Breakfast

*Attendees who missed registration on Thursday may check in and receive their event packet during this time. See Denene Lofland.

Board Buses

Buses Depart for Trip to Academy

Shooting Scene Response - Live ScenarioInstructors – NWTC Academy staff, local law enforcement, CSIs, 1^st responders, and coroner
Location TBA

This live-action session reveals the steps and techniques involved from the moment a fatal shooting incident occurs and the subsequent 911 call, to the arrival and response of patrol officers, EMS, detectives, CSI, and the medical examiner.

Crime Scene WorkshopLocation – Lecture Hall and Gym
Instructor - Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Investigators use many tools, including the skill of observation. Build your Observational Intelligence (OQ) by examining a homicide scene to determine what’s evidence, what’s not, and whether the scene is consistent with a survivor’s narrative. You will work in teams to observe, document, brainstorm about, and reconstruct the incident.

Lunch

Processing and Preservation of Fingerprint EvidenceLocation – CC205
Instructor - Ian Nishimoto

Learn and apply the same fingerprinting tools, techniques, and skills taught to and utilized by police investigators and other crime scene investigation professionals. Attendees locate, develop, lift, and preserve latent prints from a variety of surfaces. There is more to this process than meets the eye, and certainly more to it than is depicted on TV shows.

Body Trauma and Gunshot WoundsLocation – CC212
Instructor - Coroner Curtis Greene

Curtis Greene knows the information writers need to breathe life into shooting and trauma scenes in crime novels, having “been there, done that” for nearly two decades as a Coroner for Manitowoc County WI, serving as a Paramedic for 24 years, and managing the Emergency Room, Ambulance, Lifeline and Specialized transport division for a major hospital.

In this course, Greene shares his first-hand knowledge and experience of the effect gunshots and various injuries have on the human body. Class includes images of a variety of wounds and trauma.

Evidence Collection, Processing, and CSI TechniquesLocation – CC218/CC220
Instructors - Crime Scene Analyst/Investigator Holly Maas and Dan Feucht

Investigating a crime scene, whether it is a burglary or a homicide, is a process that involves a wide range of skills and knowledge. Sure, it’s easier to solve a crime when the found evidence is a warehouse filled with stolen goods, but when the clues are as small as a single fiber or human hair, glass fragment, a partial fingerprint, or DNA collected from shed skin cells, well, the situation becomes far more complex. After all, evidence collected today could also prove beneficial years later, making the role of crime scene investigators more crucial than ever before.

Crime Scene Analyst/Investigator Holly Maas guides participants into the world of evidence collection, detailing various procedures and methods. This session includes a hands-on practical exercise of casting shoe impressions using the same tools, techniques, and materials Holly uses in the field at crime scenes.

CSI: Processing a Shooting SceneLocation – Crime Scene Scenario Room(s) and Adjacent Classroom
Instructor - Lead Forensic Specialist Baeleigh Andre

In this two-part session, participants learn to take overview photos of a crime scene, properly place evidence markers, examine and collect blood evidence, and collect cartridge casings. After the classroom portion is complete, attendees move to the all-new scenario rooms to process a staged crime scene. There, they will apply their newly acquired knowledge by using their cell phones to take photos of the scene and evidence, appropriately place placards where needed, and collect evidence. Hands-on training.

Using Art to Solve CrimeLocation – CC213
Instructor - Carrie Stuart Parks

One of the most interesting and unusual uses of art occurs in the forensic field. Americans are fascinated with the real-life drama and mysteries around them. The forensic artist is trained to draw composites from the memory of witnesses, sketch crime scenes for the courtroom, and reconstruct skulls of unknown homicide victims. How do they do it? Find out from the woman who trains the artists. Hands-on session for would-be artists and those who don’t think they could draw blood with a knife.

Crime Writer’s Guide to Murder InvestigationLocation – CC215
Instructor - Bruce Robert Coffin

Former detective sergeant and award-winning author Bruce Robert Coffin will share his years of experience as a supervisor of homicide and violent crime investigations. This workshop is filled to the brim with behind-the-scenes law enforcement investigation details designed to help you think and act like a homicide investigator while writing your stories.

Homicide Investigation: The Reel to Real StoryLocation – CC 210
Instructor - Michael A. Black

We all watch TV shows like Law & Order and CSI Las Vegas, but how authentic are they? This class, taught by a veteran police officer, goes over the basics of responding to and investigating a homicide and shows where the movies and cop shows go wrong. The instructor, who is a published author of 50 books and over a hundred short stories and articles, will give you tips on how to make your fiction more realistic and believable.

Use of Force Simulator (TI System)Location – SC142
Instructor - TBA

Police officers, as part of their regular duties, are faced with difficult decisions, decisions that offer no time for detailed scrutiny before reacting to the problem at hand. Often, when confronted with a potential deadly force situation, officers must perceive/identify the threat, evaluate the situation, develop a plan of action, and then set that plan in motion, all within a timeframe of less than one second. To put this scenario into perspective, a police officer’s reaction time (based on a study of 46 trained officers), when they already know the threat is there, AND, with their finger already on the trigger, is 0.365 seconds.

Still, decisions made by officers have come under increased scrutiny in recent years. This applies to not only to deadly force situations, but the apprehension of suspects, and even the decision to enter a building.

This gripping session places you, the “officer,” in a variety of interactive situations where you will have to think and react quickly to save lives and catch the suspects.

Virtual Reality – Mental Health Training SimulatorLocation – SC142
Instructor - Erik Walters

Officers are in regular contact with individuals who are undergoing a personal crisis, such as problems relating to the opioid epidemic, someone diagnosed on the autism spectrum, or one of a variety of psychiatric issues. Dealing with those situations can be challenging for law enforcement, especially when they often occur within mere seconds of arrival at a scene. There is often no time to know or research the person’s history, background, or medical diagnosis; therefore, officer responses to the situations are often reactionary to what is sometimes perceived as violent threats to their safety or the safety of others, including that of the person in crisis.

Virtual reality mental health training simulators place law enforcement officers into the shoes and minds of those suffering from an emotional disturbance or experiencing a mental health crisis. This realistic training experience helps police better comprehend what these individuals are experiencing, and to recognize and understand how to handle a subject who is undergoing psychiatric distress.
Killer Con attendees have the unique opportunity to participate in this hyper-realistic, eye-opening training experience.

Processing and Preservation of Fingerprint EvidenceSee course info above.

Body Trauma and Gunshot WoundsSee course info above.

Evidence Collection, Processing, and CSI TechniquesSee course info above.

CSI: Processing a Shooting SceneSee course info above.

Using Art to Solve CrimeSee course info above.

Crime Writer’s Guide to Murder InvestigationSee course info above.

Homicide Investigation: The Reel to Real StorySee course info above.

Use of Force Simulator (TI System)See course info above.

Virtual Reality – Mental Health Training SimulatorSee course info above.

Processing and Preservation of Fingerprint EvidenceSee course info above.

Body Trauma and Gunshot WoundsSee course info above.

Evidence Collection, Processing, and CSI TechniquesSee course info above.

CSI: Processing a Shooting SceneSee course info above.

Using Art to Solve CrimeSee course info above.

Crime Writer’s Guide to Murder InvestigationSee course info above.

Homicide Investigation: The Reel to Real StorySee course info above.

Use of Force Simulator (TI System)See course info above.

Virtual Reality – Mental Health Training SimulatorSee course info above.

Board Buses for Return to Hotel

Buses Depart Campus

DinnerOn Your Own

Bookstore and Cash Bar Open

Meet and Mingle with Cash Bar - Hotel Grand Ballroom 

Encounters with KillersLocation – Hotel Grand Ballroom
Presenter - Dr. Katherine Ramsland

Dr. Katherine Ramsland recounts her most memorable interactions with serial killers over the course of her life, describing how it shaped her career in forensic psychology. A Pied Piper, two Coed Killers, a Candy Man’s handyman, and BTK, among others, have left their marks on her research and writing, both fiction and nonfiction.