Biography

Having spent over a decade as a crime scene investigator then unit supervisor, Julissa has extensive experience in crime scene investigation and has been considered an expert in both local and federal courts.

She began her career as a forensic technician with the City of Virginia Beach in 2011. In her time there she processed thousands of crime scenes ranging from property crimes to violent crimes, suicides, officer involved shootings, and homicides. Julissa also specialized in video evidence recovery and processing and became a LEVA certified technician (the first in the history of the Virginia Beach Police Department) and court expert in crime scene investigation and video forensics. Julissa transitioned to supervising the crime scene unit of the Suffolk Police Department - which remains the only ISO 17020 accredited crime scene unit in the state of Virginia. While there, she was responsible for the oversight of crime scene technicians performing crime scene investigations, latent fingerprint examinations, and digital forensic examinations and was responsible for scene investigation of officer involved incidents. Julissa was also the quality and technical manager, responsible for ensuring the unit kept up with the requirements set forth by the international standard.

Julissa has also provided, created, and coordinated training in crime scene investigation and scene processing to a variety of professionals in law enforcement and forensic science including multiple police agencies, medical examiners and death investigators, and for the US Navy. She also had the opportunity to instruct a forensic investigation summer camp for students in India. She served as the chair of the Chesapeake Bay Division of the IAI’s student development committee, is a peer reviewer for Forensic Science International and the Journal of Forensic Identification, and is an ANAB certified technical assessor in the crime scene investigations field.

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