From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mark Benecke

Mark Benecke (born 1970), is a forensic biologist.

He was born in Germany; after receiving a Ph.D. at Cologne University, he switched to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Manhattan (1997--1999). Now, he works internationally on forensic cases as a freelance certified & sworn in expert.

He worked on the identification of Adolf and Eva Hitler's skull and teeth in Moscow (with the FSB (Russia)) and on the explanation of alleged signs of vampirism.

He is a teacher at police academies (incl. one training for the FBI) and visiting professor at universities in Germany, England, Vietnam, Colombia, and the Philippines.

Benecke published several popular science books about the biology of aging, criminal cases and forensic biology. He is a member of the editorial board of the Annals of Improbable Research (Cambridge, USA), guest editor for Forensic Science International (Forensic Entomology Special Issue), and scientific advisor to the German skeptic organization GWUP. Some of his forensic cases were covered by National Geographic Channel.

As "Belcanto Bene" (pseudonym) he was a member of the German punkband Die Blonden Burschen between 1989 and 2000.

• The Dream of Eternal Life, Columbia University Press, New York 2002. ISBN 0-231-11672-1
• Mordmethoden. Ermittlungen der bekanntesten Kriminalbiologen der Welt, Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2002. ISBN 3-7857-2099-8 (German)
• Lachende Wissenschaft. Aus den Geheimarchiven des Spaß-Nobelpreises, Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2005. ISBN 3-404-60556-X (German)
• Murderous Methods, Preface by Michael Baden. Columbia University Press, New York 2005. ISBN 0-231-13118-6
• Dem Täter auf der Spur. So arbeitet die moderne Kriminalbiologie, Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2006. ISBN 3-404-60562-4 (German)

• http://www.benecke.com