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)