"Forensic scientists act as custodians of the dead," says Professor Lorna Martin.

"We speak for them, explaining what happened in their last moments so justice can be done."

For 35 years now, Martin has bent over metal trolleys with saws and scalpels and tools dissecting bodies, capturing her observations in reports, pondering knots and ligatures, and testifying in court.

Martin's work has often been in the headlines.

Probing mysteries of the dead: Top forensic pathologist looks back as Cape Town gets new mortuary