An account of forensic innovation including a little mortuary humour. A first hand account by the author.

Injuries, often on victims of murder, are compared with the causative weapon. Teeth are man’s oldest weapon and David Lewin started his forensic career matching bite marks. One of these cases was the MP Alan Clark’s dog that bit the BBC cameraman. Now his techniques are used to forecast what could have caused injury patterns as in the case of Victoria Climbie.

Fact stranger than fiction? David was asked to look at marks on the clothing of a young woman, killed 13 years previously, then an unsolved. Could David suggest what caused those marks?

The author and her husband work together in the mortuary and, back at their office, carry out the analyses. At court they diverge: while David gives expert evidence from the witness box, Persephone projects an image of the injury onto a large screen and moves with the outline of the weapon over the top. They seem to be an intriguing phenomenon on the forensic scene – a husband-and-wife team.

'Fascinating stuff, written in an eloquent and compelling style. A must for anyone with an interest in forensics'.
Dr Nat Cary, Home Office Forensic Pathologist

From the foreword by Dr Nat Cary:
'It also provides an insight into the workings of the English Criminal Justice System and should allow readers to understand how expert evidence is handled, for better or for worse, within an adversarial system. In fact there are few, if any, readable books that provide as much insight'.

Bite to Byte takes a look at the work that goes on behind the scenes at Crown Court, via the custody cells and the mortuary - a mix of scientific invention and life in the witness box plus a whodunnit element where every job has its lighter moments.

The various facets of their work are described in 10 cases, chosen from over 200 to date, to illustrate the development of the expertise.

Each case has a scientific and human interest and there are thumbnail word sketches of those involved in the investigations: forensic experts, detectives, photographers, mortuary attendants, barristers, criminals and victims.