Page 18 - Veritas - 02.03.22

Mr. Kowalske has also been a guest lecturer in the international we-

binar on “Future of Crime Scene Investigations”, conducted by the

Unit of Forensic Science in Kristu Jayanti College, Autonomous. This

interaction helped us gain more insight into the discipline of blood-

stain pattern analysis and crime scene reconstruction.

1. What was the first-ever case you’ve handled?

I started as a jail officer when I was twenty years old and was really

interested in the field of forensics even at that time. So my first case

would probably be an investigation of the suicide of a jail inmate.

2. What is the hardest blood spatter pattern you’ve analyzed? What

is the hardest blood pattern to analyze in general?

The hardest spatter pattern I’ve worked on was a secondary splash

pattern found on the sole of the victim’s feet, who had been executed,

and her body had been positioned. I worked on it for a month, going

through various body positions consistent with the different factors

and components of the scene. The hardest spatter patterns to analyze

are nondescript patterns where there aren’t enough characteristics

to classify them.

3. What are the routine steps followed during crime scene recon-

struction?

The basic steps would be:

• Documentation (photography, videography, or laser scanning)

• Collecting samples

• Analysis/synthesis of data

4. How do you keep your mental health in check?

This topic is very close to me because, being a sworn detective, we come

across a lot of cases such as child homicides and violent deaths, and

I’ve personally been involved in a shooting as well. So there is a lot of

trauma involved. If you don’t know how to process the way it impacts