Starrs, James E.

1930–
AMERICAN
FORENSIC SCIENTIST

James E. Starrs has made significant contributions to the field of forensic science as a writer, professor, and investigator. He has taught law and forensic science at George Washington University for more than forty years, and has written many articles and books on his forensic work, including a leading textbook on scientific evidence . Starrs is perhaps best known for the numerous scientific investigations he has conducted, on such famous cases as the Boston Strangler, Alfred Packer, Senator Huey Long, CIA agent Frank Olson, Jesse James, and Meriwether Lewis.

Starrs, even as a young man, had a keen interest in criminal law, reading many of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. He earned an undergraduate degree at St. John's University, and a graduate degree at New York University, where he held a Ford Foundation Fellowship. In 1964, Starrs became a faculty member at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. There he has taught both law and forensic sciences, specializing in criminal law and procedure, forensic pathology , fingerprinting, document examination, and polygraph use.

In conjunction with his academic career, Starrs has led a number of scientific investigations of famous historic cases. In the Alfred Packer case, he exhumed the bodies of Packer's five traveling companions to determine if Packer was guilty of cannibalism. In the Boston Strangler case, Starrs exhumed the body of the Strangler's last victim to determine if her injuries correlated with Albert DeSalvo's confession. Starrs also worked on identifying the remains of Jesse James, determining the cause of death of CIA agent Frank Olson and explorer Meriwether Lewis, and determining the true assassin of Senator Huey Long.

Starrs has also contributed to the literature related to forensic sciences. Together with Andre Moenssens and Fred Inbau, he wrote Scientific Evidence in Criminal Cases, a leading textbook on scientific evidence. And in 2005, Starrs and co-author Katherine Ramsland published A Voice for the Dead: A Forensic Pursuit of the Truth in the Grave. The book details Starrs' work in body exhumation . In addition to the many articles Starrs contributed to professional publications , heal so edited the Scientific Sleuthing Review for more than twenty-five years. In 1996, Starrs became a distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences .

see also Careers in forensic science; Exhumation.