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Thomas Coyle was a teenager working the night shift as a baker in the town square of Leicester, England, when a tragedy outside changed the course of his career.
A man had been stabbed to death underneath the clock tower - and as he approached, he realised it was his best friend. At the same time, Scotland Yard was advertising a position as a combined fingerprint expert and specialist crime scene examiner - a job he won over 400 other applicants.
After moving to New Zealand, he became one of the first people here to be certified as a disaster victim identification expert, and has been involved in some major disasters including the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand and the Christchurch earthquakes.
Thomas Coyle now runs his own business - Forensic Insight - teaching students around the country about clue hunting, fingerprint identification and crime scene analysis.
He's just been named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit - for services to New Zealand Police, disaster victim identification, and theatre - which he calls his sanctuary from his day job.
