'Forensic' science whiz

by Sunshine Dalton of The Daily Nonpareil...
Karen's first order of business as the new medicolegal death investigator/coordinator for Pottawattamie County is to get everyone involved with death investigations on the same page.
"Essentially, my responsibility as the death investigator is to the person who died," Karen said, "and making sure they are taken care of."
The coordinator part of her title is evident as she works through the death investigation.
She exchanges information between law enforcement, two local physicians appointed as medical examiners, the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner, funeral homes and the family of the deceased.
"A lot of times, the families have questions about their loved one," Karen said. "I like to be able to answer those for them."
Karen is called to investigate any unattended death that occurs in the county. This includes deaths at home, in a hospital, in hospice care, in vehicle crashes, work-related accidents, every infant death and deaths that occurred under any extreme or unusual circumstances.
"They are setting me up to be a totally mobile office. If I'm on the other side of the county, I can upload photos for the doctors to view and give me immediate feedback," Karen said. "The IT department has been great about getting things figured out so I can be in three places at once."
There are roughly 800 to 900 deaths in Pottawattamie County every year. Karen said 2008 might see more, considering she was called to 10 deaths by Jan. 10.
"I take a few overall photos that go to the autopsy," Karen said. "I talk to law enforcement about how they got there to begin with and note any relevant information, like who found the person. I'm kind of like the doctors' eyes and ears there."
Karen compiles information regarding the time of death, a description of the body and any factors that may have contributed to the death. She prepares a preliminary report that is referred to during the autopsy.
She indicates if the death was a result of natural causes, a homicide, suicide or accident. The official cause of death is determined after the autopsy is performed.
"If there is a firearm involved, I bag the hands so they can test for any evidence," Karen said. "It is very case-dependent."
Any evidence that is particularly fragile is collected by law enforcement for use in their investigation.
"We don't have any involvement in the case investigation," Karen said.
Instead, she focuses on the departed, checking for signs of trauma, tagging the body and locking the bag to ensure the "chain of custody" is not compromised.
"That body belongs to our department," Karen said.
Karen, 30, of Council Bluffs, accepted the position with the county in December 2007.
Prior to that, she worked in the crime lab at the Omaha Police Department. She was employed as an Identification Technician with the Council Bluffs Police Department from 2000 to 2006.
"A lot of my experience is crime scene-based," Karen said.
In addition to documenting and collecting evidence in the line of duty, Karen held internships at several law enforcement agencies, including the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Crime Laboratory in Des Moines and the Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office in Kansas City, Mo.
Karen graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.
"I'm in the process of finishing my master's from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, (Neb.)," Karen said.
She is one paper away from a Masters of Forensic Science.
Karen traveled to Lincoln every other Saturday for the last few years to attend a full day of classes, while continuing her full-time employment and caring for her 6-year-old son, Gabe.
"It's taken quite a bit longer than I'd like," Karen said.
She endures because her hope is "to protect the truth about death and the circumstances around it."
"To the living we owe respect and the dead we owe the truth," Karen quoted French enlightenment writer Voltaire. "I read that once years ago and always remember it while I'm working."