DANVILLE — Sometimes little things reveal a lot, according to Montour County Coroner Scott Lynn.
For instance, in one local case, a cigarette butt found under the body of a homicide victim helped police link the killer to the crime, Lynn said.
“The cigarette was the same type the perpetrator smoked and the DNA matched,” Lynn told the 11th- and 12th-graders in Donna Wood’s forensics science class at Danville High School on Monday.
Investigators must pay attention to details “no matter how trivial they may seem,” Lynn said. “That’s my business to pay attention to detail.”
The coroner has an extensive library of photographs of the settings in which victims were found. The photographs can be gruesome, but they can also shed light on the circumstances of the death under investigation, the coroner said.
Lynn described the case of man whose body was discovered in the woods a mile from his home.
Because blood ran toward his feet, “We know he wasn’t in the position he was found. He was seated or standing when the injury occurred,” Lynn said.
A couple of pine needles on the body indicated he had been there for a day, Lynn said. Also found was blood on the sleeve of his jacket. His cell phone and wallet were nearby.
At the man’s home, Lynn discovered a safe deposit box on the man’s bed and an open drawer where gun shells had been removed.
An autopsy showed two holes in the skull. Lynn ruled the death a suicide.
“We confiscate the victim’s driver’s license and passport so they can’t be used by anybody else,” said Lynn, who has been coroner 18 years. Before that, he served as chief deputy coroner, beginning in 1981.
News
Related Photos
-
Justin Engle
Discussion
Coroner tells students how cases are solved
- News
-
-
Buyer: Pine Meadow must be vacated
With only five days to go before a federal public housing contract runs out, Ramon Margary occupies one of two of 100 apartments yet to be vacated at Pine Meadow.
-
Care home's $68G fine in limbo
A hearing was canceled Friday to determine if the president of a corporation, that was convicted of stealing money from a resident of a Selinsgrove personal care home, is liable to pay its $68,000 fine.
-
Group offers weapons against cyber crime
With increased budget pressures forcing more police departments to consider placing every available officer on patrol as much as possible, a nonprofit organization is providing funding to make the case that it makes sense to continue efforts to try to identify sexual predators online.
-
Ex-chief clerk fights to keep lawsuit alive
Kymberley Best, the fired Northumberland County chief clerk, is willing to dismiss one count of her federal lawsuit but opposes a defense motion to dismiss the entire case.
-
Judge sets May trial date for Sandusky abuse case
BELLEFONTE — A judge said today he would decide soon whether to grant former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky greater freedom — and visits from his young grandchildren — while he awaits trial on child sex-abuse charges, but prosecutors countered that Sandusky's home is not a safe place for children.
-
Lewisburg schools face cuts in personnel, programs
LEWISBURG -- Superintendent Mark DiRocco told the Lewisburg school board Thursday night that a proposed block grant system of school budget funding will run the district short of cash that will have to be made up through personnel and program cuts. Lewisburg's proposed 2012-13 budget stands at $28.6 million, with no less but also no more money coming from Harrisburg. "Even a neutral budget is problematic," DiRocco said.
-
Mom: Keller's response left her cold
LEWISBURG -- Like many people, Elise Nicol is concerned about Marcellus Shale and the industry's effects on Pennsylvania's environment. The Lewisburg mother of two cares about it enough that she sent an email to state Rep. Fred Keller, R-85 of Kreamer, asking him to oppose House Bill 1950, which passed the General Assembly on Wednesday.
-
Point Township authority concerned by sewer plant violations
NORTHUMBERLAND -- Point Township Sewer Authority members Thursday night expressed concerns about a Feb. 3 letter sent to the Northumberland Sewer Authority by the state's Department of Environmental Protection saying that the borough authority has violated the Clean Streams Act.
-
Persing truck fee idea stalls
SUNBURY -- While Pennsylvania has passed legislation allowing communities to collect impact fees in 35 counties, Northumberland County is not one of them, and business leaders and lawmakers do not think Sunbury Mayor David Persing's plan to try to do his own version of an impact fee will pass muster.
-
Barber draws a crowd
DANVILLE -- The talk can be spirited at times, ranging from hunting to sports to home repairs. "You hear all kinds of stories," Gene Koehler, of Riverside, said Thursday as he waited for a haircut at The Masters barbershop, 209 Mill St. No appointment is necessary. Customers can just walk in.
-
State board approves table games at Valley Forge casino
VALLEY FORGE — A casino resort scheduled to open this spring in the Philadelphia suburb of Valley Forge has been approved for table games.
-
Doctors telling more adults: Get out and exercise
ATLANTA — A new study shows more and more U.S. adults are being told by their doctor to get off their duffs and exercise. A government survey found nearly 33 percent of adults who saw a doctor in the previous year said they were told to exercise. That was up from about 23 percent in 2000.
- More News Headlines
-
