MurderCon’s Official Website Is LIVE!

It’s NEW. It’s UNIQUE. It’s SPECTACULAR.

And it’s never been done before, anywhere. Not in the U.S. Not anywhere else in the world, and, as far as we know, not in this galaxy.

You, my good friends, have the opportunity to attend an event that’s so special and so very rare that, well, it’s an event that many police homicide investigators would give their eyeteeth to experience—the chance to participate in world-class training at the 130 acre elite Sirchie training facility near Raleigh, N.C.

As a patrol officer and later as a detective, I used Sirchie products to help solve more crimes than I could possibly begin to count, from simple B&E’s to Murder and Murder for Hire

To give you an idea of just how impressive the Sirchie facilities truly are, please join me on my first in-person visit there, back when I was hoping to convince Sirchie officials to help writers “get it right.” It went something like this (from one of my blog posts from several years ago) …

“t was nearly seven years ago to the day when I first made the three-hour drive from our North Carolina home to the Sirchie Fingerprint Laboratories compound. I could barely contain my excitement. After all, the folks at Sirchie are probably the best in the world at what they do and the mere thought of the many superstars of crime-fighting from around the world who’ve been trained at Sirchie is almost overwhelming. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of crimes that have been solved using Sirchie products—products that are made right there on the compound.

After traveling for what seemed like an eternity, while answering emails and phone calls regarding the Writers’ Police Academy, the sprawling Sirchie property appeared on my right. The first thing that caught my attention was the golf-course-like green grass that stretched as far as the eye could see. And it was surrounded by what appeared to be an endless, gleaming, white 3-rail fence. A large gate, complete with a coded-entry system, was the only break in the fence. Very impressive.

I made the right turn off the winding country road I’d been traveling since I left the bustle of interstate traffic around Raleigh and headed through the opening in the metal gates. The long driveway leading to the facility was split by a row shade trees. A nice touch.

Two or three huge white buildings sat at the end of the drive. There was a beautifully-landscaped pond in front (I later learned the pond was even stocked with fish).

There were no signs or identifying markers—nothing—to let anyone know that this was indeed one of, if not THE premier crime-fighting operation in the world. But, I soon saw a personalized license plate on a vehicle that let me know I was in the right place. The lettering referenced crime scene investigation. Bingo.

Anyway, the purpose of my trip was to meet with the folks who run the massive Sirchie operation to discuss their potential involvement with the Writers’ Police Academy. I can’t begin to tell you how lucky the attendees of the WPA are to have the opportunity to learn from Sirchie instructors. They’re the best-of-the-best and they teach the best-of-the-best. Needless to say, this is a rare opportunity and I’m so pleased to be a part of it.”

And here’s where things get even better. We, the Writers’ Police Academy, are taking you inside the Sirchie complex, a place where outsiders are generally not permitted. Sure, over the years, we’ve made it possible for a handful of writers to attend Sirchie’s weeklong Evidence Collection Course (another for-law-enforcement-eyes-only session), but this time we’re going beyond even what I’d hoped to achieve  … MurderCon.

MurderCon, presented by the Writers’ Police Academy, in conjunction with Sirchie, is the ultimate training event for writers who desire to bring the realism in their writing to a level most could only dream of attaining.

Yes, you, a MurderCon attendee will walk the same hallways, enter the same classrooms and training areas, and sit in the same seats as some of the top crime-solving experts from around the entire world.

Our group of renowned instructors who’ll present to you material that you’ll likely absorb like dry sponges soak up spilled liquids, are the experts who, for example, developed and founded the FBI’s Evidence Response Team (ERT). They’ve trained top agents from the FBI and US State Department. They’re instructors at the National Fire Academy, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, Thailand.

MurderCon instructors are top, highly-skilled experts in the areas of Cold Cases, Clandestine Grave Recovery, Drowning Forensics, Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Geology (using soil to find killers), Biological and Chemical Weapons (bioterrorism),Toxicology, Pathology, Latent Prints, Bloodstain Interpretation and Analysis, and so much more.

This is hands-down the most exclusive collection of experts ever assembled as a team of instructors for an event for writers. And to top it off, MurderCon offers its attendees the same hands-on training taught to top police homicide investigators.

Dyer Bennett, Sirchie’s Vice President of Product Development and Training, said it best, I think, when he answered the question …

Why Should You Attend the 2019 Writers’ Police Academy – MurderCon?

 

“When writers graduate from MurderCon, they’ll have the knowledge to describe what really happens—and doesn’t happen—in a homicide investigation.” ~ Dyer Bennett, Vice President of Sirchie’s Product Development and Training

The all-new MurderCon website!

After scrapping the WPA’s old dinosaur-esque  website, Shelly Haffly, Creative Director + Owner at Rusti Boot Creative, started building a new site, from the ground up. It was a massive task that took months of planning, tons of long hours, and lots of hard work. But the result was worth it. The website is super nice and the internal workings operate like a finely-crafted engine, or delicate clock. Lots of whirring gears and spinning gadgets, buttons, and knobs. I think she created a masterpiece. From where I sit, it’s a work of art.

Anyway, I am extremely pleased to announce that MurderCon’s Official Website is now LIVE!

We’re excited for you to see the all-new look in preparation for the opening of registration for this super-special, spectacular event. Registration is scheduled to open on February 24, 2019 at noon EST.

wwwe.writerspoliceacademy.com

We’ve tried to accommodate as many attendees as possible but, of course, there is only so much space to go around. Therefore, slots for the event are limited. Extremely limited. As in first-come, first-served. So I encourage you to please, please, please be ready to signup the moment registration opens. After all, we’ve sold out on the first day, sometimes within the first hour, several times in the past. And the event this year, being such a rare opportunity, well, be ready. You will not want to miss the extremely special opportunity!

Also, hotel rooms at the Marriott Crabtree Valley in Raleigh, our event hotel, are already going fast so it’s my advice to you to book your rooms today. Right now, if you haven’t already done so. You may book your room by clicking the link below. Many of the event activities take place at the hotel.

CrabtreeValleyMarriott

*The MurderCon website is brand new so please bear with us if you see a minor error or two. Several sets of eyes have scanned every detail, but you, as writers, know how the editing process goes. Sometimes “it” stares you in the face for months before you see “it.” And, as those of you with websites know, it takes several hours for a new site to fully propagate throughout the web. If you don’t see the new page(s), or if things don’t seem quite right with what you so see, please check back at a later time. It should settle in as the evening and night goes on.

Once you’ve had a chance to explore, please do begin to make plans to attend. It truly is a “killer” event!

 

Do You Quality for a SinC $150 Grant?

Are you a member of Sisters in Crime? If so, you may quality for a new SinC program that offers members a $150 grant that can be used toward registration fees at approved educational events/conferences. The Writers‘ Police Academy‘s MurderCon is one of the approved options.

The SinC program awards grants on a first-come, first-serve basis. So if you quality, you should apply as soon as possible. The funds are paid directly to recipients after they attend the event
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Day Three: Meet Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors!

Next in the lineup of fabulous 2019 MurderCon instructors is a pair of experts whose backgrounds and bios bring to your writing tables a huge and vast wealth of information that you’ve not seen at another writers event anywhere within this universe.

Since MurderCon, a very special hands-on event presented by the Writers’ Police Academy, is all about the factual side of solving homicides, and its purpose is narrowly defined to solving the crime of murder, we’re delving deeply into numerous aspects of how murders are committed and how top law enforcement professionals solve those cases.

MurderCon is an intense program designed specifically to teach writers how to think like homicide investigators, and this is so because MurderCon attendees will receive the exact same instruction that’s offered to, and attended by, top homicide detectives and investigators from around the world. This detailed course of instruction takes place at the elite headquarters and training and manufacturing facility of Sirchie, the “Global Leader in Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science Solutions.”

In addition to the murders caused by the guns and knives and poisons that are so commonplace in many of today’s novels, you’ll explore other means used by criminals who kill and sometimes wish to cover their tracks by whatever means necessary. In fact, one of our extremely HOT sessions titled Burn Baby, Burn!!!  Arson Investigation, is a workshop that explores how perpetrators of murder use flames to kill and then to conceal their devious activities.

Taught by a world-renowned ATF arson and explosives expert, Burn Baby, Burn is an outdoor session with demonstrations of “live” burns to highlight the effects of burning various pieces of evidence.  MurderCon attendees will learn the fundamentals of fire science, recognition of fire behavior including burn patterns and aftermath, and how fire is utilized by perpetrators during the commission of violent crimes and murder to attempt to destroy evidence.

So wait no longer. I’m pleased to introduce you to …

Ken Andrews 

Ken Andrews, CFI-IAAI, ATF retired

Ken Andrews has over 30 years of fire investigation experience, including 28 years as an agent with the ATF and as a private consultant. He is an International Association of Arson Investigator’s (IAAI) Certified Fire Investigator and Certified Fire Investigation Instructor.

Ken was a member of ATF’s elite National Response Team (NRT) and an ATF Certified Explosives Specialist for 18 years. He has conducted investigations related to fire and explosions involving vehicles and residences as well as large industrial and commercial scenes. Ken has also instructed fire and explosion investigators nationally and internationally. During his career with ATF, he was a regular instructor at the National Fire Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok, Thailand.

In a roundabout way …

Many of you have come into contact with this next esteemed presenter, Jim Gocke, and you never had a clue that he’s been involved in your writing research. In fact, he’s probably helped many of you add a bit of realism to your fiction.

Jim’s vast knowledge of the technical and educational side of Sirchie, and how much it means to Sirchie that writers have the opportunity to properly learn about crime-solving tools and equipment, is how you’ve met him, sort of. Jim’s expertise was introduced to you by way of my book on police procedure and investigation. I’ll explain in a moment.

I’ve used Sirchie products throughout my law enforcement career, and beyond. In the trunks of my various police vehicles, I carried fingerprinting kits that contained Sirchie products—powders, tapes, lifters, etc. In addition, as a police detective I used numerous Sirchie tools and equipment, from those same powders and lifters to casting materials and much more.

When it comes to crime-solving pros, there’s Sherlock, Miss Marple, and Hercule Poirot, of course. And then there’s Sirchie. Their products and training for law enforcement professional have served to help solve more crimes than novels written by Patterson, King, and Agatha Christie combined.

Therefore, when the time came for me to write the chapter in my book about fingerprinting, well, it was a no-brainer. I called on Sirchie and it was Jim Gocke who answered that call for assistance. It was he who provided those intricate details and it was he who was responsible for those super-cool photos in Chapter 8 of the book and, of course, throughout the years on this website.

Chapter 8 photo

Jim was more than happy to help out, telling me that he’d love it if writers of all genres were exposed to the facts about police procedure and equipment, and how the tools they developed and manufactured play such a vital role in crime-solving. Additionally, we both agreed that the CSI stuff often portrayed on television is factually incorrect. Anyway, Chapter 8 of my book is how the bond between Sirchie, me, and the Writers’ Police Academy came to be.

Soon, Sirchie instructors began teaching classes and workshops at the Writers’ Police Academy. They sent experts David Pauly and Robert Skiff to the event, along with a boatload of equipment and materials to enhance those presentations. They gave away prizes for the raffles, and they even developed a course especially for writers, a class that many WPA attendees traveled to the Sirchie compound in N.C. to attend.

Now, Jim and I have come full circle and we meet again , this time hat the most unique hands-on training event for writers that’s ever taken place, anywhere … MurderCon.

It is both a pleasure and an honor to introduce you to Jim Gocke, another of the fabulous 2019 MurderCon instructors.

Jim Gocke

Jim Gocke a graduate of West Virginia University and West Virginia College of Law. In addition, he completed a Fellowship in Forensic Medicine at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and earned a Master of Science in Forensic Sciences from The George Washington University.

He was employed by Sirchie Finger Print Laboratories, Inc as Vice President/General Counsel and Director of Education and Training from January 1979 until March 2008. He was then employed by Sirchie Acquisition Company, LLC as Director of Education and Training from March 2008 until his retirement in July 2015. Jim is currently an Independent Contractor to Sirchie, providing his expertise in Education and Training, product development, and evaluation and technical assistance.

MurderCon is a highly-unique event for writers!

The difference from prior WPA events and MurderCon is that this year’s special event features the current science and forensic technology, and analysis used to solve homicide cases. Writers will participate in hands-on training using modern testing and evidence collection tools and equipment, in workshops taught by some of the world’s leading experts. To sweeten the pot, many of MurderCon’s sessions are taught at the facility where the science and technology were developed and then transformed into the actual products used by today’s homicide detectives and other law enforcement professionals.

“When writers graduate from MurderCon, they’ll have the knowledge to describe what really happens—and doesn’t happen—in a homicide investigation.” ~ Dyer Bennett, Vice President of Sirchie’s Product Development and Training

This is a rare opportunity for writers, a unique juncture of fiction and fact at the source of modern crime scene investigation technology. It’s the chance to bring your writing to a level you never thought you could achieve. This type of incredibly detailed and cutting edge instruction has never before been available to writers, anywhere.

Yes, MurderCon is indeed a “Killer Event” and you’re invited to attend!

Registration opens very soon, within the next couple of weeks. Please watch for the announcement and then be ready at your keyboards the moment registration opens. Space at the Sirchie compound and training facility is extremely limited, therefore we expect spots to go quickly. Believe me, you’ll not want to miss this rare opportunity. It may be the only chance in a lifetime to attend such a special event.

LOCATION AND DATES:

August 1-4, 2019

 

Hotel Location / Training Location:

Marriott Crabtree Valley

4500 Marriott Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27612

 

SIRCHIE – Training Location:

100 Hunter Place, Youngsville, North Carolina 27615

 

Hotel Information

We’ve already had to increase our room block size twice at the Marriott. Yes, response is fantastic.

Since many activities and workshops will also take place at the hotel, including a special party (details to be announced soon), the Saturday banquet, book signings, and more, we strongly urge you to book your hotel rooms today, without delay!

Here’s the link for room reservations.

Hotel reservations – Marriott

Individuals may make their reservations by phone by calling Hotel‘s toll free Reservation Line, 1- 800-MARRIOT.
To receive the established Group rate, they must identify themselves as members of the Writers’ Police Academy 2019 when making the reservation. All reservations must be received by the group’s Cutoff Date of on or before July 10, 2019. Reservations made after the Cutoff Date will be subject to availability and the most available rate.

 

Registration

 

MurderCon 2019 registration – $435

 

*Breakfast each morning and lunch at the Sirchie Compound are included in your MurderCon registration.

 

Event Schedule

 

Schedule of Events to be announced in the coming days – very soon! BOLO (Be On the Lookout) for a news announcement from the WPA staff!

 

In the meantime, we are pleased to announce that the event begins on Thursday night with a brief orientation followed by a spectacular joint presentation by Dr. Craig Nelson (Medical Examiner / Pathologist) and Justin Brower, PhD. (Toxicologist).

 

Registration/check-in takes place on Thursday afternoon from 4:00 – 5:30.

 

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Day Two: Meet Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors!

Next in the parade of stellar 2019 MurderCon instructors is a pair of experts whose backgrounds and bios read like a steroid-enhanced combination of the works of Tom Clancy, Tami Hoag, Lisa Gardner, and David Baldacci. Yes, they’re that impressive, and you have the exciting opportunity to learn from these, and other, highly-skilled professionals who train the instructors who in turn teach the experts in the field.

MurderCon is all about the factual side of solving homicides and its purpose is narrowly defined to solving the crime of murder. It’s an intense program designed to teach writers how to think like homicide investigators, and this is so because MurderCon attendees will receive the exact same instruction that’s offered to, and attended by, top homicide detectives and investigators from around the world.

The difference from prior WPA events and MurderCon is that this year’s special event features the current science and forensic technology, and analysis used to solve homicide cases. Writers will participate in hands-on training using modern testing and evidence collection tools and equipment, in workshops taught by some of the world’s top experts. To sweeten the pot, many of MurderCon’s sessions are taught at the facility where the science and technology were developed and then transformed into the actual products used by today’s homicide detectives and other law enforcement professionals.

“When writers graduate from MurderCon, they’ll have the knowledge to describe what really happens—and doesn’t happen—in a homicide investigation.” ~ Dyer Bennett, Vice President of Sirchie’s Product Development and Training

This is a rare opportunity for writers, a unique juncture of fiction and fact at the source of modern crime scene investigation technology. It’s the chance to bring your writing to a level you never thought you could achieve. This type of incredibly detailed and cutting edge instruction has never before been available to writers, anywhere.

Yes, MurderCon is indeed a “Killer Event” and you’re invited to attend!

Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors – Part Two

David Pauly

David Pauly retired from The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command as a Special Agent-in-Charge/Commander and Forensic Science Officer.  He performed duties in over a dozen states, and frequently worked with local, state, and federal agencies.  He also performed duties in Panama, South Korea, Afghanistan, Haiti, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, Sinai, Egypt, Canada, Guam, and Nigeria. He holds a Master of Forensic Science degree from The George Washington University and is currently the Director of Applied Forensic Science at Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC.

David graduated the FBI National Academy (Session 195), Canadian Police College – Major Crimes Course, Miami-Dade Police Department – Bloodstain Interpretation Course, and National Fire Academy – Arson Investigation Course.  He is a Fellow of The American Academy of Forensic Science, and is a current, or past member of the International Association of Identification, North Carolina Chapters of the IAI and FBINAA, International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, North Carolina Homicide Investigator’s Association, The Vidocq Society, American Investigative Society of Cold Cases (AISOCC), and various other professional law enforcement and/or forensic science associations.

He holds a Master of Forensic Science degree from The George Washington University and is currently the Director of Applied Forensic Science at Methodist University, Fayetteville, N.C.

 

David Alford
David Alford is a retired FBI Special Agent with 21 years of experience investigating violent crimes, terrorism, and other cases. He was one of the founding members of the FBI Evidence Response Team (ERT) and conducted crimes scene searches on domestic and international violent crimes and bombings, including the Polly Klaas kidnaping and murder, the Unabomber’s cabin, and the 9/11 Pentagon scene. He worked in the Denver and San Francisco field offices and completed his career at Quantico in the FBI Lab ERT Unit. During the 6 years in the FBI Lab, he was primarily responsible for overseeing and teaching basic and advanced crime scene courses throughout the US and many other countries.
 

In the 6 years before the FBI, David was a Forensic Serologist, Hair and Fibers Examiner and Bloodstain Pattern Analyst for the Kentucky State Police Crime Lab. After retirement, David taught crime scene courses around the world on behalf of the FBI and US State Department.
 

David has been with Sirchie as an instructor and sales representative for Sirchie’s RUVIS and ALS products for the last 10 years. David loves teaching and allowing students to learn through hands-on training.
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Meet Your 2019 MurderCon Instructors!

When we decided to develop the MurderCon event, we knew we’d have to bring writers inside the often very private world of homicide investigations, to a place where only law enforcement professionals are permitted to enter. It’s a place beyond the crime scene tape and beneath the lenses of microscopes. It’s human tissue, special lighting devices, sensitive tools and equipment that you’ve most likely not encountered, or, for that matter, never heard of. MurderCon is where writers will absorb material that will amaze both you and your readers.

MurderCon is all about the factual side of solving homicides. It’s insects and soil and fire and blood. It’s buried bodies, autopsies, the interrogation of killers. It’s about the destruction of human life by chemicals and deadly things that are too small to see with the naked eye.

The focus of MurderCon is narrowly defined. It’s all about murder and is designed to transform writers into homicide investigators. Yes, MurderCon attendees will receive the exact same instruction that’s offered to, and attended by, top homicide investigators from around the world.

To deliver such an exceptional program we knew we had to expose attendees to no less than stellar instructors, the experts who train the professionals who teach the experts. Yes, MurderCon attendees will attend sessions taught by the best in the business. Believe me, this is exciting and I’m am beyond thrilled that you have this chance to be a part of something that’s so incredibly special.

An event of this scale has not been attempted in the past and it is my guess that the 2019 MurderCon is such a unique alignment of the stars that, well, it may not happen again.

And, speaking of stars, please allow me to introduce you to two of the outstanding MurderCon presenters/instructors, Karmen Harris and Heather Hanna.

More to follow in the coming days.

Karmen Harris

Karmen is the Sexual Assault & Outreach Coordinator for Friend to Friend in Carthage, NC. She has worked for Friend to Friend since September of 2017.

Karmen is a Registered Nurse board-certified as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner for adult and adolescent populations. Karmen received specialized training as a Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiner while working as a civilian nurse at Womack Army Medical Center. Karmen’s nursing experience includes working with patients with psychiatric and behavioral health needs that include substance abuse.

Karmen’s educational background includes graduating from East Carolina University in 2009 where she studied Anthropology and Forensic Science before becoming an RN in 2014 after completing nursing school at Carteret Community College.

At MurderCon 2019, Hanna will present …

Sexual Assault – Perspectives and Differences, State to State

Karmen Harris, Board Certified SANE examiner, the workshop instructor, explains the wide variation currently in sexual assault investigation, as well as the stigma involved in these highly-sensitive cases. The class will explore the perspectives of the victim, the investigator, law enforcement, and the lab. Karmen will discuss the wide-array and differences between “rape” kits and how various jurisdictions collect and/or package different evidence based on the jurisdiction that they serve.

Heather Hanna

Heather Hanna is a forensic geologist specializing in the analysis of rock fragments and mineral grains in soils as trace evidence. Since 2009, she has been involved in multiple forensic investigations and has testified as an expert witness in first degree murder trials, the first of which set a legal precedent in Wake County, N.C. for using geochemical analysis of mineral grains as part of courtroom testimony. 
 
As a result of her forensic work, she has been an invited speaker at many law enforcement conferences and continuing education programs including the Conference of District Attorneys, the North Carolina Criminal Information Exchange Network, the North Carolina Homicide Investigators Association, and the North Carolina International Association for Identification. She has also presented her forensic work at national and sectional Geological Society of America meetings and as an invited speaker for the Soils Science Society of North Carolina.

At MurderCon 2019, Heather will present …

Trail Magic: Geology Solves the Case

Learn how perpetrators, victims, and crime scenes can be linked through the characteristics of various soils and minerals found throughout the United States. Real case examples provide details as to where soil traces became key evidence in identifying where the crime took place, and linking the victim and perpetrator to the scene.

MurderCon 2019 is brought to you by …

 

*The all new MurderCon website will be online very soon. Registration is scheduled to open in mid February. You may reserve your hotel rooms now, and I encourage you to do so since we’ve already had to increase the room block, twice! Due to the unique nature of this event and the excitement it has generated, we anticipate the registration and the hotel blocks will sell out quickly.

The official hotel for the Writers’ Police Academy’s Murdercon is:

Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley

4500 Marriott Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612

We encourage you to make your hotel reservations by using the online reservation link (below).

WritersPoliceAcademyHotelReservations

Individuals may also make their reservations by phone by calling Hotel’s toll free Reservation Line, 1- 800-MARRIOT.
To receive the established Group rate, you must identify yourself as a member of the Writers’ Police Academy 2019 event when making the reservation. All reservations must be received by the group’s Cutoff Date of on or before July 10, 2019. Reservations made after the Cutoff Date will be subject to availability and the most available rate.

MurderCon

LOCATION AND DATES:

 

August 1-4, 2019

 

Training Location:

SIRCHIE

100 Hunter Place, Youngsville, North Carolina 27615

 

Hotel Location / Training Location:

Marriott Crabtree Valley

4500 Marriott Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27612

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MurderCon 2019: It’s Never Been Done Before, and You’re Invited to Attend!!

Each year, the Writers’ Police Academy reaches for the stars to offer writers the opportunity to learn and to train as law enforcement officers. The event is unique in that sessions involve hands-on training classes.

We’ve seated authors behind the steering wheels of patrol cars during pursuits. We’ve placed rifles and pistols in their hands and we’ve taught how to properly and accurately shoot them. We’ve set off C-4 charges and we’ve set things ablaze. Writers have learned to stop bleeding from gaping and blood-gushing gunshot wounds, and they’ve used battering rams to gain entry into buildings where armed bad guys were hiding.

Attendees have seen first-hand what it’s like to be involved in heart-pounding hostage and active shooter situations. They’ve seen mounted patrol officers and their horses and they’ve been on the receiving end of bites by an actual police canine (while wearing a bite sleeve, of course).

We’ve exposed writers to practically every aspect of police training. However, what we haven’t done in the past is to narrow the focus of the Writers’ Police Academy to a single, fine point, the subject matter that brings readers back to your books, time and time again—the solving of a murder.

Sure, readers love your characters and they love a well-described setting. And they love you, the writer, and your story-telling abilities. But what many readers and fans truly desire is to solve the case before your protagonists wrap up their investigations. To do so, readers need details. Many details. They need and want to see, hear, feel, taste, and touch (in their minds) every aspect of a crime scene. They want and need to experience the tales you’ve concocted and set to page, not to simply read strings of words.

In addition, your fans want to believe what it is you’ve offering as a means to take them deep into your fictional world. Therefore, the descriptions you provide must be accurate because, for goodness sake, nearly every breathing human on the planet has watched some sort of crime TV show and the cops on those programs use all of the latest tools, gadgets, and gizmos.

With this in mind, we’ve developed the most unique, spectacular, and exciting program ever offered to writers. This year, during our special event—MurderCon—we’re taking you to the source of crime-solving and crime-solving-tools and equipment—Sirchie.

Yes, we’re taking you on a tour of a large, one-of-a-kind manufacturing facility where all types fingerprint powders are made. It’s where drug testing kits are developed and assembled, and where fuming chambers are manufactured. It’s the place where, well, it’s where ideas for the latest crime-solving gadgets are conceived, manufactured, and then distributed to law enforcement agencies worldwide, whose investigators solve crimes ranging from the smallest to the most complex, high-profile murder cases.

Sirchie’s staff of esteemed instructors also train top investigators from all around the world. Sirchie instructors are the best in the business, and detectives, officers, and agents from a variety of local, state and federal agencies attend high-level sessions at the Sirchie Compound in N.C. These instructors also educate and advise investigators from state prison systems, airport security, FBI agents whose focus is on counter terrorism, and Treasury and Secret Service agents. International students come from countries ranging from Italy to Mexico and Argentina to Qatar.

Again, Sirchie is second to none when it comes to crime-solving products and training. We are fortunate to have them as our partner in this extremely special event for writers.

I’m beyond thrilled that you have this opportunity to train in a place that’s never been made available to the public. I’m also over the moon excited that you’ll attend the same training classes attended by some of the best homicide investigators in the world.

MurderCon attendees will see how crime solving products are made. Then, you’ll learn how to use those cool tools. And, finally, you’ll use the equipment in live-action settings, such as outdoors at a clandestine grave.

Anyway, we’ll release details very soon. Our website guru is working behind the scenes on a brand new website which we plan to launch on or very near to February 4, 2019. Registration for the Writers’ Police Academy’s MurderCon event opens in mid to late February.

Event Hotel

The official hotel for the Writers’ Police Academy’s Murdercon is:

Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley

4500 Marriott Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612

We encourage you to make your hotel reservations by using the online reservation link (below).

WritersPoliceAcademyHotelReservations

Individuals may also make their reservations by phone by calling Hotel’s toll free Reservation Line, 1- 800-MARRIOT.
To receive the established Group rate, you must identify yourself as a member of the Writers’ Police Academy 2019 event when making the reservation. All reservations must be received by the group’s Cutoff Date of on or before July 10, 2019. Reservations made after the Cutoff Date will be subject to availability and the most available rate.
*You’ll definitely want to reserve your hotel rooms well in advance for this unique event! We expect the room block to fill quickly. The same for spots at MurderCon. So please, please, please be ready to sign up when registration goes live. We’ll announce the date and time very soon.

Here’s a sample of what you can expect to see and do at MurderCon 2019:

 

  • Learn proper methods to locate, identify, and collect physiological fluid stains, including the use of alternate light sources, and chemicals such as luminol and Bluestar. WPA attendees will learn how to presumptively identify the type of stain using chemical reagents. Collection and preservation methods will be reviewed based on the latest best practices for DNA.
  • Develop latent prints on porous surfaces, including paper and cardboard, utilizing iodine fuming, ninhydrin, and silver nitrate. WPA attendees will learn the proper process sequencing for the maximum retrieval of latent prints and review the chemical principles of how they work. Cyanoacrylate (“superglue”) techniques for non-porous surfaces.
  • Attendees will learn the fundamentals of fire science, recognition of fire behavior including burn patterns and aftermath, and how fire is utilized by perpetrators during the commission of violent crimes and murder by fire. This is an outdoor session with “live” burns to highlight the effects of burning various pieces of evidence.
  • Search and recovery of remains from clandestine graves.

  • Determining race, sex, and other biological factors from found skeletonized remains.
  • Differences between civilian law enforcement and military L.E. investigations, procedures, and nuances.
  • How a forensic geologist uses previously mapped data, as well as, newly sampled evidence to show the uniqueness of soil to a given geographical location, and ultimately to a suspect and victim. The usefulness of soil in linking a subject to a victim, and/or crime scene. Session taught by one of the top forensic geologists in the world.
  • Footwear and Latent Foot Impressions – hands-on exercises to search for, document, and collect various forms of footprint and shoe evidence.

And, well, there are many more super-exciting sessions and workshops, but we’ll save those for later. In the meantime, yes, these are the same classes taught to law enforcement professionals and experts worldwide!!

Instructors include a wide array of renowned experts that include a founding member of the FBI’s Evidence Response Team, FBI Special Agents, a former Army JAG Corp attorney, forensic botanists, medical examiners, toxicologist, forensic geologist, forensic anthropologist, LAPD and NYPD detectives, Bioterrorism expert, SANE nurse, Certified Fire Investigator with both the ATF and The International Association of Arson Investigators, certified footwear expert, Deputy Director of the City County Bureau of Identification (CCBI), Wake County/Raleigh, NC., forensic pathologists, one of the country’s top interview and interrogation experts, and many more.

Special Guest Speaker!

Now for the icing on the cake.

I’m pleased and honored to announce that the 2019 MurderCon’s Special Guest Speaker is Graham Hetrick, the star and host of Investigation Discovery (ID) channel’s hit television series, THE CORONER: I SPEAK FOR THE DEAD.

Graham Hetrick

Graham Hetrick is a subject matter expert on drug abuse, child death and child abuse, organ tissue donation, violent crimes, medical legal death investigation, forensic methodology, and the grieving process. He has advanced training in blood pattern analysis, crime scene management, forensic sculpting, and shallow grave recovery.

Graham advises the news media and consults attorneys on the investigative process for cases facing litigation. He lectures widely on forensic autopsy, crime scene management, and critical thinking within the investigative process. He is an adjunct professor of forensics and human anatomy at Harrisburg University School of Science and Technology.

Graham is also a motivational speaker for students and troubled youth who are trying to get control of their lives through a speech entitled “Doors.” Over the last 35 years he has written and lectured on grief and loss recovery to the medical community, hospice groups and loss recovery organizations. Graham’s upcoming book explores improving the relationship between forensic evidence collection and organ tissue donation. His case studies are featured on the Investigation Discovery (ID) channel in THE CORONER: I SPEAK FOR THE DEAD.

*Bio Source – GrahamHetrick.com

Keynote Speaker

The WPA and I are absolutely thrilled and honored that superstar author Heather Graham is joining us in 2019 as our Guest of Honor/Keynote speaker. Heather will attend many of the sessions throughout the weekend and then she’ll address the entire group at the Saturday night banquet.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Graham, majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over two hundred novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, sci-fi, young adult, and Christmas family fare.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty-five languages. She has written over 200 novels and has 60 million books in print. Heather has been honored with awards from booksellers and writers’ organizations for excellence in her work, and she is the proud to be a recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers and was awarded the prestigious Thriller Master Award in 2016. She is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA.  Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television.

Heather loves travel and anything that has to do with the water, and is a certified scuba diver. She also loves ballroom dancing. Each year she hosts a Vampire Ball and Dinner theater raising money for the Pediatric Aids Society and in 2006 she hosted the first Writers for New Orleans Workshop to benefit the stricken Gulf Region.  She is also the founder of “The Slush Pile Players,” presenting something that’s “almost like entertainment” for various conferences and benefits. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

August 1-4, 2019

Raleigh, N.C.

Sirchie Compound and the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley

*Please make your calendars for this unique opportunity. In the past, the WPA event has sometimes sold out within the first hour after registration opens. Due to the nature of MurderCon’s unique training sessions and high level of behind the scenes type of instruction that’s typically for law enforcement eyes only, we anticipate spots filling quickly. The same for the event hotel. I strongly urge you to make your reservations as soon as possible.

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Wednesday Musings: A Faulty Hip and MurderCon

It’s a new year and soon I’ll be the proud owner of a brand new, shiny left hip. Yes, tomorrow is surgery day.

I’ve endured a couple of years dealing with pain that grew increasingly worse as the days passed by. Routine tasks and chores eventually became difficult to perform, at best. Things I enjoyed eventually became an impossibility—biking, hiking, kayaking, yard work. Even sitting at my desk to write now sometimes hurts badly enough to bring a tear to the eye.

I made it through the 2017 and 2018 Writers’ Police Academy and all the walking it entails, but it was tough, especially the event in 2018. I finally gave in and simply sat in the lobby or in the office areas. I caught rides to workshops that were easily within walking distance when I was able to do so back in the day.

I’d called on the assistance of Virgil, my trusted cane and new friend who now never leaves my side, while maneuvering and limping through airports during the trip to Green Bay and subsequently to Delaware. Airport officials provided a wheelchair when I could no longer make it to a gate or down a jetway. But while at the WPA, Virgil took a break. Couldn’t show that crack of weakness. It’s a guy/cop thing, I suppose.

The painful hip also caused me to go missing during nighttime mingling and networking at the WPA. It prevented me from hanging out with everyone in the bar area. I was unable to participate in many aspects of the event(s). By the end of the day I was in agony. Basically I was AWOL from an event I started and host.

Fortunately, the WPA, thanks to a wonderful and extremely hardworking all-volunteer staff—Linda Lovely, Howard Lewis, Cheryl Yeko, Denene, our fantastic group of core instructors who travel with us wherever we land, a host of other volunteers, and the outstanding staff and police academy instructors at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC), the WPA flowed as smoothly as melting butter.

This says a lot considering the enormity of the event. The WPA is a massive hands-on conference to plan and produce and to do so while in constant pain would’ve been impossible. So I thank everyone involved for taking nearly the entire load from my shoulders.

The 2019 WPA, as many of you know, is a special event—MurderCon—and will be a different format from our previous ten years. We’re extremely excited to have the opportunity to host the event at the Sirchie training facility just outside of Raleigh, N.C.

Sirchie, was founded in Philadelphia, in 1927, to provide fingerprinting materials. Then, approximately 30 years ago, the company started training the experts who used their products. Now, each year, over 700 law enforcement professionals receive training at the Sirchie campus.  These experts come to Sirchie from  sheriff’s offices, local and state police agencies, federal agencies, state prison systems, airport security, FBI agents whose focus is primarily on counter terrorism, and Treasury and Secret Service agents.

Yes, writers will definitely receive the exact same homicide investigation training as those law enforcement officers/investigators.

“When writers graduate from MurderCon, they’ll have the knowledge to describe what really happens—and doesn’t happen—in a homicide investigation. When MurderCon attendees leave, they’ll know what it feels like to conduct an investigation.

Having first-hand experience will allow them to portray crime scene details realistically; and it will let them share with their readers how it feels to investigate a homicide. ”

~ Dyer Bennett, vice president of Sirchie’s Product Development and Training.

So today I’m sitting in a recliner, a new one we purchased to allow me some post-surgery comfort, listening to the buzzing of saws and the in and out flow of contractor foot traffic as they try to finish our bathroom. I’ve also been working with Sirchie and hotel officials today to plan and coordinate the 2019 event schedule.

Now, during a break, I’m thinking about tomorrow when, at this time of day, my faulty hip will be in a hospital garbage bag waiting for disposal while a new manmade hip is in its former location.

I’m truly anxious for the surgeon to rid my body of the intense pain I’ve experienced, especially over the past few months. And I know Denene is anxious to no longer have to put my socks on my feet (I can’t reach them), take out the trash, go to the grocery store, pick up Virgil after the seemingly thousands of times a day I drop him and, well, to not have to wait on me hand and foot.

And, I’m anxious to tell you about what happens “After Midnight.” Yes, in addition to the super exciting MurderCon, another BIG surprise is on the way!

So, the next time you hear from me will be after I’ve returned home from the surgery. Until then …

 

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