I'm a forensic pathologist - AMA

[slightlybrownbanana]

I do autopsies every week on a range of different type of deaths, not just homicides. People are often fascinated when I tell them what I do and it is very interesting but not like on the telly.

I haven't read the full thread yet, but thanks as it is very interesting. Until last year I worked at a university which ran a forensic science degree course. The students were expecting ng it to lead to a career in forensics. Were they misinformed? No medical training was involved. I am guessing the university wanted a popular course as it had a forensic scene house and sounded a very interesting course

Have you ever examined brutal murder cases?

Yes, plenty of them.

Do you find yourself examining a lot of victims of DV and how does that make you feel about the ferocity of DV?

Sadly yes, too many and I have become more ardently feminist as a result. I'm an advocate for Women's Aid and follow lots of related organisations and activists on Twitter. The latest trend for men claiming that a woman died due to a "sex game gone wrong" is particularly disturbing. I know that domestic violence happens to men too but all the victims I have seen have been women killed by men.

Such an interesting thread, thank you OP for taking the time. Do you receive backlash for your verdict if it is controversial? For example a death that looks like heart failure but was actually suicide?

@slightlybrownbanana this is quite morbid but after being too closely involved in hangings lately can I ask what happens? Do they die quickly? What is the cause of death?

Sorry, thankfully not too close to home but enough to wonder

A long time ago I worked in a hospital in the same block as the forensic pathologists. The ventilation failed on a day they brought in a badly decomposed young murder victim who’d been discovered buried in woodland. The smell that made it up several floors to our offices through lift shaft was indescribable and stayed with me (mentally) for a long time, particularly as we became aware of the nature of the ‘find’. I am full of admiration and thanks for the important work that you and your colleagues do. Not everyone has the fortitude and mental resilience for it. Thank you.

I would ask the same question that a previous poster asked, about there’s a particular case that has stayed with you.

I've just finished reading 'Unnatural Causes' and found it very interesting (though horrible in parts). Are there any cases you wish you'd worked on, and are there better support systems in place nowadays (mental health support I mean)?

do you ever feel sad, for say children/babies?

I do, but I find babies easier to cope with because they look like dolls. Children, especially at the age my two are, are upsetting to deal with. When the post mortem is being carried out you are engaged with the technicalities of dissection and interpretation of the findings, but when they are stitched back up and in their pajamas and with their teddies its heartbreaking. Thankfully, I don't have to do many PMs on children; only if they have a traumatic death or have been murdered which doesn't happen that often.

Thanks for the thread, OP. I once worked with a pathologist who had previously been a GP, but retrained - he said he wasn't really a people person, but was actually a lovely and engaging man. I secretly suspect that he only became a GP originally because of parents and grandparents who had all been GPs.

Would you mind telling us what your typical day looks like? Or a typical week? And do you always work out of the same mortuary?

This is going to be no interesting thread.

Have you done an autopsy on anyone famous or anyone that has been in the news?

How often do you have a presumed cause of death and then discover a completely different cause?

Not that often; we normally have a good idea from the history provided. Having said that not infrequently we will find unexpected things (not necessarily related to the cause of death but can be) which keeps it interesting.

Weirdest tattoo and piercing you've come across?

I've seen some amazing and some truly awful tattoos. The other day I had a man with really massive thick rings through his nipples which made me wince. My favourite tattoo was on a man's knee, it was an amateur tattoo of a sun (just a circle with lines radiating from it) and there was some writing in the middle of it but you had to peer very close. It said Fuck Off

Worst thing you’ve ever seen?

That's a tough one as I've seen all sorts of things most people would deem pretty awful. Dismembered bodies dumped in suitcases or buried under patios, countless stabbings, strangulations, beatings, people hit by trains with limbs missing, babies with broken bones and bleeds on the brain etc etc

What does decomposition actually smell like?

Is there any body you've refused to perform an autopsy on? If so why?

No, but I have disagreed with the authorities (Coroner/Fiscal) about how a case should be treated i.e. I thought it was suspicious but it was carried out as a routine case without gathering additional evidence. At the end of the day that is their call, all we can do is express an opinion, they have the power to direct whatever type of post mortem examination they want.

What happens if the body is to badly decomposed? Do you still have to do some kind of autopsy?

We still do as full an autopsy as possible and try to identify injuries, but its very tricky. Having said that you can still get a murder conviction sometimes even with a badly decomposed body.

Which series (silent witness etc) is the closest to real life?

Brilliant thread,thank you.

What is the hardest part of a job like that? Can you effectively remove yourself from the victim as a live person and the corpse?

I think trying to get your head around how some people (men really - I can count on one hand the number of female murderers I've had in cases I've known or been involved in) can be so violent and full of hatred to do such things to another person. Sometimes it is hard not to dwell on stuff. Interestingly I often find cases that I didn't do the PM for most upsetting, they may have been discussed with colleagues or be local to me.

Do you worry more about dying in an accident after seeing so much death?

Not sure I've worded that correctly but I hope you know what I mean.

What do you think of Kay Scarpetta?

Thank you for this thread OP. It's really interesting and something I'd never really thought much about until you brought it to light.

Do you think you could carry out the perfect murder and get away with it? Not an elderly person with existing conditions, but a healthy, strong 30 year old man? (I know I sound dodgy, but I’m really not!! )

My favourite tattoo was on a man's knee

Ah that’ll be uncle john.

What days/hours do you typically work? Or is it different each week?

Are you allowed to examine someone you know? Even if it's just in passing, do you have to disclose this?

Very interesting thread!

Do the police come in to witness autopsies, like they do in novels?

Yes, where I work now they sit in the viewing room behind glass from the action and where I trained they would come in the room with us.