Ep. 01 From Physicians Assistant to Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher
From feeling unconnected and losing her job, to rising as Chief of Staff - Katharine Pope dives deep with Barbara Butcher’s inspiring story on this episode of the Forensics Found Podcast. After drinking heavily out of unhappiness in her role working as a Physician's Assistant, Barbara got sober and discovered the reasons behind why she was struggling so much. Boldly making an effort to reevaluate herself and rediscover where her skills were best suited, she went on to meet Dr Charles Hirsch; The NYC Chief Medical Examiner who opened up incredible new opportunities for Barbara – ultimately introducing her to a remarkable career as a Medicolegal Death Investigator!
Katharine and Barbara discuss the importance of investigating death with compassion. They explored how tough it is for a death investigator to transition from professional to personal life, where even something like discussing dinner plans with their spouse can seem alien. Hoping connection will replace detachment in this field, this conversation highlighted the need for kindness as we help those who have lost loved ones and even help ourselves.
About Barbara Butcher
Barbara Butcher is an expert in medicolegal death investigation and is currently a consultant for medico-legal death investigation, working with forensic pathologists, educators, television, and mystery writers.
She is the former Chief of Staff and Director of the Forensic Sciences Training Program at the NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner. She was responsible for Investigations, Disaster Planning, Identifications, Evidence, and Missing Persons. She coordinated the recovery effort at the World Trade Center after 9/11 and helped manage the response to the crash of Flight 587, and investigated the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Barbara has worked internationally, consulting for the World Health Organization during the 2004 Tsunami in Thailand, the London Underground bombing, and the Hong Kong and Norwegian governments.
As a medicolegal death investigator at OCME, she investigated more than 5500 death scenes and 680 homicides. Her book “What the Dead Know,” covering some of her most interesting cases, will be released in June 2023 by Simon and Schuster.
Grab your copy here! → https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/What-the-Dead-Know/Barbara-Butcher/9781982179380
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*All conversations between guest and host represent the opinions of the participants and do not reflect official statements or facts from any represented agencies.
