Renowned US-based forensic scientist Henry Lee shares insights from lifelong career at Singapore conference
Published: 05 Sep 2023
Prof Henry Lee (on stage), sharing his journey as a forensic scientist, at the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship In Pathology and Forensic Science Programme 2023
“Did you guys bring a sleeping bag? I can talk all day,” quipped Professor Henry Lee, one of the world’s foremost forensic scientists, at the recent Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship In Pathology and Forensic Science Programme 2023 seminars, that took place on 29 August and 4 September 2023.
A prominent figure in many challenging cases over the last 50 years, the 86-year-old Distinguished Professor in Forensic Science at the University of New Haven, Connecticut, USA, has worked with the FBI, CIA and more than 800 law enforcement agencies in the US and around the world, helping to solve over 8,000 cases. Prof Lee is renowned for his work in several high-profile cases, including the O. J. Simpson, Jason Williams, Peterson, and Kennedy Smith Trials, famous crimes such as the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado, the 1993 suicide of White House Counsel Vincent Foster, the death of Chandra Levy, the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, and the reinvestigation of the Kennedy assassination. Prof Lee has played a transformational role in building the international brand of the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, which is named in his honour.
Prof Henry Lee (on stage), delivering a lecture on the role of forensic science and pathology in crime investigations, at the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship In Pathology and Forensic Science Programme 2023
“I never dreamed in my life how my work can change the world. I am not any special detective or Bao Qing Tian; I am just an ordinary forensic scientist. Let the evidence speak for the dead—they often tell us many tales in what they leave behind,” commented Prof Lee, as he reflected on his lifelong career spanning close to 60 years. He is also Visiting Professor at the Department of Pathology, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine).
Sharing the journey from his humble beginnings as a forensic scientist in the 1960s, Prof Lee introduced his mother as his early motivation to pursue truth and justice in life without giving up, and discussed how forensic science and pathology evolved over the years. He also revisited some of his famous cases—the Lana Clarkson murder, shooting of Taiwan’s former president Chen Shui-bian, and the 1985 New Milford murder case. He discussed the challenges of examining dead and live patients, how to approach a case where no human bodies are found, and how to conduct investigations with evidence like bruise marks, blood smears, stab wounds, gunshot wounds and angles, shoeprints, smoke stains and even a missing chipped fingernail. He also shared his fond memories and friendship with the late Professor Chao Tzee Cheng, a renowned forensic pathologist in Singapore, respected for solving several notorious crimes in Singapore, including the cases of Mimi Wong, the first woman to be sentenced to death for murder in Singapore; the Mount Vernon murders; and the Rolex watch murder.
Prof Henry Lee (centre), addressing questions from the audience at the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship In Pathology and Forensic Science Programme 2023, with A/Prof Tan Soo Yong, Head, Department of Pathology, NUS Medicine, and A/Prof Stella Tan, Department of Biological Sciences, NUS Faculty of Science
Prof Henry Lee (back row, fifth from left), Visiting Professor at the NUS Medicine Department of Pathology, with the organisers and attendees of the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship In Pathology and Forensic Science Programme 2023
Organised by the Department of Pathology, NUS Medicine, in collaboration with the NUS Faculty of Science, the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship in Pathology and Forensic Science Programme 2023 is a conference that aims to share knowledge of the role of forensic science and pathology in medical-legal investigations. The conference is supported by the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship in Pathology and Forensic Science which celebrates the life of the late Prof Chao, and honours him and his contributions to Singapore. Established in November 2001, the Professorship aims to continue promulgating the efforts that Prof Chao initiated to educate the medical, legal, scientific committees and the public, that forensic medicine is a vitally important science that reveals facts and aids in the pursuit of truth and justice.
