Barbara Butcher

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Barbara Butcher was an American death examiner for New York City and the author of a memoir What The Dead Know: Learning About Life As A New York City Death Investigator. She was one of the people who was responsible for identifying the remains of people who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Butcher was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Massapequa.[2] Her father worked for NYPD as a deputy inspector and her uncle is also a policeman.[3] She has a BS from Long Island University and a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University.[4]

Forensic career

[edit]

Butcher had worked as a physician’s assistant and hospital administrator, losing both jobs to alcoholism.[5] She became sober through Alcoholics Anonymous and went to vocational rehab to find a new job.[5] New York’s Employment Program for Recovering Alcoholics suggested she work as a coroner.[5] In 1992 she began a career as a medicolegal investigator with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York. She was the second woman they had hired and the first one who stayed on the job more than three months.[6]

She worked there for 22 years, eventually becoming director of the Forensic Science Training Program, an academy she founded which provided national training on best practices in death investigation.[4][7] She worked at more than 5,500 death scenes, 700 of which were homicides.[6]

Consultant and author

[edit]

When Bill de Blasio became mayor of New York and made his own appointments, Butcher lost her job.[7] She experienced deep depression after becoming unemployed and was hospitalized and received electroshock therapy.[7] The experience led her to write her 2023 memoir What The Dead Know: Learning About Life As A New York City Death Investigator during the 2020 COVID lockdown.[8] It was published by Simon & Schuster in 2023.[9]Kirkus Reviews summarized it as "a sober, queer woman describes how becoming a New York City medicolegal examiner changed her life."[10] The New York Times said it "feels lifted from a noir film."[11]

She currently works as a consultant in forensic and medicolegal services and worked on Dick Wolf's Netflix show Homicide: New York in 2024.[12] Wolf gave Butcher her own show, The Death Investigator With Barbara Butcher which is scheduled to be shown on the Oxygen True Crime network in the fall of 2025.[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Gonyea, Don (2023-06-17). "Death investigator Barbara Butcher knows 'What the Dead Know'". NPR. Archived from the original on 2025-07-24. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  2. ^ Police off the Cuff (July 30, 2023). Law and crime Author series 'What the Dead Know" Barbara Butcher. Event occurs at 13:48. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  3. ^ Police off the Cuff (June 23, 2023). Barbara Butcher in conversation with Patricia Cornwell. Event occurs at 5:42. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Barbara Butcher, MPH". Adelphi University. 2013-03-14. Archived from the original on 2025-06-21. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  5. ^ a b c Farley, Todd (2023-07-08). "NYC medical investigator's time probing death taught her more about life". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  6. ^ a b "Forensic investigator from true crime docuseries reveals emotional toll of job". Fox News. 2024-04-23. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  7. ^ a b c Cary, Alice (2023-06-20). "Interview with Barbara Butcher, author of What the Dead Know". BookPage. Archived from the original on 2024-08-05. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  8. ^ Scheier, Liz (2023-03-10). "'No One Gives a Sh*t About Chickens': PW Talks with Barbara Butcher". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  9. ^ "Barbara Butcher: The life of a New York City death investigator". Spectrum News NY1. 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  10. ^ Reviews, Kirkus (2023-06-20). "WHAT THE DEAD KNOW". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  11. ^ Modak, Sebastian (2023-07-28). "Audiobook review: 'What the Dead Know,' by Barbara Butcher; 'The Forgotten Girls,' by Monica Potts; 'Pageboy,' by Elliot Page". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
  12. ^ "Spotlight: Barbara Butcher". Wolf Entertainment. 2024-03-20. Archived from the original on 2025-04-17. Retrieved 2025-07-30.
  13. ^ Lennon, John J. (2025-07-19). "When Your Crime Becomes a Dick Wolf Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
[edit]