East Anglian Daily Times ( 9th February 2006)
Women's Weekly Magazine - Living in a Real Life Detective Novel (21st February 2006)
East Anglian Daily Times
Tangled Web UK Review (January 2006)
Book Description
From the Author
This book was written to show the development of the expertise – from bites to weapons. It’s not all serious stuff.
I have to tell you, though, in the back of my mind I had an ulterior motive for writing it, so I had better come clean and relate this true tale.
David and I booked up for a few days’ break in Milan, organised by our local branch of the British Dental Association and, during the trip, a visit to the local dental hospital had been organised, which is usual on such occasions. Entente cordiale and so forth.
In due course a coach arrived to take us there together with two charming Italian dental surgeons who were to be our guides. On the way Eugenio, the older one – he wasn’t all that old – was half way back in the coach telling those nearest about the sights en route. Not wishing to miss anything I made my way up the swaying aisle and found a seat close by. After a while I got chatting to him.
I glanced back down the coach at David who, before we left, had said, ‘Now don’t go talking about the forensic stuff; we want to have a break from it, right?’
Me, I just looked at the ceiling and said nothing. So I said to Eugenio (I can’t remember his name), ‘We do forensic work.’
If you say this abroad people often think you mean court appearances as an expert in cases of malpractice.
‘No, it’s not that,’ I said. ‘It’s to do with criminal cases – bitemarks on skin.’ I explained a bit about it.
His face took on a look of utter distaste and he gave me that sort of indulgent smile reserved for nutters you can’t immediately escape from, which seemed to say I had made the whole thing up. He had never heard anything like it. Nor had the younger dentist; nor the professor at the hospital.
On the last day of the trip a cocktail party was hosted at our hotel, which we all attended, and our two Italian dental surgeons were there. It would have been far more relaxing for me to have had a pleasant chat with this one and that one. But, I told myself, a salesperson is never really on holiday.
I went up to Eugenio, smiled brightly – I was in my best red brocade dress – and said, ‘There’s something I wanted to say to you.’
‘Of course.’
But someone else interrupted – he was to pose for photographs, for the local dental press I would imagine. He would come back soon. But well after the session ended the face-the-camera smile had not yet faded and I knew he wouldn’t. Forget it, you’re supposed to be on holiday, I told myself, don’t think about work, right? I circulated round.
Five minutes later I felt a little prod in the back, it was that pest of a patron saint, Frendonia – you’ll meet her in the pages of this tome. I sighed, readjusted my smile and sashayed up to the younger dentist. ‘Could I have a word in your ear?’
‘But of course.’
‘Luigi,’ I said, ‘I want to tell you – your country’s missing something – not using bitemark comparisons and I’m writing this book about it.’
He was keen to get hold of the book. He gave me his card.
If you ever get chatting to a police officer abroad, a professor etc. and the opportunity arises, could you mention forensic odontology for me?
From the Inside Flap
BITERS BEWARE!
Head of Library Services Roger Farbey reviews a gripping read for anyone interested in true crime stories.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
The one-hour films of Edgar Wallace Mysteries were familiar fare to cimemagoers of the 1950s and 60s. These "B" films, which supported the main feature, were often introduced by the criminologist Edgar Lustgarten, who set the scene for these tales of murder in understated, but gory, detail.
So it is with Bite to Byte, wherein the author describes the horrific crimes in an appropriately detached, yet engaging, manner. She often refers to the victims by name, as did Lustgarten, as though to emphasise that these were real human beings, and not just "cases".
Lewin begins by describing in detail her husband David’s progression from general dental practitioner to innovative forensic odontologist. He decided to answer his yearning for a new professional direction after having been a popular and successful general dentist for over 25 years. He qualified in this unusual branch of dentistry by taking the Diploma in Forensic Odontology.
The first major case the author describes was the 1989 trial relating to the gruesome murder of Mary McManus in which David Lewin was first involved as an expert witness. Although certainly not the first trial involving bitemarks, it was the first murder trial where the case for the prosecution was crucially dependent on proving that the bitemarks inflicted on the victim were perpetrated by the defendant during the course of the crime. The result of the trial was a verdict of guilty but this was subsequently overturned at appeal because of a legal technicality. The defendant was nevertheless detained in Broadmoor under the Mental Heath Act.
David’s Lewin’s genius, described in this book, was to invent a method for demonstrating the evidence of bitemarks using photographic "overlays". These are carefully juxtaposed and accurate images of the marks made on the victim that are then compared with the bite of the assailant using impressions taken, with consent, from them.
What is even more interesting about Lewin is that his novel forensic technique made his services useful to the police in cases where bitemarks were not involved but where the similar use of impressions and overlays could be used to link wounds by an axe or a heavy glass ashtray to the killers.
Persephone Lewin became her husband’s assistant in an increasing number of cases in which he was involved and, as the title of the book suggests, she eventually became his computer demonstrator when his photographic overlay tecnique evolved to one using computer-generated images.
This is a fascinating book and, while an indispensable primer for anyone contemplating forensics as a career, it is also just a good and gripping read for anyone interested in true crime stories and their detection by a truly ingenious dentist.
From the Back Cover
MURDER MOST FOUL AND TEETHING TROUBLES
Combining the grisly details of murder, sexual assault and forensic pathology with eccentric humour, narrative colour and an eye for the absurd is, one would think, the preserve of the fiction writer- and a gutsy one at that.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, to learn that Persephone Lewin is also pursuing the elusive goal of thriller writing success. Her eccentric and sometimes downright odd asides lifts the mood of what would otherwise be a dry tome. Her ability to give narrative drive and colour to the cases in which her husband, David Lewin, uses his increasing ability as a forensic odontologist to identify murderers, weapons and their victims is burgeoning rather than fully–fledged, but she is very readable.
Bite to Byte is, in essence, a short history of forensic dentistry - more accurately called forensic odontology – as it has evolved from ‘simply’ identifying people from dental records. The book’s thrust is the notion that people like Mr Lewin, in their forensic work, match patterns that happen to be made by teeth, and this pattern matching has many other possibilities.
In a neat progression, Ms Lewin starts with matching toothmarks on a victim, moves to identifying victims by their teeth, then takes us through matching an ashtray used as a murder weapon, an axe linking two murders to one assailant, a button on a pair of jeans, before finally returning to teeth – on a zipper.
Ms Lewin writes with touching affection and occasional hyperbole for her dentist husband, slaving over a hot laptop or a cold corpse. She tries desperately to keep herself out of the book, although she only makes it half-way before throwing caution completely to the wind. But she is a welcome companion, and worth the attention. Who else would write the following chapter footnote?
‘Some people have a thing about bow ties worn outside of formal occasions. Their plus point is that, unlike ties, they are highly practical in places such as mortuaries, where ties can dangle into the products of decomposition. The minus side is that folk tend to distrust their wearers.’
Bite to Byte is filled with asides, comical descriptions and matter-of-fact, sensitive writing when describing the truly awful things human beings do to each other. Ms Lewin has written a personal book, and it is this personality that drives the reader through what could become tedious stuff indeed.
It is difficult to imagine someone who invents a bizarre patron saint of odontology, which features as an occasional character in a book rooted in academic fact, not staring wide-eyed at the products of the evil that men do, while trying to apply putty to a corpses mouth and it is this connection she makes with the reader that makes Bite to Byte the unexpected pleasure to read that it is.
Rupert White
British Dental Journal Vol 200 No 10 May 27 2006
BITE TO BYTE
This book is an interesting mix of case histories that help to map the progression of forensic dentistry into the realms of tool mark work – with a splash of humour from the author to lighten those darker moments.
It is not intended as a ‘how to do’ manual, but tracks the development of bite mark analysis from the subjective direct tracings of the biting edges of the teeth of a potential biter to the more objective, reliable and reproducible computer-generated overlays. It is then a short hop to adapt this technique to other patterned injuries. However, getting this evidence accepted in the courts proved to be an epic battle and required team work from David Lewin (Forensic Dentist and husband to the author) and Mrs Lewin.
It is also a personal look at some of the milestones encountered along the way by David Lewin and covers some of the most well known cases that he has assisted, including identifications in the Newall murders in Jersey and bites by politician Alan Clark’s dog. Each case is carefully described and researched to give the reader fascinating insight into the unfolding case, complete with characters and court proceedings along with the relevance of the dental procedures. However, no dental degree or computer qualification is necessary to enjoy the book.
It is a most interesting read and is suitable for all those interested or involved in the forensic world – a mixture of scientific technique, forensic dental history, personal achievement and reflection. Although over 300 pages, it is definitely something to get your teeth into (sorry!).
J. Hinchliffe
Excerpted from Bite to Byte: The Story of Injury Analysis by Persephone Lewin. Copyright © 2006. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
BITE TO BYTE ILLUSTRATES the development of objective bitemark analysis in a criminal context including the use of computer imaging. It also provides an insight into the workings of English jurisprudence and should allow readers to understand how expert evidence is handled, for better or for worse, within an adversarial system. In fact there are few, if any, readable books that provide as much insight.
Cases described also include those ones where similar techniques to bitemark analysis are used to match weapons and patterned injuries. As a practitioner in forensic pathology with a special interest in patterned injuries I am indebted to David Lewin for his contribution to the advancement of this area of evidence. Using his meticulous approach of maintaining scaled superimposition, he has devised a methodology that allows jurors, themselves, to match an injury with a weapon (or a set of teeth). I myself have continued to use the same approach.
The cases chosen are described in detail but the style is eloquent and compelling. I unreservedly recommend this book to anyone interested in forensic medicine and science. It bridges the gap between a ‘training book’ and a description of a scientific methodology.
Some of the personalities described will be recognisable to all!!!
Nathaniel Cary
Forensic Pathologist
Dr Nat Cary is a Home Office forensic pathologist. His evidence has featured in many high-profile trials including the Soham murders of the two little girls, the Victoria Climbié case of child cruelty, neglect and murder and also the Rachel Whitear case, the widely publicised heroin death on the end of a needle, where he was involved with the exhumation.
