"Oh what a tangled
web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."
Sir Walter Scott
Winter
2005
Volume II
issue 3
Volume II
issue 3
| "Oh what a tangled
web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." |
Winter
2005 Volume II issue 3 |
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| W M M New Issue | W M M Archives |
| Welcome
to Winter 2005: Volume II, Issue 3 |
"Web Mystery Magazine is extremely proud to present this issue ... featuring articles describing graduate and undergraduate forensics programs written by the Professors Katherine Ramsland, Meliss Vessier-Batchen, Allan Barton, Peter D. Frade, Allison Jones, John Kavanagh, E. Roland Menzel, and Timothy Vail; summaries of the work of the California Criminalistics Institute and the Virginia Institute for Forensic Science and Medicine; reports of their innovative forensic methodology (Michal Schwartz and Prof. Richard C. Li) and her historical research (Prof. Karen G. Whitehurst); an essay on forensics and historical crime fiction by Golden Age Mystery expert Alan J. Bishop; and our regular columns by Prof. Anil Aggrawal, pulp historian Virginia E. Johnson, private investigator Ann Flaherty, and Unsolved Crimes International, as well as introducing Dawn Dowdle's Cozy Corner ... Web Mystery Magazine celebrates good research and good writing! |
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| by Rosalie Stafford | The editor of Web Mystery Magazine teaches writing in San Diego, California. | |||
| Dr.
Anil Aggrawal's Forensic Files |
"A very interesting case came to me last year. A cheque was brought to me, which was supposed to have been forged. I was to tell the police whether the cheque had really been forged or not. "Well, the whole story was like this. A 37 year old man Ramesh Chand had got some house repairing work done from a contractor Mange Lal. At the end of the work, the payment due to Mange Lal was Rs. 5,000. Ramesh Chand made out a cheque of the Vaish Co-Operative New Bank Ltd, DaryaGanj, for Rs. 5,000 to Mange Lal. However when Mange Lal got this check, he played a little trick. He added a zero to the figure 5,000. Thus the check became for Rs. 50,000. However in all cheques there is a place where the amount has to be written in words too. This provision is made only to ensure that such frauds do not occur frequently. For instance, making 50,000 from 5,000 is quite easy. One has to just add a zero. But to change the words “five thousand” to “fifty thousand” is somewhat more difficult. However Mange Lal seemed quite expert in these matters. He deleted the letters “ve” from the word “five,” and instead added the letters “fty.” Thus the letter “five” became “fifty.” Then he went to the bank and encashed the cheque. The cashier took extra care to examine the authenticity of the check, since the check was for a very big amount. He counterchecked the signatures of Ramesh Chand kept in the bank's records. Since Mange Lal had not interfered with the signatures at all, the signatures tallied. Finding the cheque okay, the cashier consulted the Bank Manager and then encashed the cheque...." |
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| by Dr. Anil Aggrawal | Dr. Anil Aggrawal is a professor of Forensic Medicine at the Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. | |||
| A Man more Sinned against than Sinning: The Trial and Execution of Admiral the Honourable John Byng Part II |
"In its undeclared war against France, the Newcastle ministry knew the French planned to invade Minorca as early as October 1755. But, preoccupied by fears of invasion of Great Britain, both ministry and Admiralty concentrated naval power in the Channel. The Mediterranean squadron, already on station and under the command of Captain Edgecumbe, consisted of three ships of the line and some small craft (Clowes 146). It received no reinforcement until Admiral Byng sailed with a squadron of ten ships of the line on 6 April 1756. On one hand, the government had ignored the situation in the Mediterranean until the last moment, and on the other hand, it exerted pressure on Byng to move with all speed.
"Completing crews was complicated by the Admiralty which forbade pulling men from ships in harbor in Portsmouth. After strenuous complaints from Byng, the Admiralty relented to some degree and allowed Byng to complete his crews by raiding the men of those ships in harbor. One battle the admiral did not win: he had to leave his marines with other ships in Portsmouth and take on Colonel Lord Robert Bertie’s fusiliers. The point of the fusiliers lay in land operations against the French in Minorca—if Byng could actually land them as reinforcements. They were not trained for sea combat as marines were, thus reducing their effectiveness at sea, and if they were offloaded before a sea battle, then Byng’s naval forces would be substrength and therefore severely compromised for sea action (Clowes 147)." |
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| by Karen G. Whitehurst | Karen G. Whitehurst holds a history Ph.D. from the University of Virginia; her area of expertise is early modern Britain -- 15th to 18th centuries. While much of her scholarly work deals with the religious and political machinations of the early English Reformation (1520s-1550s), her current work focuses on the 18th century, the setting for her fictional character Richard Eden, earl of Avon and lord lieutenant of a West Midlands county. | |||
| The Application of DNA Evidence for Investigating Property Crimes |
"Forensic science aims at linking a suspect to the crime by employing scientific methods to analyze evidence. Forensic DNA analysis has become one of the more widely known ways to prove a suspect’s guilt or innocence, specifically in violent crimes such as a rape or murder case. The most popular forms of DNA evidence come from blood, saliva, semen, and hair samples. When such violent crimes occur, those samples of evidence could be collected for forensic DNA analysis." |
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| by Michal Schwartz and Richard C. Li | Michal Schwartz is currently pursuing the M.S. in Forensic Science from the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University. Dr. Richard C. Li is Assistant Professor of the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. | |||
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| Forensic Psychology 101 | "When I first watched CSI —before it was “discovered” and turned into a major hit—I realized that it was going to have a phenomenal impact on more areas than just television programming. I was already writing in the forensic arena for Court TV's Crime Library, and I quickly penned The Forensic Science of CSI for a publisher. The program spun off two more shows and kids around the country starting viewing their futures through the microscopic lens, so to speak, looking for programs that would turn them into criminalists or criminologists. Along with that was the popularity from the 1990s of criminal profilers, so forensic psychology was another subject that grabbed the attention of high school students. Then I was invited to start such a program." | |||
| by Dr. Katherine Ramsland | Dr. Katherine Ramsland teaches forensic psychology at DeSales University in PA, and has published 22 books, including The Forensic Science of CSI and The Criminal Mind: A Writer's Guide to Forensic Psychology. She writes for Court TV's Crime Library and co-wrote The Unknown Darkness with Gregg McCrary. Articles by Dr. Ramsland on subjects including "Psychological Detectives," "Historical Crime Research,""Dr. Bill Bass's Body Farm," and the "Death of Belle Gunness" have appeared in Web Mystery Magazine. (See archives.) |
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| Envisioning Forensic Nursing Science Education | "Nursing continues to envision the growth of the specialties in less-traditional nursing environments. Nurses are fulfilling roles that identify the profession as one of change, courage, and exploration. One of the newest areas, not of practice but of recognition, is forensic nursing. Nurses are forging new and needed roles as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), SANE pathology assistants to forensic pathologists and medical examiners in suspected rape/homicides, Forensic Nurse Death Investigators (FNDI), accident scene reconstruction investigators, Forensic Nurse Examiners (FNE) in emergency departments, and coroners. Nurses have the education and knowledge base to augment the professionalism and complexity of positions that require critical thinking and the ability to function within very stringent legal parameters. "Forensic nursing science is a continually developing education arena. New programs are being developed nationally and internationally. The focus of the curricula and the quality of the program are important considerations as programs are examined, as well as the type of employment being sought and use of the educational experience. "Will the employment opportunities be enhanced by the program? How does someone choose a program? Is there a program available that addresses the interests of the generic, non-degreed student? What type of program would be best -- online or real-time class?" |
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| by Meliss Vessier-Batchen | Meliss Vessier-Batchen, RN, MSN, is an assistant professor with Charity School of Nursing/Delgado Community College. She is a doctoral student at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans; her focus is forensic nursing with a concentration in death investigation. She is also a death investigator with the St. Tammany Coroner's Office. Her definitive article "Forensic Nurse Death Investigators" appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of Web Mystery Magazine. (See archives.) |
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| Forensic Biology & Toxicology | "Back in 1996, there were no forensic science courses at any of the universities in Western Australia, and after discussions with a wide range of professionals in the community, Allan proposed a broad degree in forensic science drawing on a variety of units already taught in the university in molecular biology, chemistry, other sciences, and law. ... " "The establishment of a national Australian DNA database to help identify criminals, the use of genetic analysis in paternity testing, and the increased application of DNA profiling in medicine, agriculture, and in conservation biology has resulted in increased employment opportunities for graduates with well-honed skills in molecular genetics. The acquisition of these skills together with hands on training in modern analytical techniques including gas chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, high performance liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry provides a breadth of employment opportunities for Forensic Biology and Toxicology graduates." |
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| by Allan Barton and Bob Mead | Dr. Allan Barton and Dr. Bob Mead are university professors in the Division of Science and Engineering at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. |
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| Forensic Science at Wayne State University | "Upon my arrival at Wayne State University as a full-time faculty member at the Associate Professor level in the fall of 1996, Wayne State University did not have a formal forensic science or separate forensic crime investigation program in place. In fact, television programs dedicated to crime scene investigation were not popularized and available as noted in current listings. In collaboration with the late Dr. Mary L. Williams, a dream of creating an effective didactic/experiential program for students desiring to advance their education at the post bachelor level was envisioned." | |||
| by Peter D. Frade | Dr. Frade serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Fundamental and Applied Sciences in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State University. He received his doctorate in analytical chemistry from Wayne and, after 28 years as a senior analytical toxicologist in the Department of Pathology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, returned to an academic position. | |||
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| Forensic Science Programmes at the University of Central Lancashire |
"Forensic science is the use of science to aid legal investigations and it often involves the presentation of scientific evidence in court. Most people are familiar with the portrayals of forensic scientists through the books of Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs and television programmes such as CSI and Silent Witness. These popular books and programmes can give a reasonable insight into the work of a forensic scientist. However they are glamorised to make the stories and characters they portray engaging for a mass audience, and not all of a forensic scientist's time is spent investigating the high profile cases described. "So, what does a forensic scientist do? A specific case will illustrate the work of a forensic scientist. In the mid-1970s a young heiress, Lesley Whittle, was kidnapped and found murdered. ... The case turned out to be far more complex than could ever have been expected." |
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| by Allison Elizabeth Jones | Prof. Allison Jones, BSc, MSc, PhD, MRSC, is the Programme Co-ordinator in the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, Lancashire. | |||
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| Forensic Science Education at Scottsdale Community College |
"From the early prophetic musings of Sherlock Holmes to the sophisticated depictions of the work of crime scene investigators on contemporary television shows, the general public has always had an insatiable thirst for forensic science. Dead bodies in locked rooms, the aroma of bitter almond inside a whiskey glass beside a corpse, and a bloody fingerprint on an exit window are the fuel of human amusement, imagination, and even dreams. Public interest in forensic science courses has been growing exponentially for the last decade, spurred by the multitude of both fictional and documentary crime scene shows on regular and cable television. Our experience at Scottsdale Community College has been that the more we expand our forensic science course offerings, the more students we attract. When it comes to forensic science: 'If you build it, they will come.'" | |||
| by John Kavanagh | Dr. John Kavanagh is Director of the Administration of Justice Studies Program at Scottsdale (Arizona) Community College. | |||
Texas Tech Institute of
The Center for
Research;
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"In the formal academic sense, forensic science at Texas Tech University consists only of a recently established undergraduate minor which began operation in the fall of 2003. Its offerings are broad, however. They include courses in physics that focus on trace evidence analysis (fingerprints, documents, explosives, nerve agents, etc.), chemistry (mostly in analytical techniques), biology, anthropology, sociology, and psychology. The minor also includes courses in toxicology, offered by the Institute of Environmental and Human Health; laboratory work in the all-important DNA typing, offered by Allied Health; and a course dealing with sexual assault and child abuse, offered by the Nursing School. "The Center for Forensic Studies was established in 1982 with a three-fold mission: First, research is conducted to develop new methodologies for evidence analysis; Second, workshops are conducted to train law enforcement personnel in these new methodologies; Third, criminal case work is conducted utilizing the new methodologies." | |||
| by E. Roland Menzel | E. Roland Menzel is Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Physics, Engineering Physics, and Chemistry at Texas Tech University. He has served as the Director of the Center for Forensic Studies since its inception in 1982.
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"Some of the earliest memories that I have of a forensic investigator are images of Jack Klugman re-inventing himself as Quincy, M.E., after a long–running role as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple. Years later, we had David Duchovny as Fox Mulder on the X-Files. And now there's the cadre of characters on CSI. To be sure, none of these could have been possible without the sine qua non investigative prowess of Basel Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, who set the stage for the modern era of criminal investigations. "So if you're set on becoming just like any of these super-sleuths, then my advice to you is….go to acting school. "However, if you are a bit more focused and realistic about the possibility of a career in forensic science, there are several excellent programs across the U.S. that can help you to get started. Many of them have grown from traditional disciplines including anthropology, criminal justice, chemistry, and biology, and the emphasis of any particular program generally reflects the expertise of the academic department from which it evolved." |
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| by Timothy L. Vail | Dr. Timothy L. Vail is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, and the faculty advisor for the Pre-Forensic Chemistry program. | |||
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Forensic Science Distance Education
at the University of Florida Grows to Global Proportions |
"You've seen the television shows— "Crime Scene" —you name the city. There is always a team picking up samples at the scene of a crime. There are scientists in lab coats looking at drug samples and DNA through microscopes, and experts giving testimony in courtrooms.
"So who are these people, and how did they get their credentials anyway? They aren't doctors, nurses, or EMTs…The answer is they are forensic scientists, and they go to colleges like the University of Florida to get advanced education in the field of forensic science." | |||
| "The California Criminalistics Institute, an organization of California's Department of Justice, Bureau of Forensic Services, is an 'in-service' training center which provides specialized forensic science training to personnel who are practitioners in the field of forensics." | ||||
| The Virginia Institute for Forensic Science and Medicine | "The Virginia Institute for Forensic Science and Medicine is a premier provider of hands-on training in a working forensic environment for aspiring forensic scientists and pathologists. ... Over 200 world-renowned faculty, many of which are staff members of the Division of Forensic Science and Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, lend their expertise as foremost practitioners of all disciplines of forensic science and medicine. VIFSM offers state-of-the-art post-graduate fellowships as preparation for careers in these forensic disciplines. Through its career training seminars, VIFSM enhances the knowledge and performance of those engaged in violent crime and death investigation." | |||
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| Forensics and Historical Crime Fiction | "Why is it that crime fiction set in a past time has increased in popularity? Perhaps it is that readers are now so well educated that they demand more of a mental challenge than just a comparison of forensic detail. The plethora of police procedurals and professional investigation programmes has increased the general awareness of scientific methods and what can be achieved. Once the general public were aware that wearing gloves prevented tell-tale fingerprints; now we also know that traces from the gloves can be a giveaway too! I have read much true-crime and crime fiction over the years but I've now come to prefer the historical crime investigation because of its lack of forensic science." | |||
| by Alan J. Bishop | ||||
| The Shadow Magazine 15 August 1938 |
"The Shadow was the pulps' greatest crime fighter. Beginning in April 1931, shortly after the Wall Street crash of ’29, the character reached a reading public tired of the 1920s gangsters phase, and were looking for a hero. "Part-time magician, and full time crime-reporter, Walter B. Gibson created the master crime fighter." |
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| by Virginia E. Johnson | By publishing their magazines (Behind the Mask & Action Adventure Stories, Detective Mystery Stories, and Echoes), pulp historians Virginia E. Johnson and her husband Tom over the last 20 years have shone new light on countless "lost" stories from the pulp heyday. | |||
The End of an Era |
"It is with regret that Web Mystery Magazine notes the end of an era: pulp historians Tom and Ginger Johnson are retiring from the publishing business. Ginger Johnson gives a brief summary of their history." | |||
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| Ann Flaherty, P.I., On The Case: In Search of Justice |
"It began one morning, as I sat at my desk, reading my endless array of emails. This particular email came from a private investigator in Wisconsin, who was doing some pro-bono work for the Innocence Project. I found that The Innocence Project is a non profit organization which seeks to exonerate wrongly convicted persons, most of which sit on death row. "The Wisconsin PI named Bill said he needed to find a witness who was living in San Francisco with her boyfriend. This woman had information about a murder that could potentially free a man who had been sentenced to death." |
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| by Ann Flaherty, P.I. | Ann Flaherty, a licensed private investigator in the state of California with over 25 years' experience in the investigative field, is the owner of the R.D.D. Detective Agency and is a noted authority on missing persons, fraud, scams, and elder abuse. Her investigative expertise is sought after and highly respected. | |||
| UnsolvedCrimes Casebook of Unsolved Crimes International Organization |
"The Christmas holidays are a time to spend with family. It might be for worship, it might be to continue family traditions, it might be for gift giving, it might be to meet new family members, indeed it might be for anything, but the important thing is that at this time of year things are done together. It is a sad time of year when we can't see the people we love. It's bleak when they're gone and we don't know why. "Lisa Gaudenzi will not be with her loved ones this year. She has been missing for nearly ten years and investigators today are no closer to discovering what happened than they were a decade ago. We relate her case because there is always a chance someone with information will come forward." | |||
| by David Webb |
Unsolved Crimes International is dedicated to publicizing unsolved cases. Victims' photos and their case details will remain for public view on the organization's website as long as their cases remain unsolved. | |||
| New Columns | Web Mystery Magazine is seeking a columnist. Subject: news of mystery writers' conferences. Contact Editor. This issue introduces a new column: "Dawn Dowdle's Cozy Corner: Thumbnail Sketches of New Cozies." |
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| Dawn Dowdle's Cozy Corner: Thumbnail Sketches of New Cozies |
Dawn Dowdle looks at Wishful Sinful by Tracy Dunham, Judas Island by Kathryn R. Wall, Tagged for Murder by Elaine Flinn, On Thin Ice by Alina Adams, Double Shot by Diane Mott Davidson, and Priceless by Marne Davis Kellogg. |
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| Dawn Dowdle loves reading mysteries and is the proprietor of a copy-editing service specializing in mysteries. She has made friends with many mystery authors. | ||||
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| Winter
2005 (II, 3) Fall 2004 (II, 2) Summer 2004 (II, 1) Spring 2004 (I, 4) Winter 2003 (I, 3) Fall 2003 ( I, 2) Summer 2003 ( I, 1) |
| "Oh what a tangled
web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." |
Winter
2005 Volume II issue 3 |
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| W M M New Issue | W M M Archives |