Events
Book Talk: Bunny Suits of Death-Tales of a CSI
Laura Merz is law enforcement
professional with over 10 years experience in Criminal Investigation. Her areas
of expertise include crime scene processing, interviewing, evidence collection,
blood spatter analysis, identifying manner of death, firearms identification,
trial testimony, and counter terrorism and threat assessment. After earning her
Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a Physical Anthropology minor from
Columbia University, Laura pursued her graduate work with The George Washington
University where she received her Master's degree in Forensic Science in
2002. Shortly after graduation Laura moved to Wichita, KS where she began her
career as a crime scene investigator. In 2004 Laura began working as a Naval
Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) agent where she still works today.
Throughout her career with NCIS, Laura has been assigned to Camp Pendleton, CA,
Naval Air Station Atsugi, Japan, and her current duty station, Naples, Italy.
Her new book, Bunny Suits of Death, Tales of a CSI, is a literary work is based
on her experiences as a Crime Scene Investigator on the Wichita, KS police
department where, as the newest Crime Scene Investigator for the Wichita Police
Department, she finds herself out of her comfort zone and completely unprepared
for the human dramas and comedies she encounters with each shift she works. She
quickly learns that real life CSI work is nothing like what they show on
television or what she studied in graduate school. She dusts for fingerprints,
photographs bloody Klingon weapons, and desperately tries not to fall off the
chair in her first court appearance. Merz also grows to understand the dangers
of empathy and why police officers often have a tough exterior.