Child Death Investigations

Child Death Investigations is a comprehensive book detailing investigative strategies and considerations for various types of child death, including agency involvement from paramedics to prosecutors and complete case analyses. The death of a child initiates a multitude of responses from a variety of disciplines. The ultimate responsibility lies with pathologists and medical examiners whose role it is to determine final cause and manner of death. This book originates from that perspective, examining cases and the investigative process through the medicolegal lens. Each manner of death is explored, detailing the means by which children die, the critical investigative considerations and details necessary to gather, scene considerations, and agency roles.

Additions to the second edition include guidelines for suicide investigations, new chapters addressing techniques for interviewing families and infant death scene reconstructions, and updated information on final rulings of infant deaths related to SIDS and accidental asphyxiation.

This text is recommended for law enforcement personnel, medicolegal investigators, medical examiners, coroners, prosecutors, child protective services, and any individuals involved in disciplines relating to the investigation or review of child death. Regardless of experience or profession, this book will prepare professionals for any type of child death investigation from start to finish.

With both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Child Development, Lisa Mayhew has worked as a child development specialist in North Carolina since 1992. She has provided direct therapy services to children, as well as providing consultation and training within North Carolina and across the United States in areas related to child development. Mayhew specializes in the following: the age 0-3 population, children with special needs and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has served as the Child Death Investigator/Trainer for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner since 2000, conducting investigations of child deaths statewide and providing assistance in investigations to local and state agencies. In addition, Mayhew oversees the Child Death Investigation Training Program in conjunction with the North Carolina Justice Academy to agencies statewide involved in the investigation of child fatalities.