Forensic experts will descend on Starks Park this weekend (Saturday 5 March 2011) as the football club is the latest venue to experience a dramatic criminal incident.  It’s not the performance of the home team but a highly entertaining event at which crime fiction will come face to face with science fact.

Crime fiction, whether for film, TV or paperback, is one of the most popular genres in our society. We have a fascination with ‘who-dunnits’, speculating endlessly about the hows, whys and wherefores of increasingly complex and macabre murders. Now ‘Murder, Mystery & Microscopes’ will put a spotlight on crime writer Val Mcdermid as a team of internationally renowned scientific experts explore the facts.

The award winning event between the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen arrives in Kirkaldy as part of a highly successful nationwide tour. Supported by a Scottish Government programme of science engagement, the event has entertained sell-out crowds in Orkney, Ullapool, Techfest in Aberdeen, Science Festivals in Liverpool, Guildford and Edinburgh and the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate.

Professor Dave Barclay, a world-renowned forensics expert and Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science at Robert Gordon University, will be providing his specialist insight. Former Head of Physical Evidence for the UK-National Policing Improvement Agency, Professor Barclay has been involved in reviewing more than 200 murder investigations, cold case reviews and inquiries into alleged miscarriages of justice. These include the Bloody Sunday inquiry, the Omagh bombing, the World’s End murders in Edinburgh, and the Millie Dowler and Soham murders.

Professor Barclay’s extensive experience has led him to become an adviser for the BBC television series ‘Waking the Dead’. He explained, “We are hoping to explode a few myths of how Hollywood doesn’t always get the science right and see whether Val does.”

Dr Lorna Dawson, Principal Soil Scientist at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, will also be providing expert input at the event. With over 20 years experience in conducting and managing research in soils, she has worked on numerous cases with forces in Scotland, England and Wales and is currently the forensics soil advisor for the Forensic Science Service. One of the main thrusts of her work is the research and application of soil and vegetation information in forensic case work, and she has recently worked on an episode of BBC’s ‘Silent Witness’ and on STV’s ‘the Vera Stanhope mysteries’, advising writers on forensic soil science.

Professor Sue Black, a well-known Forensic Anthropologist from the University of Dundee University and star of BBC 2’s History Cold Case completes the expert trio.

Organiser Jane Morrice concluded, “The event is designed to raise public understanding of the science which underpins forensic investigations, both in the real world and in crime fiction. We are delighted that it has proven to be so popular.”

The event takes place at Starks Park, Kirkaldy on 5 March, starting at 7:30pm. Tickets are priced at £5 for adults and £3 for concessions and must be bought in advance by contacting Jane Morrice on 01224 395277.

ENDS

Further information

For further details please contact:

Clare Neely
The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute
Craigiebucker
Aberdeen AB15 8QH
Tel: 01224 395087 (direct dial)
E-mail: c.neely@macaulay.ac.uk