Lessons Learned From a TV Interview

Last Thursday I had the chance to appear in my first TV interview on a Toronto cable program called Writers and Readers on the Rogers television network. As a writer who definitely prefers to shelter behind her keyboard, this was a pretty stressful adventure for me. As far back as I can remember—all the way back to elementary school presentations—I’ve been terrified of public speaking of any kind (yes, I’m one of those people who would list public speaking above death on the fear scale). But my Canadian distributor extraordinaire, Nelson, was kind enough to set up the opportunity for me, and I was determined to do it.

So what did I learn from my first TV experience?

You’d be surprised at how many times a lapel microphone has to be put on or adjusted. Right side or left side? Wireless transmitter attached to your back pocket or belt? Is the transmitter on? Is it muted? I was repeatedly checked for that outside and then again inside the studio.
The lights aren’t as hot as you’d think they’d be. I’m familiar with stage lighting from many, many high school concerts and productions, and it’s nothing like that.
You aren’t going to be asked anything for which you don’t already know the answer. You’re there to promote your series; no one is going to ask you about your peace plan for the Middle East or for the chemical formula for titin, the protein with the longest formula known to man.
When asked a question, don’t answer ‘yes’ and leave it at that or you’ll drive your host to distraction. He’s opening a door for his guests to talk about their work, so expand upon all your answers.
Be yourself. I might consider 20 years of studying HIV and dengue virus to be run of mill because I’ve done it for so long, but others will find it an interesting experience compared to what they do in their own day jobs. Tie your own experiences into your writing so viewers will see why what you do is interesting.
A good host goes a long way to make you comfortable. Tom Taylor, an author himself of the War of 1812 Brock series, went out of his way to make his guests feel comfortable. He reviewed some of the questions he’d be asking before we started so there wouldn’t be any surprises. At each break in the taping, he was very encouraging. And when the interview was over, he grinned and said ‘now your nightmare is over’. Oh yes, he knew that this was a new and stressful experience.
Everyone is there to support you, so just relax and enjoy the experience.

The show won’t be airing for about another 5 or 6 weeks, but I’ll be interested to see the final result. Many thanks to Tom for hosting me and the wonderful Lloyd Kelly and Pat O’Neill from Nelson for introducing me to the wonderful world of television!

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On a more sober note, our regular readers will remember that a few weeks ago we covered the hidden bodies discovered at the Dozier School for Boys in Florida and the allegations of abuse and murder at the reform school. Since then one of the surviving students has contacted us and would like the opportunity to tell what life at the school was like from his perspective. Please join us next week for that very special blog post.

Photo credit: Tom Taylor and Rogers TV

Forensics 101: Forensic Dentistry

Following last week’s post about determining a victim’s age at the time of death using their teeth, it seemed appropriate to take a brief look at the field of forensic dentistry (also called forensic odontology). Here on Skeleton Keys, we tend to focus more on forensic anthropology as that is the science of Dr. Matt Lowell of the Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries, but forensic dentistry is an important field that is often used in conjunction with forensic anthropology.

Forensic dentistry is the application of the practice of dentistry in criminal investigations. Often, the type of remains that leave investigators requiring the services of a forensic anthropologist may also benefit from a forensic dentist, and the two scientists will often work cases side-by-side. Forensic dentists work by comparing antemortem (before death) dental records and x-rays with post-mortem (after death) remains. They are often involved in mass casualty incidents when remains are too decomposed, damaged or fragmented for more standard identification procedures like fingerprinting or DNA.

In 2010, when I attended the Bloody Words mystery conference in Toronto, I was fortunate enough to sit in on a lecture from Dr. Ross Barlow called ‘Teeth Talk: The World of Forensic Dentistry’. Dr. Barlow had been involved in the identification efforts following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami that devastated South Asia. Forensic dentists were called in to assist, not because of the initial nature of the remains, but because of the sheer number of bodies (130,000 in Indonesia alone), and the inability to refrigerate the corpses in the tropical heat. Decomposition became a major complicating factor, so skeletal component identification was one of the most successful methods of identification.

Victim identification is the overwhelming task of a forensic dentist, comprising approximately 95% of their cases. But forensic dentists contribute on multiple levels to criminal investigations:

• Victim age at time of death: As mentioned last week, aging a victim based on tooth eruption and development.

• Bite mark assessment: Bite marks are common in cases of aggravated assault and abuse. Forensic dentists assess and compare the marks on a victim with the bite pattern of a potential assailant. Also, while the field of veterinary forensic science (including odontology) is in its infancy, human forensic dentists are often involved in criminal prosecutions resulting from dog attacks and the prosecution of dog-fighting rings to match dog bite marks to individual dogs.

• Identification of remains: Identification is based on both common and unique gross tooth characteristics, as well as past dental work, including fixtures and fillings.

• Identification of fire-damaged remains: During extensive fire exposure, the front teeth are the first to be lost. Tooth enamel dehydrates and sloughs off the dentin. But identification can be determined in severely damaged remains by antemortem root canals and matching antemortem fillings.

• Race determination: As we discussed when covering race determination from skull attributes, the incisors of people of Asian or native descent are shovel-shaped with ridges on the rear surface of the tooth. Those of white or black descent, have blade form incisors with a flat profile.

Like forensic anthropologists, forensic dentists are often called in to view the most badly damaged or decomposed remains. Working with investigators, they can indicate or confirm identification, or assist in trauma assessment. In mass casualty disasters, such as 9/11, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis or plane crashes, they may be the only ones able to identify the dead, giving them back their names, and allowing their families much needed closure.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Forensics 101: Determining Age at Death Using Dentition

When it comes to unknown victim identification, there are three main pieces of information a forensic anthropologist can contribute to an investigation—sex, race, and age at the time of death. In some cases, time since death can also assist in narrowing victim identification based upon reports of the last time the victim was seen alive. Previously, we’ve covered various ways to determine the victim’s age at the time of death based on epiphyseal fusion or the adult pelvis, but several other methods exist and are also in use. One of the least sexy—but most useful—ways to determine age at the time of death is to use the victim’s teeth.

This method relies on the fact that, throughout childhood, baby teeth are lost and new teeth erupt according to fairly predictable developmental time points. Even more so than epiphyseal fusion, tooth loss and gain holds to a more rigorous chronological schedule.

There are four notable time periods of tooth development in growing children:

• Deciduous baby teeth emerge during the first two years of life.

• The first two permanent incisors and the first permanent molar emerge between 6 and 8 years of age.

• The majority of the remaining permanent teeth erupt between the ages of 10 and 12 years of age.

• Wisdom teeth tend to erupt around 18 years of age.

In addition, the development of permanent teeth within the skull before eruption occurs can help indicate age. This can be clearly seen in x-rays taken by a coroner or medical examiner.

Using dentition to age adults is a more challenging practice. Once the wisdom teeth have erupted, only morphological changes within the teeth indicate age differences. These changes can include:

• Tooth root translucency increases with age, independent of periodontal damage.

• Dental wear on the teeth; this tends to be a predictable variable within populations.

• Ratio of the amino acids D-aspartic acid to L-aspartic acid in tooth dentin. The L form of any amino acid is the mirrored structural image of the D form. Amino acids begin in the L form and convert with age to the D form, so a preponderance of the D form indicates increasing age. 

Especially in children, the use of dentition can be very helpful in victim identification by minimizing the estimated age range. Used in conjunction with other methods, such as epiphyseal fusion, forensic anthropologists can be quite exact in providing age related information to investigators.

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Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (skull section) and Wikimedia Commons (developing teeth)

Forensic Case Files: Hidden Bodies Discovered at the Dozier School for Boys

The Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida was at one time the largest juvenile reform school in the United States, housing up to 564 boys in the 1960s. Founded in 1900, the school went through a number of identity changes over the years—first called the Florida State Reform School, then the Florida Industrial School for Boys (1914), later the Florida School for Boys (1957), and finally the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys (1967) named in honour of a past superintendent of the school.

Rumours of inhumane treatment of the inmates plagued the school from the very beginning. An inspection in 1903 reported some boys being kept in leg irons, and, in 1934, a boy sent to the school on a trespassing charge died a mere 38 days later. Hundreds of more recent allegations detailed years of beatings, forced labour, rape, and the murder of troublesome inmates. Many boys simply disappeared after arriving at the school, no trace of them alive or dead ever discovered. Amid a storm of unproven accusations and controversy, the state of Florida permanently closed the facility in 2011.

But public outcry persisted and families demanded answers about their missing relatives. Thirty-one white metal crosses marking the graves in the school cemetery didn’t account for all the missing children. Confusing and incomplete school records meant that investigators were not even sure of the exact number of bodies buried in the cemetery.

University of South Florida forensic anthropologist Erin Kimmerle became interested in the project, in part because of the inadequate record keeping at the school—very unusual for most state institutions. In 2012, Kimmerle and her team used ground penetrating radar and cadaver dogs to prove the existence of at least 50 sets of remains buried on school property, many located under current roads or overgrown trees, far distant from the marked cemetery. A full investigation of the property began in August 2013.

Excavations of the school grounds began in the fall of 2013. By the time the dig closed three months later in December, 55 bodies had already been recovered. Anthropologists estimate that the bodies date from the late 1920s to the early 1950s. All the remains were found in coffins or associated with coffin artifacts—nails or other hardware, and one with a brass plaque reading ‘At Rest’. Some small artifacts of life at the school were also recovered; one boy was even found with a stone marble still in his pocket.

Forensic scientists will attempt to determine cause of death from the skeletal remains, and DNA from the recovered remains will be sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification. Investigators are asking for living family members of missing students to come forward and provide DNA samples for reference and comparison.

Although the first dig is complete, University of South Florida anthropologists are planning to resume work in the spring of 2014. They believe the site holds the remains of more missing boys, and maybe even a second unmarked cemetery. Their search will continue until investigators are satisfied that all the lost have been recovered. Although the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was unable to substantiate the multiple claims of abuse while the school was open, they are hoping that this time the dead will be able to speak for themselves.

Photo credit: Robert Straley