AAFS 2025
What is a Case Break?
Case Break Sessions are modified sessions where interesting case presentations — typically of entertainment value — are made during a time when attendees can sit in on a session during what would normally be their breakfast time while learning at the same time.
Tuesday, February 18
8:30 am – 9:30 am
Stephanie Domitrovich, PhD
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
Erie, PAWilliam M. Nuzum III, JD
W. Milton Nuzum III, LLC
Vincent, OHAttendees will assume the role of the judge in each hypothetical case to determine the admissibility of expert testimony on the cause of death by applying the appropriate evidentiary standards for admissibility of the testimony. Underlying each scenario is the controversy of racial or ethnic bias affecting the diagnosis of cause of death. Attendees will understand how the diagnosis can impact the potential criminal or civil liability on the part of the responding law enforcement officers or first responders involved in each case. Is there qualified immunity for law enforcement? Attendees will understand the dilemmas that judges have in admitting testimony proffered by experts in these cases and how those dilemmas have been or are resolved.
This presentation will inform the forensic science community by presenting a series of hypothetical emergency scenarios based on actual court cases where law enforcement and first responders are dispatched to an emergency crime scene resulting in detention and treatment of an alleged perpetrator. Each scenario involves a tragic situation that results in the death of the perpetrator at the scene. Attendees will understand the dilemmas that judges have in admitting testimony proffered by experts in these cases and how those dilemmas have been or are resolved.
Tuesday, February 18
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Heather A. Walsh-Haney, PhD
Florida Gulf Coast University
Human Identity and Trauma Analysis Laboratory
Fort Myers, FLMicki Besse, MS
Florida Gulf Coast University
Human Identity and Trauma Analysis Laboratory
Fort Myers, FLKatherine Kenerson, MD
Florida District 11 Office of the Medical Examiner
Miami, FLKenneth Hutchins, MD
Florida District 11 Office of the Medical Examiner
Miami, FLBenjamin Mathis, MD
Florida District 11 Office of the Medical Examiner
Miami, FLAfter this presentation, attendees will understand the protocols and technologies implemented after a mass fatality event in Surfside, FL. This presentation introduces the forensic science community to physical and digital decedent documentation following a mass fatality incident with a closed population from a forensic anthropological perspective as guided by the needs of the medical examiner and law enforcement personnel as well as the various community stakeholders.
Wednesday, February 19
7:15 am – 8:15 am
Joseph C. Sremack, MS
Forensic Data Analytics
Marcum LLP
New York, NYAttendees will gain an understanding of what synthetic data is and how it is used, scenarios in which synthetic data needs to be identified in an investigation, and the results of techniques applied to the identification process. The presentation will focus on a case study, in which synthetic data was present, on how fraud analysis techniques were applied to identify the special characteristics of synthetic data and the analysis findings and results.
The presentation will provide the forensic science community with a better understanding of the emerging area of synthetic data, why it matters to a variety of cases requiring forensic analysis, and how such data can be identified and isolated vis-à-vis ground truth data.
Wednesday, February 19
7:15 am – 8:15 am
Danielle M. Crimmins, PhD
National Institute of Justice
Department of Justice
Washington, DCJonathan McGrath, PhD
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Houston, TXJillian Barnas, PhD
AAAS/NIJ
Washington, DCAfter attending this presentation, attendees will understand: (1) how social science research and evaluation provides objective evidence to advance the fair and impartial administration of justice; (2) the application of social science research and evaluation methods to study the forensic science disciplines, including examples from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ's)'s Social Science and Forensic Research (SSRFS) portfolio; and (3) a discussion of the benefits, challenges, and future research directions to address the needs of the field.
This presentation will impact the forensic science community by discussing the benefits and challenges of using social science research to formulate meaningful research questions and develop rigorous research designs to advance the impact and understanding of the forensic sciences. This presentation will also foster a discussion between researchers and forensic science practitioners on ways to assess and measure the impact of forensic science disciplines.
Thursday, February 20
7:15 am – 8:15 am
Colleen M. Fitzpatrick, PhD
President, Identifinders International LLC
Fountain Valley, CAUpon attending this presentation, attendees will gain insight into the evolution of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FGG) from Y-STR analysis through autosomal SNP testing. Case studies will be presented illustrating the use of Y-STR FGG to generate investigative leads on cases where the DNA has been exhausted or where a mixture is present. Attendees will also learn how Y-STR FGG can reduce the complex genealogical research often required by autosomal SNP testing by narrowing the possibilities within a family tree to only individuals with a given last name. The presentation will include statistics indicating the probability of successfully obtaining a last name using the technique.
This presentation will impact the forensic science community by demonstrating the synergy that exists between Y-STR and autosomal SNP analysis techniques. The presentation will broaden the understanding of how FGG developed over the last few years to become a powerful tool that has brought resolution to over 1100 cold cases as of December 2023.
Thursday, February 20
7:15 am – 8:15 am
Luciano Garofano, PhD
Italian Academy of Forensic Science
Parma, Emilia-Romagna, ItalyMichele Vaira, JD
Criminal Procedure and International Criminal Law
Vaira Law Firm
Parma, ItalyAfter attending this presentation, participants will understand how journalistic investigations and TV dramas can mislead the perception of the facts established in criminal trials.
This presentation will highlight the danger that biased informati'n may influence public opinion on the fairness of judicial decisions and, in jury-based legal systems, sway the jury's perspective.The case concerns the murder of Yara Gambirasio, a 13-year-old girl, which took place on February 26, 2010, in a small town called Brembate di Sopra (Bergamo-Italia). Three months after her disappearance, on February 25, 2011, her dead body was found in a field, frozen and partially decomposed. Yara had several stab wounds, including to her throat, but she died of starvation and cold.
Friday, February 21
7:15 am – 8:15 am
Jannath Manaf, MASc
Amity University Dubai
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesMuhammad Safar S. P.S, MASc
Amity University Dubai
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesBy the end of the presentation, attendees will have a comprehensive understanding of how soil microbiome and enzymatic responses to cyanide can enhance forensic detection methods, along with practical knowledge on implementing these techniques in real-world forensic settings.
This presentation will have a profound impact on the forensic science community by introducing innovative methodologies to improve cyanide detection in postmortem investigations. The proposed integration of soil microbiome analysis and enzymatic activity profiling represents a significant advancement over conventional toxicological techniques, which often fall short in detecting cyanide in extensively decomposed remains.
Friday, February 21
7:15 am – 8:15 am
Ashfaq Ahmed Kharal, Jr., PhD
Supreme Court
Lahore, Punjab, PakistanThe attendees are interested in a green and clean environment and are using technology to trace the elements of crimes creating pollution and hazards.
No one can deny the impact of a clean environment as it is a need not only in this era but is very emphatic all the time without any discrimination and the use of technology for highlighting these crimes by forensic analysis is the most important impact.
Environmental forensic examinations are an essential component of environmental crime investigations. Environmental forensic whizzes assist factfinders in reenacting the occasion timeline, assessing the size of the destruction and causality. Their sentiments are of ultimate germaneness to environmental criminal stuff. Thus, it is critical to confirm that expert examinations are steered following scientific canons providing reasonably more truthful and steadfast results. In the article, two different slants to the organization of environmental forensic examinations were equated. Forensic examination has been conducted in two states, especially in Russia; the consolidated and more rigid model has been practical concerning environmental forensic studies, while in Poland, such inspections are navigated by decentralized forensic laboratories and self-regulating consultants. The authors deliberated existing variances and parallels between those two methods.