Death Investigation Academy

10/13/2026

🚨 ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR DEATH INVESTIGATION SKILLS TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

Some things simply can't be learned from behind a computer screen!

Join Death Investigation Training Academy this October in Springfield, Missouri, for our in-person Medicolegal Death Investigator (MDI) Course!

Whether you're new to death investigation, looking to strengthen your existing skills, or wanting to expand your professional knowledge, this training is an opportunity you don't want to miss!

🔎 Learn from experienced professionals
🔎 Strengthen your investigative knowledge and skills
🔎 Connect with others in the death investigation field
🔎 Take your training beyond the screen

📍 Springfield, Missouri
📅 October 2026

⏰ TIME IS RUNNING OUT TO REGISTER!

Don't miss your opportunity to invest in your training and take your investigative skills to the next level!

💬 INTERESTED IN ATTENDING?
👇 Comment "MDI" below or send us a private message, and we'll help you get registered!

Invest in your training. Strengthen your skills. Be prepared for the next call.

10/12/2026

🔎🧠 MINI QUIZ MONDAY

🚨 THIS ONE IS FOR THE SEASONED INVESTIGATORS!

A 46-year-old male is discovered deceased in a narrow space between his bed and the bedroom wall. The decedent is found in a partially inverted position, with his upper torso angled downward and his lower extremities elevated against the bed frame.

Scene and investigative findings:
🔹 The decedent has a documented history of heavy alcohol consumption.
🔹 A partially consumed bottle of liquor is located on the nightstand.
🔹 No obvious external injuries suggesting a significant physical altercation are observed.
🔹 Facial congestion and scattered conjunctival petechiae are documented.
🔹 The distribution of posterior lividity appears inconsistent with the position in which the decedent was discovered. Whether the lividity is fixed has not been established.
🔹 The reporting party states the decedent was last seen alive approximately 10 hours before discovery.
🔹 The initial external examination reveals no obvious lethal injury.

❓ THE QUESTION:

Which investigative approach is MOST defensible when evaluating whether the decedent's position contributed to death?

A. Prioritize the positional findings and facial congestion because their combination provides sufficient evidence to support positional asphyxia.

B. Focus primarily on toxicology because evidence of significant intoxication would establish that the decedent was unable to escape the position.

C. Evaluate the potential for mechanical restriction of breathing, correlate scene findings with autopsy and toxicology results, investigate alternative causes of death, and assess possible postmortem repositioning.

D. Prioritize the lividity discrepancy because it provides the strongest evidence that the decedent was repositioned after death.

👇 WHAT'S YOUR ANSWER, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY?

We're looking for investigative reasoning, not just a letter!

What additional findings would influence your conclusions?

📅 We'll reveal the answer and discuss the investigative reasoning on Wednesday!

10/10/2026

🔎📸 FUN FACT FRIDAY | THE CAMERA CAN SEE WHAT YOUR EYES MISS!

Did you know that some potential evidence can become easier to visualize under specialized lighting than under ordinary room lighting?

In forensic investigations, alternate light sources (ALS), optical filters, and specialized photography can help investigators locate and document certain stains, trace materials, and other findings that may be difficult to distinguish under normal lighting conditions.

But here's where things get interesting...

🔬 NOT EVERYTHING THAT GLOWS IS BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE!

Some detergents, cosmetics, fibers, and everyday household products can fluoresce under certain lighting conditions.

And just because something DOESN'T fluoresce doesn't mean evidence isn't present!

The visibility of potential evidence depends on several factors, including the material, surface, wavelength of light, and filters being used.

💡 THE TAKEAWAY:

Alternate light sources can help investigators locate potential evidence, but fluorescence alone cannot identify a substance.

Further examination and appropriate testing may be necessary to determine what was actually found.

💬 QUESTION FOR OUR INVESTIGATORS:

Have you ever used an alternate light source during an investigation and discovered something you might have otherwise overlooked?

👇 Share your experiences in the comments! (Without revealing confidential case details, of course!)

10/08/2026

What State do you work in? Let us know in the comments.

10/07/2026

🔎 MINI QUIZ MONDAY — ANSWER REVEAL

On Monday, we gave you a case involving two different distributions of apparent lividity in a decedent found supine.

The most defensible answer was: ✅ B

The distribution raises the possibility of postmortem repositioning, but the findings alone cannot establish the exact timing, circumstances, or reason for the change in position.

Here's why:

After death, blood settles primarily within dependent areas of the body, producing livor mortis. If the body is repositioned before lividity becomes fixed, the pattern may shift or develop in both the previous and newly dependent areas. Once lividity is fixed, the established pattern generally persists even if the body is subsequently repositioned.

In this scenario, well-developed posterior lividity combined with a lighter anterior distribution deserves further investigation. The pattern may be consistent with postmortem repositioning, but it does not independently establish exactly when the movement occurred, who moved the body, why it was moved, or the complete sequence of events.

🔎 Lividity is evidence...not a stopwatch.

The development and fixation of lividity vary, and lividity alone should not be used to assign a precise postmortem interval.

Instead, compare the finding with the scene, body position, witness statements, EMS activity, medical intervention, and other postmortem findings. The 2024 NIJ guide specifically emphasizes identifying discrepancies between the body and scene and obtaining information from first responders and witnesses when evaluating whether a body may have been moved.

The takeaway:
Good investigators recognize the difference between identifying an inconsistency and explaining that inconsistency before the evidence supports the explanation.

Great job to everyone who chose B! 👏

10/05/2026

🔎 MINI QUIZ MONDAY

You respond to an unattended death in a climate-controlled residence.
The decedent is found supine on a bed. During your examination, you document:

🔎 Well-developed posterior lividity that does not blanch with sustained pressure.

🔎 A second, noticeably lighter distribution of apparent lividity along portions of the anterior torso.

🔎 EMS reports the body was not repositioned during their assessment.

🔎 The family member who discovered the decedent reports finding them supine and denies moving the body.

Which interpretation is MOST defensible based on these findings?
A. The anterior lividity establishes that the decedent was originally prone and was moved only after lividity became completely fixed.
B. The distribution raises the possibility of postmortem repositioning, but the findings alone cannot establish the exact timing, circumstances, or reason for the change in position.
C. Because the posterior lividity is nonblanching, the anterior discoloration cannot represent lividity and should be interpreted as traumatic injury.
D. The two distributions establish that the body was moved twice after death.

👇 What's your answer: A, B, C, or D?

For this one, don't just give us the letter. Tell us what the findings allow you to conclude—and what they don't.

We'll break it down Wednesday.

10/03/2026

🔍 FUN FACT FRIDAY

Did you know fingerprints may still be useful for identification even after significant postmortem changes? 🖐️

Decomposition, prolonged water exposure, drying, and other postmortem changes can make conventional fingerprinting difficult—but that doesn't necessarily mean usable friction-ridge detail is gone.

Depending on the condition of the remains, trained forensic professionals may use specialized techniques to recover or record ridge detail that isn't readily obtainable with traditional ink-and-paper methods. FBI Biometric Specifications

These techniques can include:
🔎 Rehydrating or reconditioning dehydrated tissue
🖐️ Recording loosened epidermal skin
📸 Photographing difficult friction-ridge detail
🔬 Recording ridge detail from underlying skin when appropriate

The takeaway?

👉 Difficult to print doesn't necessarily mean impossible to identify.
The condition of the hands, degree of decomposition, environmental exposure, and available expertise all influence which technique may be appropriate.

09/29/2026

🚨 READY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR DEATH INVESTIGATION SKILLS?

A death scene doesn't come with a checklist telling you what matters.

You have to know what to look for, what questions to ask, what needs to be documented, and when something at the scene simply doesn't add up.

Join Death Investigation Training Academy for our in-person Medicolegal Death Investigator Course in Springfield, Missouri.

📅 October 26–30, 2026
📍 Springfield, Missouri
💲 Tuition: $875

Five days of focused training designed for professionals responsible for investigating death and documenting the circumstances surrounding it.

This course is ideal for:
🔹 Coroners & Deputy Coroners
🔹 Medicolegal Death Investigators
🔹 Law Enforcement
🔹 Medical Examiner Personnel
🔹 Professionals entering the death investigation field

Whether you're building your foundation or strengthening skills you've already developed in the field, this training is designed to help you approach your next scene with greater knowledge and confidence.

Don't wait until you're standing at a difficult scene to wish you'd had more training.

👉 Learn more and register:
ditacademy.org/mldi/

This hybrid course is developed for the police detective, patrol officer, medicolegal and coroner investigator. Taught by skilled accredited instructors working the field of death investigation,