How to Catch a Killer: Misdirection of Criminal Asphyxiation Deaths

Asphyxiation, including drowning, strangulation, and suffocation, is a leading cause of death across the lifespan and a preferred method among serial killers, serial predators and other offenders who fly under the radar. Without obvious signs of external trauma, homicides resulting from asphyxiation are often missed or misdiagnosed as suicides, accidents, natural deaths and often encounter legal challenges that surround the “rough sex defense.” This presentation will address dynamics of asphyxiation crimes, crime scene staging and confirmation bias, processing scenes, and interpreting “undetermined” causes of death in an autopsy. This course will also explore lesser-known types of asphyxiation crimes such as aquatic sexual sadism, inert gas poisoning, staged breath play, and more. Attendees will better understand why these cases are so often missed and gain the insight needed to catch a killer. Attendees will also learn how to investigate cases with undetermined cause and manner of deaths, and most importantly will learn how to recognize, investigate, and document asphyxiation homicides to help prevent future injustices.

Register here.

2021 Whitman County Service Provider S.T.O.P. Training

Taking place via Zoom on Wednesday December 1st , from 8:30am-5:00pm.

Our topic for this year’s training will be on Advancing Best Practices for Addressing Strangulation and Asphyxiation with a focus on domestic violence and sexual assault.

Respiration is the physiological foundation of being alive. Without respiration the heart cannot beat, the brain cannot function, and all cells will die. A solid understanding of respiration is necessary to effectively recognize, identify, document, investigate, diagnose, and when appropriate, prosecute, fatal and nonfatal, pediatric asphyxiation. Kelsey and Andrea will take you on a respiration journey from the external atmosphere, through the airways and lungs, to blood, into cells, right through to the final exhalation of respiratory byproducts. You will then use learning by discovery to apply this knowledge to different types of pediatric asphyxia involving inert gases, manual suffocation, neck compression, drowning, choking, torso compression, restraint postures, and more.

Asphyxiation abuses and homicides often lack any external signs. This lack of external evidence often misguides the criminal justice system and results in missed opportunities to identify and investigate serious cases ranging from physical abuse, sexual violence and homicide.

Part II of this presentation will take the audience through case histories of each type of asphyxiation while learning what questions to ask, evidence to document, medical records to study, and experts with whom to consult, in order to best determine the manner of asphyxiation. This presentation will provide you with practical, evidence-based investigative techniques and protocols for working fatal and nonfatal pediatric asphyxiation cases.

Kelsey McKay trains and consults nationally for communities to implement protocol in various fields including intimate partner violence, child abuse, sexual assault, the use of expert witnesses, translating trauma other complex topics. She is a former prosecutor who exclusively prosecuted strangulation related crimes for seven years. She has developed and implemented protocol for strangulation and domestic violence response and treatment. She works with law enforcement to develop protocol and implement the use of a Strangulation Supplement into the field transforming the role of first responders to be more investigative by carrying her knowledge and needs as a prosecutor into the field on every case. She is President and CEO of the non-profit organization, RESPOND Against Violence that works to develop evidence-based protocol with forward-thinking approaches.

Andrea Zaferes is a medicolegal death investigator specializing in the handling of aquatic cases from scene to courtroom. She trains law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, domestic violence workers, medical personnel, and jurisprudence members to recognize, document, and investigate aquatic homicide, death, assault, and abuse cases. She assists in analyzing and building such cases in the U.S. and abroad and has developed standards for their investigation. She is recognized in multiple jurisdictions and the U.S. Army as an expert witness in bodies-found-in-water/aquatic death investigation. For over 30 years, she has taught dive and surface teams around the world to perform water rescue and find/recover submerged evidence and bodies. She is an author and frequent public speaker on the topics of aquatic death and aquatic abuse.

REGISTRATION LINK:https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7381835608462691343

Speaker, To Breathe or Not to Breathe, That is the Question: Expanding the Role of Asphyxiation Crimes Against Children, Dallas Child Advocacy Center Lecture Series (with Andrea Zaferes), July 15 & 22, 2021

Respiration is the physiological foundation of being alive. Without respiration the heart cannot beat, the brain cannot function, and all cells will die. A solid understanding of respiration is necessary to effectively recognize, identify, document, investigate, diagnose, and when appropriate, prosecute, fatal and nonfatal, pediatric asphyxiation. Kelsey and Andrea will take you on a respiration journey from the external atmosphere, through the airways and lungs, to blood, into cells, right through to the final exhalation of respiratory byproducts. You will then use learning by discovery to apply this knowledge to different types of pediatric asphyxia involving inert gases, manual suffocation, neck compression, drowning, choking, torso compression, restraint postures, and more.

Asphyxiation abuses and homicides often lack any external signs. This lack of external evidence often misguides the criminal justice system and results in missed opportunities to identify and investigate serious cases ranging from physical abuse, sexual violence and homicide.

Part II of this presentation will take the audience through case histories of each type of asphyxiation while learning what questions to ask, evidence to document, medical records to study, and experts with whom to consult, in order to best determine the manner of asphyxiation. This presentation will provide you with practical, evidence-based investigative techniques and protocols for working fatal and nonfatal pediatric asphyxiation cases.

Kelsey McKay trains and consults nationally for communities to implement protocol in various fields including intimate partner violence, child abuse, sexual assault, the use of expert witnesses, translating trauma other complex topics. She is a former prosecutor who exclusively prosecuted strangulation related crimes for seven years. She has developed and implemented protocol for strangulation and domestic violence response and treatment. She works with law enforcement to develop protocol and implement the use of a Strangulation Supplement into the field transforming the role of first responders to be more investigative by carrying her knowledge and needs as a prosecutor into the field on every case. She is President and CEO of the non-profit organization, RESPOND Against Violence that works to develop evidence-based protocol with forward-thinking approaches.

Andrea Zaferes is a medicolegal death investigator specializing in the handling of aquatic cases from scene to courtroom. She trains law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, domestic violence workers, medical personnel, and jurisprudence members to recognize, document, and investigate aquatic homicide, death, assault, and abuse cases. She assists in analyzing and building such cases in the U.S. and abroad and has developed standards for their investigation. She is recognized in multiple jurisdictions and the U.S. Army as an expert witness in bodies-found-in-water/aquatic death investigation. For over 30 years, she has taught dive and surface teams around the world to perform water rescue and find/recover submerged evidence and bodies. She is an author and frequent public speaker on the topics of aquatic death and aquatic abuse.

REGISTRATION LINK:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6634599809644718607

Private workshop on domestic violence.