BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Forensic criminologist Dr. Laura Pettler, a 1997 Geneva College alumna, will speak on crime scene staging on Thursday, February 15 at 7 p.m. in Skye Lounge, Student Center on the college campus. Her presentation of “The American Cold Case Epidemic: Crime Scene Staging in Domestic Violence Homicide” is open to the public, as well as to the Geneva community.

Pettler, a native of Beaver, Pennsylvania, is a nationally recognized forensic criminologist with many years of experience in her field. Pettler’s area of expertise is crime scene staging, specifically cases involving domestic violence homicide.

Geneva College will host Pettler’s Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) summer camp in June 2018, a week-long camp for children and teens. A single day CSI experience will also be offered for adults. Details will be available on the Geneva College website, Geneva.edu.

Pettler published her book, Crime Scene Staging Tactics in Homicide Cases in 2015, the very first book published on this subject. She is the sole producer of her web crime series titled, “Notorious: True Crime Stories with Laura Pettler.” The docuweb series covers the crimes of a serial killer active in Beaver County during the 1970s. Pettler is a frequent guest on The Dr. Oz Show’s True Crime Tuesday.

In addition to her media successes, Pettler is also the inventor of the Kaleidoscope System Shooting and Bloodstain Reconstruction System, which is used in 30 countries. She is now a private investigator, as well as the director of the Laura Pettler & Associates (LPA) International Forensics Institute and vice president of The American Investigative Society of Cold Cases.

Pettler also leads an active family and community life on her Cavalleria Rusticana farm in Waxhaw Horse Country, North Carolina. The Cavalleria Rusticana is home to Pettler’s prized horses, French bulldogs and Doberman pinschers. In addition, she is the founder of the Carolina Warriors Mounted Archers Club.

Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 80 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, Adult Degree Programs with fully online and classroom options, and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. U.S. News & World Report ranks Geneva as a Top Three Best Value Regional University with one of the Top 100 engineering programs in the nation. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God’s Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today’s world.