Yujiemi Chisholm, Author at Forensics TTA

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Highlights

Ohio BCI Receives Federal Grants to Assist in Continued Caseloads in Criminal Investigations

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has awarded two grants totaling $434,099 to the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). This funding will assist the BCI in meeting expected caseloads and enhance overall lab capacity. This much-needed investment will assist the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in their efforts to test DNA cases at no cost to law enforcement agencies in Ohio. These resources will help Ohio law enforcement bring more criminals to justice and prevent crime in our communities.

April 2023

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Dallas County

Dallas County’s Postconviction funding supports DNA testing that leads to the exoneration of Martin Santillan and the arrest of living suspect in a collaborative multi-state investigation

The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office announces the exoneration of Martin Santillan for his 1998 capital murder conviction after an exhaustive re-investigation initiated by Centurion Ministries, Inc., a Princeton, New Jersey-based innocence organization, and conducted by the Dallas County DA’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), which concluded that Mr. Santillan is actually innocent.

March 2023

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Highlights

DeKalb DA announces break in 30-year-old homicide case, Rebecca Burke identified

The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office has been awarded a three-year Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUHR) Program grant in the amount of $500,000 to identify the remains of 27 individuals found in DeKalb County. The DeKalb County Cold Case Task Force will use these funds to catalog, report, test, identify and return to families the unidentified remains of 27 individuals, including Burke’s remains. To date, some remains have been housed at the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office. Others are buried and will be exhumed to begin the process of identification.

March 2023

FTCOE

Bridging Generational Gaps In The Laboratory

This webinar is geared towards addressing the generational gap often found within crime laboratories. The presenter discusses tips to recognize the factors that can create the gap and also presents methods that can help bridge this gap. The presentation concludes with the benefits and outcomes of multigenerational teams.

March 2023

FTCOE

Just Certification For Death Investigation

In episode four of the FTCOE’s Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, the presenters review the importance of standardization and accreditation within the medicolegal death investigator community, with a focus on the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI), what it means to be ABMDI certified, and the process for becoming ABMDI certified.

This episode contains content that is sensitive in nature and may be potentially triggering to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

March 2023

FTCOE

Just Family Support During Death Investigations

In episode three of the FTCOE’s Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, the presenters discuss the development of new roles in medicolegal death investigation (MDI) offices, such as family and community advocates, and specific strategies to provide more support to the families of decedents, with advice for offices to start building these types of programs.

This episode contains content that is sensitive in nature and may be potentially triggering to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

March 2023

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Highlights

Husband of murdered Oregon woman arrested in 35-year-old cold case

The husband of Deborah Lee Atrops has been arrested for her murder, 35 years after her death. The arrest of Robert Atrops was the first major case the Washington County Cold Case Unit has worked on since it began in 2020. The Washington County District Attorney’s Office secured a grant called Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA, which allowed them to launch the Cold Case Unit. The unit focuses on investigating and prosecuting violent crime cold cases involving identified DNA associated with a possible suspect.

March 2023

FTCOE

Just Lending A Hand During Autopsy Exams

In episode two of the FTCOE’s Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, the presenter explains the importance of forensic autopsy technicians, the training required for the position, and efforts to create more resources for this community.

This episode contains content that is sensitive in nature and may be potentially triggering to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

March 2023

Journal of Forensic Sciences

Wrongful Convictions and Claims of False or Misleading Forensic Evidence

This study examined case factors associated with wrongful convictions classified by the National Registry of Exonerations [Description provided by the OJP website].

March 2023

FTCOE

Just Internships For Death Investigation

In episode one of the FTOCE’s Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, the presenters describe how internship programs at medical examiner and coroner’s offices can be a great way to pursue a career in that field, with discussion on how to apply for these programs and what the day-to-day of these programs look like.

This episode contains content that is sensitive in nature and may be potentially triggering to some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

February 2023

Author: Yujiemi Chisholm