Zombie CSU by Jonathan Maberry

testing and legal purposes), documenting each item (including a description of it and the exact location where it was found), transporting the evidence to the lab, tracking the movement of evidence through a paper trail called a “chain of evidence,” and properly storing each piece of evidence so that it is protected and preserved. A break in any of these steps could lead to evidence being destroyed, contaminated, or legally useless.
    Evidence collection is often a shared responsibility between the crime scene unit, patrol officers, and detectives. In high-crime areas where the CSU is constantly in demand, this job may fall largely to uniformed officers, and all of them receive some degree of evidence handling training.
    Greg Dagnan, former detective and assistant professor of criminal justice at Missouri Southern State University, comments on the frequency with which forensic experts are invited to a crime scene. “Not as often as they should. As a result we are trying to train officers in our part of Missouri to be mini experts. Usually a forensic specialist is only called out of desperation. At a guess, I would say a forensic specialist is called to the scene in less than a third of the cases and consulted in less that half of the cases.”
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    Dr. Edmond Locard (1877–1966)
     
Locard, a criminologist and professor of forensic medicine at the University of Lyon, was often referred to as the “Sherlock Holmes of France,” and justly so. He is the father of forensic science and the founder of the very first forensic laboratory, the Institution of Criminalistics, in 1910. Locard argued that “every contact leaves a trace,” which has become the credo of modern forensics worldwide.
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    J UST THE F ACTS
     
    Bite Marks and the Science of Forensic Odontology
     
    Forensic odontology, the study of teeth, has been used in a variety of ways, not just in solving crimes and convicting criminals. It was used to positively identify the remains of Adolf Hitler; it helped scientists verify that victims of old mass graves found in Europe actually died of the Black Plague (through identification of the bacterium Yersenia pestis found in dental pulp), and it has been used to identify the remains of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina.
    The presence of bite marks on the body will heighten the awareness of the crime’s severity. Biting generally indicates extreme aggression and great anger. This further suggests that the assailant is (or at least was at the time of the attack) in a highly agitated state. Officers will be very much more on the alert.
    Expert Witness
     
    The presence of bite marks is suggestive of a savage attack. Bryan Chrz, D.D.S., diplomate ABFO and past president of the American Board of Forensic Odontology, had this to say about the force of a human bite: “Most agree that about 68–150 pounds per square inch in chewing and intentional clenching can be generated by the average adult. Some have reported up to 1200 pounds per square inch during subconscious nocturnal bruxism (grinding or gnashing of the teeth). The biting mechanism used during a frenzied attack or defense would most likely fall somewhat between the two values. Bite marks can come from light marking all the way to total tissue avulsion (tearing away of the flesh).”
    J. Curtis Daily, chairman of the Bite Mark and Patterned Injury Committee of the American Board of Forensic Odontology adds, “Male adults bite with more force than adult females; both with more force than children.” In Warren Harvey’s excellent textbook 1 there is a discussion about volunteers biting human volunteer victims. The victims were anesthetized. The ‘biters,’ even after goading, essentially could not generate a bite sufficient to leave a significant bruise. This speaks to the ‘rage’ state of mind that overcomes all reservation, ethics, morals, etc., and allows the biter to leave significant bruise patterns on their victims. We actually know