Roll Call Tribute

Pat A. Wertheim 

March 23, 1948 - March 1, 2025 

Surrounded by his family, Pat Wertheim passed away on March 1st, 2025. 

A giant in forensic science, Pat dedicated five decades to the field of fingerprint analysis with passion and integrity. He began his career in 1973 as a sworn latent print examiner, and since 1986 as a civilian. His first experience of a fabricated latent print was in the 1990s at the Arizona Department of Public Safety Crime Lab in Tucson. Since then, he researched the topic and wrote articles for scientific journals. He made presentations to the International Association for Identification (IAI), the Fingerprint Society in Great Britain, International Association of Forensic Sciences Australia, and others.

Pat taught hundreds of classes and workshops worldwide. Defense and prosecution attorneys consulted him on cases of alleged latent print forgery and fabrication.

He was a Distinguished Life-Sustaining member of the IAI and the Southwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, as well as a member of California State Division of the International Association for Identification and the Texas State Division of IAI. He testified in Daubert hearings and held certifications as a Senior Crime Scene Analyst, Certified Ten Print Examiner, and Certified Latent Print Examiner. He served on the editorial board for the Journal of Forensic Identification and, for two decades, on the Scientific Working Group on Friction Ridge Analysis, Study and Technology (SWGFAST).

Pat’s book with co-author Kathleen Saviers, with the working title “False Fingerprints” will be available in 2026, documenting his controversial cases, such as the murder of Sir Harry Oakes in the Bahamas, the Shirley McKie case in Scotland, the fabricated evidence against Fred Van Der Vyver in South Africa, and forged prints on an alleged Jackson Pollock canvas.

He took joy in mentoring the next generation, equipping them not only with technical expertise but with the integrity to continue his fight for ethics. His legacy is now in the hands of the thousands he trained.

We invite you to join us in honoring his life and legacy at a virtual celebration of life on Sunday, March 23rd, 2025, his 77th birthday. If Pat influenced your life or career, you are encouraged to share a memory on his website’s message board: https://lnkd.in/gwWDdd2n