 Fatal Automobile Crash Scenes (Grim)
5:45-6:30 Dinner
6:30-7:30 11 Blood Sample Collection (Grim)
Wednesday: Recovery of Physical Evidence and Context at the Outdoor Crime Scene 8:00-9:30 12 Evidence Recovery at the Outdoor Crime Scene: Lecture (Dirkmaat)
9:30-9:45 Break
9:45-11:30 13 Investigating the Outdoor Crime Scene I: Surface-scatter, Buried Body Mock Scenes
(Dirkmaat)
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:00 14 Use of the Cadaver Dog (Ackerman)
1:00-3:00 15 Investigating the Outdoor Crime Scene II: Fatal Fire and Mass Disaster Lecture
(Dirkmaat)
3:00-3:15 Break
3:15-5:30 16 Response to the Mass Fatality Incident (Emery, Miller)
Thursday: Recovery of Evidence at the Medicolegal Autopsy
8:00-10:00 17 Introduction to the Medico-Legal Autopsy (deJong)
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:30 18 Forensic Pathology: Determining Cause of Death (deJong)
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:00 19 Trauma and Postmortem Interval (deJong)
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-4:15 20 Case Studies in Forensic Pathology II (deJong)
4:15-4:30 Break
4:30-5:45 21 Child Abuse Studies (Ross)
Friday: Establishing Identification and Circumstances of Death: Forensic Specialists
8:00-9:45 22 Preparing for court (Grim)
9:45-10:00 Break
10:00-11:30 23 Forensic DNA analysis (TBD)
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:00 24 Forensic Odontology: Lecture and Hands-on Demonstration (Scanlon)
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-3:30 25 Forensic Osteology Hands-on Demonstration (Symes)
3:30-3:45 Break
3:45-5:45 26 Forensic Taphonomy and Bone Trauma Analysis - Hands on (Symes)
Saturday: Special Considerations and Overview of the Coroner’s Office
8:00-9:30 27 Ruling on Cause and Manner of Death: Case Studies (Kwiatkowski)
9:30-9:45 Break
9:30-10:45 28 Mental Health in the Coroner’s Office (Kwiatkowski)
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-2:00 Examination
Instructors
John A. Ackerman, D-ABMDI, Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office, Greensburg, PA Joyce L. deJong, DO, Forensic Pathologist, Lansing, MI
Dennis C. Dirkmaat, Ph.D., D-ABFA. Applied Forensic Sciences Dept, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA
Dennis P. Donovan, PSP, ret., Department of Applied Forensic Sciences, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA
Eric B. Emery, Ph.D., D-ABFA, Coordinator, Medicolegal Operations, National Transportation Safety Board,
Washington, DC
Scott M. Grim, D-ABMDI, Lehigh County Coroner, Allentown, PA
Dennis J. Kwiatkowski, Cambria County Coroner, Johnstown, PA
David J. Mattiko, Chief, Vital Events Registry, Harrisburg, PA
Wallace E. Miller, Somerset County Coroner, Somerset, PA
Patricia M. Ross, D-ABMDI, Blair County Coroner; President, Pennsylvania Coroner’s Association
Richard M. Scanlon, DMD, Forensic Odontologist, Lewistown, PA
Steven A. Symes, Ph.D., D-ABFA. Applied Forensic Sciences Dept, Mercyhurst College, Erie, PA
Pennsylvania State Coroner’s Basic Education Course
REGISTRATION FOR CERTIFICATION Dates: April 16 – 21, 2012
Hosted by Mercyhurst College, Department of Applied Forensic Sciences
at The Pennsylvania State Police Academy in Hershey, PA
COURSE REGISTRATION
Name: _____________________________________________________________________________
Title: ______________________________________________________________________________
Business Address: ___________________________________________________________________
County: ________________________________
Office #: ________________________________ Other #: ________________________________
Email Address: _________________________________________________
PAYMENT INFORMATION
Course Fees: $1,450.00 Registration and books
(Check one)
$1,500.00
$1, 550.00 Registration, books, meals, and housing at the State Police Academy provided with a list of rules and regulations that must be followed.
Checks should be made payable to:
Checks and a copy of this registration page should be mailed to: Christine Hake
Administrative Officer
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
16th
Floor, Strawberry Square
Harrisburg, PA 17120
* Please note: If you choose to stay at the State Police Academy you will be
Registration, books, and meals provided at the State Police Academy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---
$1,600. 00
Affiliation/Office: __________________________________________________________________
City:_________________________ ZIP: ____________
Registration and payment must be received no later than APRIL 6, 2012
For more information, please visit the Mercyhurst College Coroner’s Education Course website at:
http://mai.mercyhurst.edu/coronerseducation
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
Registration and books (NON-COUNTY Participant)
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