The Chessie Chapter of Sisters in Crime
arranged for their latest meeting to be held in state-of-the-art home of the
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore.
Anyone who dies unexpectedly in Maryland
is likely to end up here, as do certain other cases that meet specific
criteria, such as any death of a child under the age of two or the death of
anyone in state or county custody at the time of death. The focus is to
determine the cause and manner of death, which is usually completed within 24
hours. The body can then be released to the family, or, if unclaimed, to the
Anatomy Board, where it can be used for medical training.
Since the Chapter had requested a
Saturday tour, and no funds are available for weekend tours, administrator Bruce
Goldfarb generously donated his time.
He gave us a brief history of the
difference between a medical examiner and a coroner. Although requirements vary
in different jurisdictions, the office of coroner had its origins in 11 century
England, and his main responsibility was to ensure that the Crown got any
property accruing to it after a death. A medical examiner’s chief
responsibility is to determine the cause and manner of death.
“It’s really not like it’s portrayed on
TV,” Mr. Goldfarb said. “None of our medical examiners run around in
high heel
and go out into the field to chase down people to interview.”
 |
| Frances Glessner Lee at work on a Nutshell crime scene Glessner House Museum Chicago, IL |
The facility averages twelve cases a
day. On the day we were there, a hot midsummer Saturday, seventeen cases had
been referred by the time of our tour. Mr. Goldfarb read a list of cases,
omitting names but giving us the location in the state and a brief summary of
what was known about the deceased. Several were victims of gunshot wounds. One
was a baby who died while sleeping in bed with her mother.
From an observation area above the
airy, bright autopsy facilities, we were able to view six autopsies in
progress. Mr. Goldfarb warned us that some people found the sight disturbing,
and told us about someone who had recently fainted during a tour, hit his head
and needed to be taken to a hospital in an ambulance. He asked us to try to
avoid such a complication, since his family was waiting for him to return to
set off on their vacation.
No one in our group reacted that way,
although several people didn’t do more than glance at the scene below.
The building houses several training
tools. A fascinating one is called the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.
These 18 glass cases holding tiny
replicas of crime scenes from the 1930s and 1940s were created by Frances
Glessner Lee, one of the first people to insist that crime scenes should be
evaluated for scientific evidence to reach reasonable conclusions.
 |
| Bedroom in a crime scene diorama created by Frances Glessner Lee for training of investigators |
She
donated these macabre dioramas—dollhouses of death—to Harvard University, along
with generous donations to establish a training program for investigators. They
are still used today for training purposes in Baltimore.
Another
training facility is the Scarpetta House, donated by Patricia Cornwell, who
frequently visits the center and bases much of the factual background of her
work on what goes on in this building.
Mr.
Goldfarb assured us that he or other staff members would be willing to answer
questions and give information to any author who asked.
The tour
was fascinating and informative, and left me with a new appreciation for the
people who work diligently to correctly classify mysterious deaths.
Have you had opportunities to visit facilities that help with your research for crime novels?
I didn't attend the Baltimore event (I definitely would have averted my eyes during the autopsies). But I have visited a couple of funeral homes over the years to get details for stories -- information about coffins and keeping bodies on ice and burial and what happens when you have to dig up a body. I know some people might find it morbid, but I found it all fascinating.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. I learned a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathleen, for your report. It was interesting. You have to admire the people who can do this important work. I definitely would have been the one looking through my fingers.
ReplyDeleteGreat information! The tour sounds fascinating although I'd probably only glance at the autopsies. But I'd love to see the dollhouses of death.
ReplyDeleteThe miniature murder scenes seem so familiar. I wonder if I've seen them in Chicago. Fascinating to read about your field trip.
ReplyDeleteOur SinC chapter visited the Cleveland morgue this past year and found it immensely interesting, too, but we didn't get to see an actual autopsy, because the medical examiner and just finished one shortly before and was just cleaning up then. We went over by several hours the time we were to spend in there with so many places inside to visit and so many people to talk about their specialties in solving crimes.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have seen the nutshells! Thank you for this detailed report, Kathleen. I feel like I was there!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great tour, and Mr. Goldfarb answered all our questions. The autopsies were fascinating, but not everyone wanted to look at them.
ReplyDeleteThe miniature houses were not used at Harvard for a while before the Baltimore facility obtained them, so it's certainly possible they were displayed other places. Or someone may have made similar ones.
Sisters in Crime is a great resource, and the individual chapters arrange interesting events.
Fascinating stuff indeed. I’m hoping I can join an equivalent tour—not because I’ll use it in one of my novels—but because I’m the curious sort.
ReplyDelete~ Jim