Biography

Barbara Butcher is an American forensic scientist and a former New York City death investigator. She is also an author who wrote a memoir titled What the Dead Know: Learning About Life As A New York City Death Investigator. During her 22-year career with the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), she worked on more than 5,500 death scenes, including over 700 homicides. She was the second woman ever hired for the role of Death Investigator in Manhattan and the first one to hold the position for more than three months. She was a key figure in the victim identification efforts following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. She is also a graduate of Long Island University with a Bachelor of Science and holds a Master's in Public Health from Columbia University.