Washington - A U.S. Customs and Border Protection scientist will be featured in the Investigation Discovery channel series "Solved: Extreme Forensics" for his role in aiding the Warren County Sheriff's Office in solving the murder of a Virginia man. The show airs tonight at 9 p.m., check your local listings for details.
Captain Jay Cornett of the Warren County Sheriff's Office contacted Dr. Erich Junger after recalling a presentation the doctor gave to the Virginia Homicide Investigator's Association. The detective asked Dr. Junger to examine soils from the suspect's vehicle. The two coordinated the collection and analysis of the soil samples to aid in the investigation of the case.
Forensic Geology is the science of utilizing various geologic disciplines such as mineralogy, petrology, sedimentology, geological engineering, or hydrology in criminal and civil investigations. It is utilized in a wide spectrum of investigations, including crime scene investigation and reconstruction, identification of source contaminations in HAZMAT and other environmental crises, and used in conjunction with other disciplines to determine the cause of engineering failures. Forensic Geology is used by CBP to track smuggled goods and contraband, as well as determine Country of Origin for gemstones and other commercial geologic materials.
Erich P. Junger, Ph.D., is a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, graduated cum laude from the George Washington University School of Medicine where he completed his studies as a health physicist and anatomist in 1985. Dr. Junger went on to complete his Master of Science from the University of New Haven in 1990 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in forensic science from the Union Institute and University in 1994. Dr. Junger has served as a deputy medical examiner and chief of the trace materials analysis laboratory for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C. before retiring from the military. He then served as a detective for the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office in Virginia before joining the Prince William County Police Department in 2005 as a crime scene analyst in the identification bureau. He retired from the department in October, 2009. Dr. Junger is currently a scientist for CBP.