Is there a forensic nurse crime scene detective in the house?
Nancy Cabelus, MSN, RN, DABFN, is not a typical nurse. Nor is she a typical law enforcement official. She is a forensic nurse, at the forefront of an exciting emerging specialty, and also a crime scene detective on the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad in Meriden, covering one-third of the state, encompassing approximately 70 towns and cities. She is the only woman and nurse on the team, which investigates homicide, kidnapping, sexual assault, child abuse, carjacking, bank robbery, and other violent crimes. Cabelus has been a nurse these 19 years and a Connecticut state trooper for 18 of those, having passed the state police examination while she was in nursing school. While nursing and law enforcement work might seem an unlikely combination, the dual areas of expertise work well together in her unique career.”Nursing skills make you look at things a little more critically,” says Cabelus. In working on the major crime squad, she collects forensic evidence at c
