KINGSTON, R.I. — Oct. 29, 2020 — On Halloween Eve, the University of Rhode Island’s annual Forensic Science Seminar Series will feature retired Warwick Police Detective Ed Pierce discussing occult and ritualistic crimes.
The free lecture, which is available online and in-person to a limited audience, is Friday, Oct. 30, at the Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences, 140 Flagg Road, Room 100, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Pierce will focus on law enforcement issues with non-traditional groups, forensic and clinical aspects of ritual crimes, crimes related to Satanism, and the occurrences of such crimes in New England.
Pierce, who will be addressing the seminar series for the third time, has more than 40 years of experience in forensics and criminal investigation. He has served as a detective and polygraphist for the Warwick Police Department for many years. He has researched numerous issues in the field of occult crime, including “Teenage Suicide: Its relationship to Satanism and the occult.” He has also contributed to various publications, such as “The New Satanists,” on criminal cases, and “The Death Investigations Manual,” on ritual homicide.
Pierce received his bachelor’s degree in administrative science in 1997 at Roger Williams University, and associate’s degree in criminal justice at Salve Regina University. He is certified in polygraph science by the National Training Center of Polygraph Science in New York.
He has presented lectures on topics related to cults and the occult, and polygraph science at such schools as Brown University; the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Rhode Island School of Design, and Providence College.
“Ed has an interesting background in law enforcement and he brings a specialty that is not spoken about in the mainstream media,” said Dennis Hilliard, director of the Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory at URI and adjunct professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Pharmacy. “His specialty is to get into the minds and understand the people who committed the crime, in terms of occult and ritualistic crimes. It’s something that law enforcement officers need to be aware of. If something unusual is in the crime scene, they know how to research it and investigate it.”
Prior to the lecture, people interested in attending lectures in person must request permission by email from Hilliard (dhilliard@uri.edu) or URI Chemistry Professor Jimmie Oxley (joxley@uri.edu). A maximum of 60 people will be permitted inside the lecture hall, under the university’s COVID-19 safety measures. To view the lecture online, email Hilliard or Oxley to request a live Zoom link to the lecture.
All students, faculty, staff, and visitors attending lectures are required to complete a daily health self-assessment electronic questionnaire before attending the lectures in person and must adhere to the University’s guidelines on mask wearing and social distancing.
Edhaya Thennarasu, an intern in the Marketing and Communications Department at URI and Communications major, wrote this press release.