Cracking Cases: The Science of Solving Crimes - Hardcover

Lee, Henry C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1573929859 ISBN 13: 9781573929851

Publisher: Prometheus Books, 2002

Synopsis

Truly a legend in his own time, Dr. Henry C. Lee is considered by many to be the greatest forensic scientist in the world. He gained widespread public recognition through his testimony in the televised O. J. Simpson trial. Since that time he has helped with the Jon Benet Ramsey case and the investigations of mass murder in Croatia.

This book will take the reader through the entire investigative process of five murder cases, with Dr. Lee as the tour guide. The cases include:

the O. J. Simpson case, in which Dr. Lee's analysis of the blood evidence at the crime scene revealed that the Los Angeles Police Department had missed several blood drops on the back of Nicole Simpson, a footprint belonging to a second possible assailant, and the physical improbability of Mr. Simpson's climbing a fence to return to his home.
the "woodchipper murder," in which an Eastern Airlines pilot murdered his wife and then put her body through a woodchipper in an attempt to dispose of the remains.
the Mathison murder, in which a veteran Hawaiian police sergeant claimed to have accidentally run over his wife after she fled the family van during a dispute.
the Ed Sherman murder, in which a college English professor attempted to disguise the time of his wife's death by turning up the air conditioning unit in their house and then using the alibi that he was away from the home sailing on the day the crime allegedly took place.
the McArthur murder, in which a police sergeant shot and killed his wife, but then tried to make it appear that she had accidentally killed herself.

In each case, Dr. Lee presents in scientific detail how he investigated the murders, analyzed the evidence, and used techniques that played a critical role in bringing criminals to justice. He discusses how the criminalist examines blood spatter evidence and uses blood identification, DNA analysis, and other forensic technologies developed in the world's best laboratories. This is a fascinating insider's look by a world-renowned expert into the pursuit of justice in some of the most grisly criminal cases of recent times.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr. Henry C. Lee (Branford, CT), professor of forensic science at the University of New Haven and chief emeritus in the Department of Public Safety in Meriden, CT, is a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He is the author (with Jerry Labriola, M.D.) of Dr. Henry Lee’s Forensic Files and the novel, The Budapest Connection, as well as Cracking More Cases (with Thomas W. O’Neil), among other works. Dr. Lee was formerly on Court TV’s Trace Evidence (now TruTV). He has also been a special news analyst on TruTV and a frequent guest on Larry King Live, Fox TV shows, and numerous other national television programs.

Thomas W. O'Neil (Guilford, CT) is a professional writer and instructor of journalism at Gateway Community College.

From Publishers Weekly:

In the tradition of Alphonse Bertillon and Lee's close friend and contemporary Michael Baden (author of the recent Dead Reckoning), the latest from renowned forensic criminologist Lee (Henry Lee's Crime Scene Handbook) takes readers through the steps of the investigative process of five homicide cases. Lee exposes the methodologies of crafty killers an air conditioner cranked up to disguise a victim's time of death, a shooting concealed as a suicide, a corpus delecti (literally, "the body of the crime") destroyed via a woodchipper in four of the five investigations; in the fifth, he revisits the mangled O.J. Simpson inquiry. Lee takes his responsibility to the scientific method seriously (which comes through in somewhat cold storytelling) and does not hesitate to place blame where he feels it's due. Justifying his work for the defense in the O.J. Simpson case, Lee criticizes the LAPD investigation as being compromised by bumbled procedure, cross-contamination and the mishandling of crucial blood evidence. Each of the cases considered here not only provides a rousing tale of forensic work, but also details the practical techniques such as bloodstain pattern analysis, crime scene photography and latent fingerprint detection through the use of alkyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Super Glue). If Lee's material has an element of the slapdash, it's probably for good reason after all, he's been a consultant to over 300 law enforcement agencies and is the editor of seven peer-reviewed journals. But attention to storytelling reveals the characters behind the cases, and supports Lee's assertion that "no one person... is responsible for the guilty being found out and successfully prosecuted." B&w photos throughout; color insert not seen by PW. (Apr.)Forecast: The true-crime crowd will consider this essential reading, and with a segment scheduled on ABC TV's 20/20, it may reach a broader audience.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1573929859
• ISBN 13: 9781573929851
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 316