Forensic Science Seminar

The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Esotouric and Professor Donald Johnson invite you to the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Southern California, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department.

Presentation #1: Mike Digby on The Bombs, Bombers and Bombings of Los Angeles

Long before the words “suicide bomber” or “IED” were ever mentioned, there were bombs. Certainly, years prior to “al Qaeda” or “ISIS” ever becoming part of our national media lexicon, there were bombers–many of them right here in Southern California. Over the past century, bombing attacks were carried out by extremists and radicals, gangsters and mobsters, thugs and lunatics. You can read about them in Mike Digby’s 2016 book, The Bombs, Bombers and Bombings of Los Angeles, available for purchase after his presentation.

Mike will discuss several of these cases from the perspective of a veteran detective and bomb technician with nearly 41 years of service. His focus will be on the application of basic investigative work with forensic science and how those disciplines have evolved to match wits and guile with the bombers themselves.

Case study #1: Bomber Bill and his Night of Revenge – After nearly five years of debilitating pain caused by an industrial accident in which he battled with the State Industrial Accident Commission for compensation, William Ward had had enough. Wracked with pain and seemingly out of options, he made a kill list of commission members and “shyster” doctors, then set out on a mission to bomb each of them, their families and homes. His plan was devious; purchasing more than 200 pounds of dynamite, renting a home under an assumed name, then concealing his specially-made dynamite bombs along a riverbed. On the night of February 18, 1949, “Bomber Bill” set out in a rental truck and planted bombs at four homes in the Beverly Hills area. But for the vigilance of an attentive Beverly Hills cop, he’d have succeeded. He was caught red-handed, but not before one of his bombs destroyed a home. Disaster… and murder…. was barely averted at the other homes.

Case study #2: Terror in Tinseltown – There was once a time when terrorist bombings in Los Angeles were as commonplace as gang violence is today. These bombings were carried out from the 1960s-1980s by extremist organizations and terrorist groups intent on waging war on America. They fought as the Croatian Liberation Army, Weather Underground, Chicano Liberation Front, Cuban Action Commandos, Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide, Symbionese Liberation Army, and more, and were as deadly as any terrorist group today. Our discussion of these attacks will focus on the advancements in forensic sciences and the development of counter-terrorist tactics which ultimately led to the defeat of each of these terrorist organizations.

Case study #3: Wiggins’ Diggins’ – On a windy afternoon in December 1976 in the barren desert west of Lancaster, two children made a remarkable discovery. Blowing across the desert were items of military clothing, some of which had become entangled in the brush. The uniforms were interesting enough, but it was the belted ammunition and mortar rounds which they carried home that generated a fair degree of panic from their parents. Bomb technicians from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Bomb Squad were called to the scene to investigate. What they discovered was the largest cache of military weapons and explosives ever uncovered in the United States, all buried in well-built underground bunkers containing several tons of high explosives, an arsenal of military weapons, hazardous chemicals, survival gear and military uniforms. A months-long investigation resulted in the discovery of several hidden caches of explosives and weapons throughout Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. One man, the son of auto-paint magnate Earl Schreib, was arrested and convicted of amassing this massive arsenal.

About our presenter: After serving seven years in the United States Army, Mike Digby joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department where he served proudly for more than 34 years. For the last seventeen years, he was assigned as a Detective Bomb Technician in the Arson/Bomb Squad where his duties included rendering safe and disassembling improvised explosive devices, examining and disposing of military ordnance and conducting post-blast investigations. A self-proclaimed ‘bomb nerd’ and decorated detective, Mike has spent years studying the motives of bombers, their methods of attack and the bombs that they built. He has served as technical advisor on BBC and Discovery Channel programs. In December 2016, Mike published The Bombs, Bombers and Bombings of Los Angeles, a book which documents several dozen bombing events that took place in the Los Angeles area over the past hundred years. Mike has previously given a LAVA Forensic Science Seminar presentation titled, L.A. Bombings: A Detective’s Casebook, in which he described several lesser-known bombings in the Los Angeles area.

Presentation #2: Dr. Elizabeth Miller on Stages of Decomposition

Dr. Miller’s illustrated lecture about how bodies break down is not for the faint of heart. You’ll see vivid illustrations of the four stages of human decomposition–fresh, bloat, heavy decomp, skeletonization / mummification–then learn about the pig decomp studies done by her students. Through fascinating stories drawing on crime scene investigation and lab research, this presentation will provide the answers to everything you ever wanted to know about the human body and its decomposition, and a few things you never thought to ask.

About our presenter: Dr. Elizabeth Miller has been a faculty member in the Anthropology Dept. at CSULA since 1997. Her research interests include: forensic anthropology, particularly determination of postmortem interval; paleopathology; Contact studies; and repatriation issues. Her previous presentations for LAVA’s Forensic Science Seminars have been on Palo Mayombe and Santa Muerte.

The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Esotouric and Professor Donald Johnson invite you to the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Southern California, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department.

The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Esotouric and Professor Donald Johnson invite you to the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Southern California, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department.

Presentation #1: Death in Paradise

Author Brad Schreiber’s book Death In Paradise is the only authorized history of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office. Join him for a wide-ranging talk about this historic office, its procedural innovations and high profile autopsies and inquests.

Among the many fascinating cases Brad will highlight are:

• The mysterious 1935 death of comedy film legend Thelma Todd. Found dead in her Pacific Palisades garage with her car engine running, Todd became the subject of a rare Coroner’s inquest, one that not only made a strong case for murder by her secret live-in lover but also raised issues regarding the Mob and even a supernatural element.
• The 1970 death of journalist Ruben Salazar following a Chicano anti-war parade in East Los Angeles. An LA Sheriff’s Department deputy fired a tear gas projectile through the curtain of the Silver Dollar Bar, suspecting there were armed men inside. Salazar’s near decapitation set off a storm of protest, another Coroner’s inquest and intense media scrutiny.
• The largest shootout in US history, featured in Brad’s new book Revolution’s End, during which almost 500 law enforcement officers surrounded a small South Los Angeles bungalow where six members of the Symbionese Liberation Army, kidnappers of heiress Patty Hearst, were hiding. The house burned to the ground, all six died, and Coroner Thomas Noguchi had to change his findings about the mysterious death of the SLA leader, Donald DeFreeze, a known police informant and prison victim of behavior modification.
• From the early days of gunfights and lynchings to the OJ Simpson case, Brad provides a unique perspective on the changing landscape of forensic science and Los Angeles history set against the backdrop of the Coroner’s Office.

Brad’s books will be available for purchase and signing during the event. Brad also hosts an all new Esotouric bus adventure on Saturday, February 11, Two Days in South LA: The 1974 SLA Shootout, which is based on his book, Revolution’s End.

Presentation #2: Crime Scene Investigation 101

Professor Don Johnson, head of the Cal State Los Angeles Criminalistics Department, offers an introduction to the art and science of crime scene investigation, in the spirit of his work with students beginning their careers as forensic investigators.

You’ll learn about the subtleties of cause of death analysis, how a range of circumstances can leave nearly identical physical evidence, the paraphilias and obsessions that compel criminals to act and the techniques that ensure a crime scene investigator doesn’t miss significant clues.

With ample time for Q&A and Professor Johnson’s trademark good humor, this master class in crime scene investigation is a rare opportunity for the lay public to get into the head of a working forensic scientist.

The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Esotouric and Professor Donald Johnson invite you to the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Southern California, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department.

Join us for an afternoon with LASD arson/bomb detective Ed Nordskog, presenting on one of his most fascinating recent investigations, The Hollywood Fire Devil case.

ABOUT THE CRIMES: In 2011, Dorothee Burkhart used a fake check to pay a Frankfurt doctor the equivalent of $10,000 for breast augmentation surgery. The German authorities took a dim view of the ironic twist of using fake money to pay for fake boobs and soon arrested the long time scam artist. Ever resourceful, Dorothee feigned a heart attack and was taken to a hospital. She crawled out an emergency room window and called her adult special needs son Harry, who delivered their passports and some cash. The pair fled through Europe and flew to Vancouver. After being refused asylum in Canada, Dorothee fled to the United States and eventually landed in Hollywood, where she put her new assets to good use by opening an erotic massage parlor.

German authorities tracked her down and issued an international arrest warrant seeking extradition. This warrant was executed on December 26, 2011 by agents from the United States Marshal’s Service and the Deparment of State. Dorothee was arrested and appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on December 28. During the hearing, a livid Harry Burkhart leaped up and demanded his mother’s release. He yelled “Death to America”, among other things. The judge, realizing that Harry had mental health issues, ordered him to be identified and removed from the courthouse.

Eight hours later, a still fuming Harry Burkhart would light the first of fifty-two fires he would set over a four day period. The arrest of his mother would trigger that largest and most furious amount of arson activity ever recorded, and would bring the four largest police and fire agencies west of the Mississippi River to their collective knees. It would also cause the formation of the largest and most intense arson manhunt ever conceived in the United States.

Over the next four days, 400 local and federal investigators would utilize every possible tactic and trick in the hunt for the elusive Hollywood serial arsonist. This intense investigation would culminate with a simple traffic stop by a reserve sheriff’s deputy who earns one dollar per year (less taxes) for volunteering to serve his community.

The Hollywood Fire Devil case is the largest and most intense arson investigation in the history of the United States and is explained through the eyes of the lead investigators who spent ninety straight hours on their feet tracking down hundreds of leads.

ABOUT ED NORDSKOG:

Ed Nordskog is an active arson-bomb investigator/profiler for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept. He has been a detective since 1990, and specializing in arson-bomb investigations since 1997. He has conducted over 2,000 arson investigations and has arrested over 300 persons for arson related offenses. He has investigated over 60 fire death scenes and been an investigator on over 55 serial arson cases. He has testified on these subjects in various courts on over 85 occasions.

He has a Master’s Degree from Cal State Long Beach and has been named Cal State POST Instructor of the Year. He is a Lead Instructor and course developer for POST Arson-Explosion Investigations and Homicide (Fire Death) Investigation Courses

Det. Nordskog has assisted over 70 police, fire, and prosecution agencies with arson, serial arson, and fire death scene investigations. He has been asked to review several “cold case” arson murders in the local area and other states. He has delivered arson and bomb profiling lectures in a dozen U.S. states, Canada, and in several foreign countries. He is a regular lecturer for the FBI.

Det. Nordskog has authored three books on arsonists and serial arsonists, including his most recent release, The Arsonist Profiles. He has been named the “International Arson Investigator of the Year”, and the “Law Enforcement Officer of the Year” for his work on major and complex arson investigations. He has provided expertise and script consulting to several television and movie projects regarding both arsonists and bombers.

Contact Ed at ednordskog@gmail.com

The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Esotouric and Professor Donald Johnson invite you to the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Southern California, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department.

Join us for an afternoon exploring cold case investigations and cutting edge advances in forensic science.

Presentation One – Building A Better Human Head

Professor David Raymond will discuss the development of a human head surrogate for blood spatter dynamics research, which is a joint project of his Applied Injury Biomechanics Lab and the CSULA Criminalistics Department.

Dr. Raymond will explain the engineering behind crafting a surrogate human head which responds to injury just like a real one, and how this helps in the forensic investigation of crime scenes. He will also host an interactive blood spatter lab demonstration, using a human head surrogate and a variety of destructive tools.

Presentation Two –Breaking a 44-Year Old Cold Case

Criminalist and historian Meiling Cabral presents on the 1972 murder of Helen Meyler, solved after four decades through the use of DNA technology.

BACKGROUND: On the morning of Sunday, August 27, 1972, the body of 78-year-old woman was discovered. A recent widow, Helen Meyler lived alone in her second-floor mid-Wilshire apartment. The victim was found by her daughter and son-in-law, when they arrived to pick her up for church. She was lying on her back in bed with her nightgown pulled up around her waist. Blankets covered her body and a pillow covered her face. The victim had several visible wounds to the right side of her head. A metal and glass candelabra lay on the unoccupied, adjacent bed. Pieces of broken metal and glass were scattered on her bed, the floor and underneath both beds. There was blood spatter on the wall behind the beds. There were no signs of forced entry into the apartment. The bedroom sliding glass window was open, and the screen had been removed and was lying on the floor below. The apartment had been ransacked. On August 28, the Deputy Medical Examiner of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head. The murder remained unsolved.

In 2014, LAPD detectives assigned to the Cold Case Homicide Unit began reviewing a large backlog of unsolved cases, hoping to utilize DNA to solve them. In July 2014, LAPD Detectives re-opened the case of victim Meyler. A DNA case consultation was arranged with the Serology DNA Unit of the LAPD Forensic Science Division. Of the remaining evidence still in Property Division was a blanket taken from the victim’s bed, semen was detected and a cutting was taken for DNA analysis.

An unknown male DNA profile was obtained from the sperm fraction and was uploaded to The Combined DNA Index System, (CODIS). On September 21, 2014, a CODIS hit was obtained. In January 2015, LAPD Detectives obtained a reference sample from the putative perpetrator for the CODIS confirmation. The DNA profile obtained from the sperm fraction of the cutting from the blue and white blanket matched the reference sample. After 44 years, the identity of the murderer was revealed.

Harold Holman, now 70, was found guilty in July of the first degree murder of Helen Meyler. The jury of nine women and three men returned the verdict shortly after closing arguments concluded. He was sentenced to life in prison.

At the time his DNA was linked to the murder of Helen Meyler, Holman was 34 years into serving a 45-year sentence for a double murder and a string of high-rise residential burglaries in the 1970s. He scaled the outside of tall buildings using suction cups and night vision goggles, these weird access methods earning him the nickname “Spider-Man.”

Presenter Meiling Cabral is Editorial Secretary of the California Association of Criminalists, and a criminalist for the LAPD. Meiling combines a practicing forensic scientist’s experience and an historian’s passion for reconstructing the past.

The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Esotouric and Professor Donald Johnson invite you to the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Southern California, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department.

Join us for an afternoon exploring the outer reaches of spirituality and crime, through case histories of unusual religious rituals that might be crimes, or just look that way.

Presentation #1 – Notes from Dr. Bea Yorker’s Casebook.

Dr. Yorker will share some intriguing cases of uncommon religious rituals that have been investigated as crimes by Southland police departments. These include Folk Healing practices that have been mistaken for ritualistic or standard child abuse: Caida de Mollera (a series of maneuvers on an infant who may have a bulging Fontanelle that can be mistaken for shaken baby syndrome) and other Curanderismo (cultural healing practices) that have been reported as abuse by outsiders unfamiliar with their context. Another practice is Gua Sha, a Vietnamese treatment in which an oiled coin is vigorously rubbed over the torso to reduce fever; this leaves a pattern of skin discoloration that is distressing to ER and clinic personnel. Other healing techniques which can result in abuse reports include moxibustion (smoldering herbs on the abdomen) and cupping (creating blood spots with suction cups). While these treatments may leave marks, most cause no trauma or lasting harm. This is contrasted with a more extreme cultural practice, female circumcision, which has been declared to be child abuse by the World Health Organization and which sometimes results in prosecutions. Dr. Yorker’s presentation, illustrated with numerous examples from her own research, will include a lively discussion about cultural practices and our own comfort level with Western medical treatments that could be interpreted as barbaric in a different context.

Dr. Beatrice Yorker is the Former Dean of the College of Health and Human Services Cal State LA (CSULA).

Presentation #2: Dr. Elizabeth Miller on Ritual Use of Human Remains

Dr. Miller will discuss examples of the ritual use of human remains in Palo Mayombe and Santa Muerte) rituals that have been investigated in Los Angeles County. (There will be no examples of Santeria cases, because Santeria practitioners don’t use human bones.). Then she’ll branch out to Mexico, to explore one of the most notorious examples of the ritual use of human remains, the 1989 torture-murder of Texas pre-med student Mark Kilroy, kidnapped in Matamoros while celebrating Spring Break. The investigation into Kilroy’s disappearance uncovered the existence of a Palo Mayombe cult that had committed numerous murders for protection of their drug dealing activities.

Dr. Elizabeth Miller has been a faculty member in the Anthropology Dept. at CSULA since 1997. Her research interests include: forensic anthropology, particularly determination of postmortem interval; paleopathology; Contact studies; and repatriation issues.

The Los Angeles Visionaries Association, Esotouric and Professor Donald Johnson invite you to the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Southern California, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department.

Join us as the people who worked the cases share a fascinating journey through the investigations and prosecutions.

Taking its name from Perry Mason, the popular mid-20th century television series where such dramatic reversals occurred, in court proceedings, a “Perry Mason moment” is said to have occurred whenever information is unexpectedly introduced into the record. It changes the perception of the proceedings greatly and can influence the outcome. Often it takes the form of a witness’s answer to a question, but it can sometimes come in the form of new evidence.

Because of modern discovery requirements, Perry Mason moments are rare in actual American court proceedings. Both sides are largely aware of what the other plans to introduce as evidence, and lawyers largely prefer not to ask witnesses questions when they do not have a good idea what the response will be.

Two cases will be presented, both with Perry Mason Moments, both with bloodstain pattern interpretations, both from the multiple perspectives of the lab scientist-investigating detectives-prosecutors, both illustrating the upmost in prosecutorial ethics when those Perry Mason moments occurred.

Presentation #1: “How The DNA Database Brought Christina Burmeister’s Killers To Justice” with retired LASD Detective Sgt. Joe Purcell, LASD Homicide Bureau Detective Deputy Phil Guzman, the prosecuting Deputy District Attorney John Monaghan (Assistant Head Deputy of the Pomona Branch), and retired LASD Senior Criminalist Lynne Herold.

This presentation brings together a detective, forensic scientist and prosecuting attorney for a multi-dimensional journey into the investigation and prosecution of Christina Burmeister’s murderer, a case that hinged upon the 2004 passage of Proposition 69, the DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act. This law requires felons to submit DNA to a statewide database.

On August 17, 2001, Christina Burmeister, 20, left her Cerritos home to attend a Cal Poly Pomona frat party. Before arriving, she was kidnapped, and her ATM card used at a bank. Burmeister was then driven up Highway 39 in Azusa Canyon, where her throat was slashed. Her body was found in her abandoned pickup truck, along with an abandoned plastic cigar tip, from which DNA evidence was extracted.

In 2005, James Winslow Dixon, a felon who had been released from prison in 1993, was tied to the crime through DNA evidence. He and several compatriots were then charged with the murder of Christina Burmeister.

Bloodstain patterns found at the scene were able to provide information about what happened during the murder and determine who was telling the truth: the three compatriots of the defendant who gave statements in an effort to avoid the death penalty, or the defense expert’s bloodstain pattern interpretation.

Presentation #2 the People vs Kyle Christopher Jacobs (aka “Why you should never feel bad about your housekeeping skills”) presented by retired Senior Criminalist Lynne Herold and the prosecuting Deputy District Attorney T. D. Pham.

The victim (a friend of the defendant) died of a single shot gun wound to the head, a large metal mallet lay near his body in the driveway of the defendant’s house. Was this a murder or, as the defendant claimed, a case of self-defense? What happens when a witness spontaneously testifies that the large metal mallet was first seen in a position other than depicted in the crime scene photographs?

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Join us in the Cal State Los Angeles teaching crime lab for an afternoon’s inquiry into the history and practice of forensic science in Los Angeles, in support of new research coming out of the Criminalistics Department. 

Presentation #1: L.A. Bombing with Mike Digby

Presenter Mike Digby recently retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after 34 years of law enforcement service and six years in the US Army. For the last 17 years, he was assigned as an FBI-certified bomb technician/detective on the LASD Arson-Explosives Detail. Mike has a wealth of international experience in the bomb disposal world; having conducted counter-IED training in Thailand, Israel, Germany, Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Poland.

His first book, “L.A. Bombing,” is scheduled for publication in Spring 2016. He wrote it to answer that age-old question, “there’s bombings in L.A?”

Today’s talk focuses on a couple of interesting, yet less-publicized, bombings that have occurred in Los Angeles.

Presentation #2: The Making of a Serial Killer: The Corey King Arson Murder Investigations with Ed Nordskog

In the spring of 2008, an unknown suspect entered the home of a 91-year-old grandmother in Altadena. The woman was later found beaten and stabbed to death, with her home set on fire. Six months later and eighty miles away, fire fighters responded to a structure fire in Lancaster. After the fire was extinguished, the bodies of a mother and three daughters were found strewn about the home. They had each been savagely attacked and beaten and stabbed to death before the fires.

LA Sheriffs Homicide and Arson detectives linked an 18-year-old male to both scenes using forensics, criminal profiling, and pure luck.

Join the investigation as we take this profile in front of a Death Penalty jury. It is truly an inside look at a developing maniac serial killer, and how he was caught before more innocents could be victimized.

ABOUT ED NORDSKOG: Ed Nordskog is an active arson/bomb detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He has been a detective since 1990, working specifically in the arson and explosives world since 1997. He has conducted over sixteen hundred fire investigations and as of this writing has personally arrested and interviewed over 250 persons who were convicted of fire setting and related crimes. He has testified in court as a recognized expert in this field on over fifty-five occasions. He has been consulted by prosecuting attorneys on death penalty cases involving arson and murder on three occasions. He has been personally involved in over twenty serial arson investigations. The author has a master’s degree in emergency services management and is certified as a fire investigator by the California State Fire Marshal and the California Conference of Arson Investigators. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Arson Investigation Course, the ATF Advanced Arson Investigation Course, the Forensic Fire Death Investigation Course, and numerous other arson investigation courses. He is involved in course development and teaches fire scene investigation, major arson case investigation, serial arson investigation, and arson murder/fire death investigation. He is a course developer and instructor for the state of California’s Arson and Explosives Investigation Course. He is an instructor for the state of California’s Homicide Investigator’s Course. In 2004, the author was named Arson Investigator of the Year by the International Association of Arson Investigators and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year by the International Association of Special Investigations Units; both of these awards are for his work as the lead investigator on a massive arson for hire scheme, involving fifty-five burned properties. He has received over eighty-five commendations, awards, and medals throughout his law enforcement career related to successful criminal investigations. He is author of the books ‘Torchered’ Minds: Case Histories of Notorious Serial Arsonists and Fire Raisers, Freaks and Fiends—Obsessive Arsonists in the California Foothills.