318: Lisa Bailey – Clay and Bones, FBI Forensic Artist

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In this episode, retired FBI forensic artist Lisa Bailey reviews the FBI’s forensic facial approximation program, where she used models of skulls and anthropologist reports to create sculptures of unidentified individuals to help investigators seeking the public’s assistance in solving cold cases.

She also reviews the 5-year research project she launched on behalf of the FBI with the University of Tennessee’s “Body Farm,” which resulted in the Bureau’s 3D digital and photographic forensic art reference collection of over 100 contemporary skulls.

Lisa Bailey served in the FBI for 18 years.

Prior to the FBI, Lisa served in the US Navy as a Russian Linguist, and worked as a graphic artist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. She began her FBI career in the Investigative and Prosecutive Graphic Unit at the FBI Laboratory two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, creating presentations and demonstrative evidence for the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui.

FBI Forensic Artist (Retired)

Lisa Bailey

2001 -2019

Lisa’s casework included creating composite sketches of terror suspects, age progressions of wanted fugitives, and post-mortem images of unidentified victims. She rose to become the FBI’s first female forensic sculptor, creating realistic sculptures from the skulls of unidentified victims.

She was an adjunct faculty member of the FBI Academy, and an instructor of the FBI Forensic Facial Imaging Class.

Her work has been featured on the Bureau’s public website and social media platforms, the Smithsonian Museum of National History, and the National Museum of Health and Medicine.

Lisa is the author of Clay and Bones: My Life as an FBI Forensic Artist. Visit her website LisaBaileyAuthor.com to learn more about Lisa and her book.