Consultants and Analysts

Karen Lacy Russo - Founder and Director of The Wrongful Death & Injury Institute, she is a consultant specialist. She holds a B.S. Political Science, M.S. Criminal Justice, past adjunct professor in criminal evidence and criminal investigation. Host of the weekly radio show "Deliberate Indifference".

Areas of expertise: Litigation consulting specialist to attorneys regarding the organization, structure, policy and procedure of Prison HMOs, State Departments of Correction, and Healthcare providers contracted by States to deliver healthcare to prison population;

Consulting specialist to families of offenders dealing with prison deaths, prison healthcare, medical neglect and abuse, DOC policy and procedures, inmate medical rights, family rights, wrongful death case analysis, death investigation practices, funeral home liability and violations.

She is a public speaker on the forensic disciplines, wrongful death issues, PRISON HMOs and their impact on society, violations and problems surrounding the Medical Examiner system across the country, the medical and legal rights of offenders and their families, the meaning of service, and importance of faith.

Veruschka R. Biddle   -  Born and educated in Germany; Master's Degree and Ph.D. in clinical Psychology. Board certified Expert in Forensic Traumatology; Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress and Diplomate of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. Dr. Biddle is listed in The International Registry of The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. She is a Criminal Investigative Analyst and a member with the International Association of Crime Analysts.

For over 12 years she has studied the impact of traumatic events and has devoted her academic and professional life to the treatment and healing of trauma survivors. Dr. Biddle worked as an Instructor in the Dept. of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

She brings a unique perspective to her training by developing a spiritually integrated treatment for patients suffering from trauma. Her work in this field has been nationally and internationally honored and recognized. Dr. Biddle is a clinician, author and international lecturer in exploring the relationship between spirituality, the human mind,  physiological functioning and God's healing.

Phillipa Chantry, Director of Research - Born in Melbourne, Australia, currently resides in Canberra, Australia. She holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree with Honors in English, a Graduate Degree in Education and currently is pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Management. Her past positions of teaching refugees, working in community sector work and administering government youth programs, has equipped her well for her current work in the administration of Australian Government programs for remote areas. She is the lead researcher for the Institute.

Hans Uffelmann - Receiving his primary and secondary education in Germany, he studied zoology and philosophy at Sacramento Community College and at the University of California at Davis where he took his B.A. After a three-year interruption of his academic career, serving with the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps as a surgical technician, he resumed his studies at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill where he earned a M.A. and Ph.D.

In 1963 he joined the University of Missouri - Kansas City as Assistant Professor of Philosophy, specializing in applied ethics and social philosophy, chairing the Department of Philosophy and the Faculty of the College of Arts & Sciences for several years. Appointed Professor of Philosophy & Medicine in 1971, Dr. Uffelmann was invited and joined the faculty of the School of Medicine teaching clinical medical ethics; both on a local and on a national level, and pioneered this emerging sub-specialty field in philosophy & medicine and taught biomedical ethics to faculty from various scientific fields for the National Science Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science at eighteen universities throughout the U.S. He received various awards and honors as "Pioneer in Medical Education" and accepted non-physician membership in AOA, the prestigious medical honor society.

Together with an attorney and a physician, he founded the MIDWEST BIOETHICS CENTER in 1986 which is a local community-based organization which has developed Advance Directives and the supporting federal legislation as well as Hospital Ethics Committees used in hospitals and health care centers throughout the United States and overseas. This center remains a leading consulting resource in matters of biomedical ethics throughout the country, including ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects involving all aspects of health care research (e.g.; human genetics, neo-natal, and other experimental fields along the human life cycle). The Center is a paradigm for addressing end-of-life care issues, including the famous Nancy Cruzan dilemmas involving the care of persistent vegetative state patients.

His recent retirement phase as Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Medicine, after serving on the faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City for thirty-seven years, is devoted and divided to selected teaching, clinical consultation, Hospital Ethics, Research Committee membership, and scholarly writing.

J. Coulson - Masters Degree in Criminal Justice and over thirty years experience in law enforcement procedures, police liability, OSHA regulations, death investigations, crime scene reconstruction, training of law enforcement officers, evaluation of field trainers and loss prevention.

K. Elliget - M.S. Biomedical Sciences, Ph.D. Medical Pathology. Dr. Elliget currently directs technology in higher education programs, research, development, implementation and evaluation of distance education curricula. She is working with learning management systems that provide flexible pedagogical tools, products and services. She has 17 years experience in teaching and research as a pathologist/cell biologist; Adjunct Professor Toxicology; Guest Lecturer Pharmacology; Director In Vitro Toxicology Research Program with the Maryland State Medical Examiners Office & National Cancer Institute; and Visiting Scientist, Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Her current interests include research and development of uniform, ethical standards and procedures for U.S. medical examiners, and lecturer for law enforcement basic training on ethical practices of law enforcement in the acute stage of managing drug-related deaths and families.

M. Finnegan  -  Professor of Anthropology with over 30 years experience in physical anthropology. M.A. Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Ph.D. Anthropology from the University of Colorado. Numerous professional experiences, membership in professional organizations, and publications too numerous to mention.

Paul Kish - Bloodstain Pattern Analyst. Examination and interpretation of evidence in over 250 crime scenes. Examination and interpretation of physical evidence and crime scene reconstruction from the majority of the states within the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Presented expert testimony on the topics of bloodstain pattern interpretation, crime scene reconstruction and forensic science in criminal and civil courts. Institute Instructor in Geometric Interpretation of Human Bloodstain Evidence.

D. Lock - Forensic Questioned Document Examiner and Latent Fingerprint Expert with over 30 years experience. Retired supervisor of the Questioned Document and Latent Print Sections of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab. Expertise includes but is not limited to: forensic questioned documents; latent fingerprint examination; and crime scene investigation. Instructor of specialized training programs and seminars. Publications and memberships in numerous professional organizations too numerous to mention.

K. Mashiko - Research Chemist with over thirty years experience in the chemical identification of paints, pigments, fibers, soils, oils. Former Head of the Laboratory of Ibaraki Prefecture Police Headquarters, Japan. Holds patents for the device for comparison method between soils, and for the detection and discrimination of light oils at fire scenes. Published "Latent Fingerprint Processing Iodine 7, 8 - Benzoflavone Method", "A New Ruthenium Tetroxide Fuming Procedure", "Latent Fingerprint Processing by the Ruthenium Tetroxide Method" in Journal of Forensic Identification. Announced the "Development of Latent Fingerprints in Fume-Box by the RTX" in the 5th Meeting of Japanese Association of Science and Technology.

Andre Moenssens - Law Professor, Forensic Consultant. Expertise in preparing legal memoranda and briefs for attorneys; case preparation on forensic issues involving the admissibility or inadmissibility of expert evidence in connection with Daubert/Kumho Tire hearings, Frye hearings, trial and appeals.

Joyce Mucci - Joyce Mucci grew up in Washington, D.C. but has called Kansas City her home for the last twenty-years. A former lobbyist in Jefferson City and on Capitol Hill, she changed course to pursue a public relations career. In addition to being the former Director of Public Relations for the International Council of Cruise Lines, and former Director of Communications for the Center for the America Founding in Washington, D.C., she has been the talk show host of KCCV radio and the voice of the The Ingram's Daily Business Report on KPHN. In addition to devoting her time to the Institute, she is also Director and Coordinator of The Mucci Media Consulting Firm and spokesperson for the Mid-America Immigration Reform Coalition.

Linda Peeno, M.D. - Physician and ethicist, who considers her sole patient to be our critically ill health care system. In the early 1980's, with the advent of "managed care," Dr. Peeno moved from clinical work to executive positions in a variety of health care organizations, including an insurance company, an HMO, and a hospital. In the early 1990's, she left this corporate work to focus on the ethical issues emerging from changes in health care organization, financing, and delivery. Dr. Peeno's struggle to bring these issues to public and professional attention is the subject of a movie, Damaged Care, first aired in 2002 by Showtime and Paramount studios as well as, Michael Moore's movie, Sicko.

Dr. Peeno is recognized as a leading authority on the operations of health organizations, corporate effects on medicine, and health care and professional ethics. She has testified before Congress, state legislatures, and various policy groups, and regularly provides analysis and consultation to business, medical, legal, policy, and media professionals. Dr. Peeno writes and speaks nationally and internationally on health care changes and reform.

J. Redwine - Over thirty years experience in heavy construction and day to day operations, including but not limited to construction management, supervision, labor relations, construction liability, and construction accidents.

Robert Scott - Practicing attorney with 20 years experience, specifically but not limited to issues of wrongful death, personal injury, torts, workers compensation, business law and intellectual property. Graduate of Notre Dame Law School. Background in Medical Genetics from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Licensed to practice law in Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas state courts, and the federal courts of those same states. In addition, is licensed in the federal appeals courts for the Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Federal Circuits and the United States Supreme Court.

G. Stephens  -  Over 25 years experience in traffic accident reconstruction. Training specialist for the Institute of Police Technology and Management Training in all phases of accident investigation and reconstruction. Attended the first organized reconstruction school held at Northwestern Traffic Institute. Formatted and conducted the first class in accident reconstruction nationwide. Mr. Stephens has been teaching in reconstruction school since the early days of reconstruction training. Numerous publications and memberships in professional organizations, too numerous to mention.

** The Institute's Analysts: The Institute, being a multidisciplinary firm of forensic experts and analysts, does not list all consultants/analysts/experts.