Unlocking the Secrets of the Dead: Forensics

This expert panel will explore the fascinating world of forensics and how scientific methods are used to help solve crimes. The discussion also will look at how forensics are portrayed in books. The event will feature a Q&A and a networking opportunity. This free event will be open to MWA members and the public.

Date: October 25, 2025

Time: 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Location: Morristown and Morris Township Public Library,

1 Miller Road, Morristown, NJ.

Refreshments will be served!

Moderator: Nev March

Panelists: Lieutenant. Art Weisgerber; Dr. Lauren Thoma; Kimberlee Moran

Nev March is the first Indian-born author to receive the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Fiction. Her debut novel, Murder in Old Bombay, also won an Audiofile award and was an Edgar and Anthony finalist. Her sequel, Peril at the Exposition, describes conflict during the gilded age that planted the seeds of today’s red-blue divide. Her third book, The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret, traces the origins of the Spanish American war over Cuba from the perspective of her immigrant detective duo. Nev’s books deal with issues of identity, race and moral boundaries. After a long corporate career, Nev returned to her passion—writing —and now teaches creative writing at the Rutgers-Osher Institute. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color and president of New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America.

Lieutenant Art Weisgerber has been the commanding officer of the Crime Scene/Identification Unit at the Norwalk, Connecticut, Police Department since 2011. The unit is responsible for the processing of forensic evidence at major crime scenes and fatal-crash scenes along with evidence collected by other divisions. Weisgerber joined the department in 1988 and has worked in the patrol division, narcotics unit, and detective bureau as both a detective and detective sergeant before assuming command of the crime scene unit. During his time in the detective ureau, Weisgerber was assigned to the cold case unit and closed several cases by arrest or identification of human remains. He also is an adjunct police instructor for the State of Connecticut Municipal Police Officer Academy and teaches crime scene procedure/investigation privately for the Spector Criminal Justice Training Network.

Dr. Lauren Thoma is a forensic pathologist working in Central New Jersey who has performed nearly 2,500 autopsies and testified over sixty-five times in superior court in New Jersey and New York and in federal court. Originally hailing from the Philadelphia suburbs, she obtained her B.S. in biology at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and her M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. She underwent four years of residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and completed fellowship training at Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York in forensic pathology and forensic cardiac pathology/europathology. Dr. Thoma holds board certifications in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology and has lectured at the New Jersey State Police Academy and NJSP Crime Scene Investigation School. She has a special interest in long-term unidentified cases, overdose fatalities, and quality improvement in death investigation.

Kimberlee Sue Moran has over twenty years of experience as a forensic consultant and educator, both in the UK and United States. She is an associate teaching professor in the Rutgers-Camden Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice. Kimberlee has worked on several cases in a range of capacities. She runs training workshops for local law enforcement that include blowing up transit buses and digging up dead animals. Her doctoral research was in the field of ancient fingerprints, and her current research is in taphonomy, the process of decomposition. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Science and an active member of the Society for American Archaeology, the UK Fingerprint Society, the Association for Women in Forensic Science, and Forensic Archaeology Recovery. Kimberlee holds an undergraduate degree in archaeology from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s of science in forensic archaeological science from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. She is the coeditor of Forensic Archaeology: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Kimberlee served on the Crime Scene Investigation subcommittee of the NIST-led Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) from 2015 until 2024. She is passionate about public outreach, STEM education, and science in the service of justice. Kimberlee is the recipient of the 2021 Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award and the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.