Episode Twenty One | Just Case Studies: A Gruesome Murder in Mesa

A Gruesome Murder in Mesa

In episode six, season two, Just Science interviews Kimberly Meza from Mesa police Department during the annual ASCLD symposium held in Dallas, Texas. Kimberly describes how a blood spatter analyst takes in a scene, especially one as gruesome as this case, where the victim was brutally stabbed in their apartment by an unknown suspect. The suspects DNA that was found at the scene initially was a no match in CODIS, and the latent prints taken at the scene created no leads. For six months there were no DNA lead until a submitted sexual assault kit was entered into the system. The sexual assault kit was taken 9 days before the murder. Stay tuned as we navigate a case that could have gone unsolved if a woman had chosen not to have a sexual assault kit administered, her perpetrator being an ex-boyfriend and the father of her child.

This season of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [Award 2016-MU-BX-K110].

Some content in this podcast may be considered sensitive and may evoke emotional responses, or may not be appropriate for younger audiences.

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Kimberly joined the Mesa Police Department in 2000. She began her career as a Forensic Scientist in the Biology Unit, performing serology, DNA and blood spatter analysis. Kimberly was promoted to Forensic Services Supervisor over the Biology Unit in 2007. In December 2011, she was promoted to Forensic Services Administrator overseeing the operations of the laboratory including the Administrative Business Unit, Biology Unit, Controlled Substances Unit, Crime Scene Unit, Evidence Processing Unit, Fingerprint Identification Unit, Firearms Unit, Laboratory Technician Unit, Latent Print Unit, Photography Unit and Toxicology Unit. She has a M.S. degree in Forensic Science from the University of New Haven and B.S. degree with a double major in Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona. Visit Kimberly’s Mesa profile here.