CSI: FGCU – Real-Life Forensics with Heather Walsh-Haney
It’s time to check back in with Your University: The FGCU Podcast. Today, host Katie Cribbs comes to the table with Heather Walsh-Haney, professor of Forensic Anthropology at FGCU, teaching, assisting medical examiners and Law Enforcement with the discovery, recovery, and analysis of human remains.
Heather brings us in close to explain forensic anthropology as the scientific, empathetic analysis of human skeletal and dental remains to help medical examiners and law enforcement determine identity, appearance, cause and timing of death, and to support families and human rights.
She describes how her early influences shaped her path, and why she joined FGCU in 2005 to help build one of the country’s first forensic studies programs emphasizing experiential learning, storytelling, and applied science. Heather details long-standing community partnerships, including a dedicated forensic anthropology space in the medical examiner’s office, and her consulting work for agencies across Florida.
She outlines student training through competencies and controlled work with python necropsies and decomposition research using dermestid beetles that clean a body down to the bones. Heather also explains about how FGCU’s private human remains donation program works and the Buckingham Environmental Forensics Facility (BEFF) and notes Florida’s subtropical, sandy, watery environment easily destroys bone, teeth, and DNA, making her all the more needed.
Your University: The FGCU Podcast is produced by University FM. [https://university.fm/]
EPISODE GUIDE:
* 01:20 Forensic Anthropology 101: Reading Bones for Answers
* 04:03 Why FGCU & Southwest Florida: Building a Forensic Studies Program
* 07:03 Board Certification & What a Consultant Actually Does
* 08:19 Training the Field Team: Competencies, Callouts, and Real Casework Prep
* 09:59 From Pythons to Beetle Colonies: Hands-On Decomposition & Lab Skills
* 12:19 Donating Your Body to Science: FGCU’s Human Remains Donation Program
* 14:09 Inside the Buckingham Environmental Forensics Facility (BEFF)
* 20:25 Florida’s Environment vs. Evidence: Why DNA Isn’t Always There
* 22:29 Heart First, Science Always: Ethics, Reports, and Testifying in Court
* 25:16 The FGCU Legacy: Graduates in the Field and Bridges Across the State
* 26:34 Final Takeaways & How to Get Involved (Donations, Auditing, Contact Info
EPISODE QUOTES:
Stories that live beyond bones
28:44: We all have stories to tell, and whether it's from the bones and teeth that I examine, or from the words that are capturing who you are as a person from your family members, those stories go on and on. And that's the important part. And that’s the most important message, is, as long as there’s breath within me, I will work to educate people to make sure that this career continues. And I'll work with medical examiners and law enforcement to know how important it is to employ people with my training, because families need us.
Heart first forensic science
23:12: I brought my personal experiences to forensic anthropology, which I think helped shape the program that I have, which is heart first and logic, science, and intelligence paving the way that we investigate a crime. And if we always think of the victims first, then everything should fall into place. And of course, what underscores all of that is transparency and honesty and knowing that I cannot exceed the bounds of science.
The truth about DNA in forensic cases
20:10 [Katie Cribbs]: That surprised me because we watch all of these CSI shows and true crime. And there's always DNA. So, when you told me there are times when there is none, and I was like, ″Get out. I watch TV."
20:22 [Heather Walsh-Haney]: Well, there's a lot to unpack with the TV part. But the environment here with our sandy soils, our watery environment, it's subtropical, it destroys bone. And even teeth, which are our hardest substance in our body, they get scattered.
Our single-rooted teeth, like our front teeth, those are going to fall out postmortem. And if we haven't taken care of our teeth, you have cavities or what we call caries, that can sometimes make the teeth unusable. But as we think about anthropology and as we think about the process of human evolution, you don't find fossils in tropical environments. Where do you find them? You find them in dry arid environments. And so, the subtropical environment of Florida wreaks havoc on human remains. That means that discovery of the remains quickly, excavating them with the latest technologies, and being able to tease out as much information as possible from the skeletal and dental tissues makes our job even more vitally important.
SHOW LINKS:
* Heather Walsh-Haney | FGCU Profile [https://www.fgcu.edu/directory/hwalsh]
* Heather Walsh-Haney | Google Scholar Research [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=shUtgrAAAAAJ&hl=en]
* Heather Walsh-Haney | LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-walsh-haney-a5860579/]
* Article about Heather | Tampa Bay Times [https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2025/10/18/florida-gulf-coast-university-bones-professor/]
* From Scene to Lab: Human Identity & Trauma Analysis at FGCU [https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FwoyiWeFpSfI&data=05%7C02%7Ckcribbs%40fgcu.edu%7C8a202fc2b6da432ba7cc08de8ff4a2f0%7Cf7a5a4ef4ffa4c80bfb3c12e28872099%7C0%7C0%7C639106478057931159%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=6g2DqnIWP65TvcgrRTjPBOO2G61fxyAe5ECrb9CbjO4%3D&reserved=0]
* FGCU | Website [https://www.fgcu.edu/]
* FGCU | Your University [https://www.fgcu.edu/your-university/]
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