Beyond the Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist

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She also outlined the 1997 murders of Sylvia Sheils and Mary Callinan, as well as Noeleen Brennan, who was killed by her partner in 2008. The forensic science laboratory was busy processing all the exhibits from the scene. Unexpectedly a condom found at the scene provided vital evidence. Manuela’s DNA profile was on the outside surface, so it had been used in her rape. Of course, the DNA profile from the inner surface would identify the man who had raped and killed her. All that was needed now was a suspect. While she welcomes that shift, it's made her role somewhat redundant. She went from being an integral part of the team to being on the fringes looking in. "They don't need someone like me any more - they need someone who will come in and embrace technology, that's not me. We didn't even have computers when I was at school!" I thought I would miss it dreadfully but, thankfully, I’ve got over it. I’ve got over my obsession with death." But that doesn't make good telly. It then became good telly once they had Silent Witness and CSI because they could make it glamorous. Suddenly forensics was becoming sexy and glamorous. I was like: 'Excuse me, I have been doing this for years …'"

Beyond The Tape: The Life and Many Deaths of a State Pathologist, by Dr Marie Cassidy, published by Hachette, priced at €15.99 is available nationwide. I was dropping big hints: 'Hello, see this little person in front of you? I'm the one who does all this, not that big, bulky man with the beard you seem to have every week on the telly.'

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I was telling my 10-year-old while walking to school this morning who I was coming to interview. And he said, “that’s a very sad job”. Is it? Is what you see sad? She recounts visiting a department store in Glasgow on her lunch break after a morning examining a badly decomposed body found in a wooded area. The deceased, she concluded, had likely died from alcohol or natural causes. Someone has to come and identify the body," she says. "You are immediately faced with the reality of that death and who it is going to impact. It was always in my mind that the families should get access to all the information we could give them about a death. I HATE to say this as I have such admiration for Dr. Cassidy and her field of work but I was a little disappointed by this offering. Having worked in such a serious field for so long, she was excited to embrace the sparkles and the “glam” that comes with the show, though there was one element she is not quite as enthusiastic about.

The biggest compliment I got was people saying: 'You don't look anything like a forensic pathologist'. I'd go: 'Yes!' and 'What does a forensic pathologist look like?' People had this idea that you had to be some grumpy old man. That is just not reality. Considine said: “Fans of Patricia Cornwell will delight in her creation, Dr Terry O’Brien, a young pathologist with a troubled past and exceptional forensic skills. Body of Truth is full of suspense and the kind of in-depth forensic detail we would expect from a former state pathologist.” Rachel Reece, host of the popular true crime podcast Ireland’s Missing Women, has been brutally murdered. happened. At the centre of this investigation was Manuela, and our hope was to do her justice. We stood around her — as if we could shield her from more harm, forming a closed circle. Each of us was directly linked to her, each forensic expert and investigator abutting the next but never stepping into the space of their neighbour. The circle around her grew with each step of the investigation, from scene to court, as the family, friends, witnesses, the DPP, the judge and the jury joined it, all looking inwards towards Manuela. Cassidy dealt with her share of murder victims – mainly stabbings. Weapons ranged from a seemingly innocuous pencil to ornamental samurai swords (the latter, she says, were "a common feature on living room walls in 1980s Glasgow").While she often jokes about watching Coronation Street or having a glass of wine to relax after a long day, it’s just about clearing her head.