Katherine Grosso serves as AFMES medicolegal death investigator
Katherine Grosso serves as a medicolegal death investigator for the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, dvidshub.net reported.
From Vocal Performance to Forensic Science
Born in Huntsville, Alabama, and raised in Woodbridge, Virginia, Grosso is the daughter of an aerospace engineer and private pilot, and the granddaughter of a retired Army colonel. As a child, her father took her and her brother to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum nearly every weekend, including a visit to meet astronaut Sally Ride. Her grandfather spent his retirement writing books on military geography and strategy, bringing her to events featuring former military personnel. Initially, Grosso pursued a different path. She attended Stonewall Jackson High School in Manassas, Virginia, enrolling in the International Baccalaureate Program and specializing in musical performance during her junior and senior years. After graduating in 2000, she applied to James Madison University for voice performance, rejecting her grandfather’s suggestion to attend the Virginia Military Institute.
During her first year at James Madison University, Grosso began questioning whether her passion for singing could become a sustainable career. After taking a medical anthropology course, she decided to switch her major to anthropology during summer break. She focused on physical anthropology, osteology, and anatomy, and graduated in 2005.
Early Career at Medical Examiner Offices
Upon returning home to northern Virginia, Grosso secured a job at the D.C. Medical Examiner’s office as an autopsy assistant. Anticipating that her entry-level duties would involve managing equipment, vehicles, and refrigerated units, she was handed a scalpel on her very first day. After two years at the D.C. office, she pursued a master’s degree in anthropology with a focus in forensic science at The George Washington University. While studying there, a professor who worked at the Virginia Medical Examiner’s office introduced her to death investigations through Virginia’s unique system of on-call county investigators. Following her master’s degree, Grosso returned to the D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office, serving for a decade as a forensic investigator.
Current Role with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System
In 2016, an opening for a medicolegal death investigator at the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System appeared. Encouraged by her father—who reminded her that she did not have to serve in the military to be of service—she applied and secured the position. Over the past decade, she has worked nearly every U.S. Navy and Marine Corps mishap for the Department of War, alongside providing technical advice, contingency planning, and training for every NASA crewed space flight mission prior to launch.
“Every death at AFMES is the most important one, and I see my contribution as preventative, especially with our safety investigations,” Grosso stated, according to dvidshub.net. “It’s the idea that no one is lost in vain.”
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