Updated on: March 28, 2026 / 7:40 PM EDT / CBS/AP
Henry Lee, the famed forensic scientist whose work helped bring modern crime-scene investigation into the public spotlight and who testified during the O.J. Simpson murder trial, has died. He was 87.
Lee “passed away peacefully” Friday at his home in Henderson, Nevada, after a brief illness, his family and the University of New Haven said in a statement. He taught at the university for more than 50 years and helped build its forensic science program into a multidisciplinary department, later founding the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science to train practitioners and provide case consultation.
Lee rose to national prominence after testifying in Simpson’s 1995 trial, where he questioned the handling of blood evidence. He also consulted on several other high-profile cases, including the 1996 slaying of 6-year-old JonBenét Ramsey in Colorado, the 2004 murder trial of Scott Peterson, accused of killing his pregnant wife Laci, and the 2007 murder trial of record producer Phil Spector.
Born in China and raised in Taiwan, Lee earned a degree in police administration and became, at the time, the youngest police captain in Taipei history. He moved to the United States in 1964 with his late wife, earning advanced degrees in forensic science and biochemistry. Back in China, a multi-story museum honors him.
He first gained wide attention for his work in the 1986 investigation of flight attendant Helle Crafts’ disappearance, where microscopic fragments of bone, a thumb tip, a tooth crown and hair found near her home helped prosecutors make the case that her husband had dismembered her and disposed of her body in a wood chipper. Prosecutors won a conviction despite not recovering a complete body.
Lee served as head of Connecticut’s forensic laboratory for part of his career and was a prolific author, writing or co-authoring more than 40 books. He also hosted a 2004 Court TV documentary series, “Trace Evidence: The Case Files of Dr. Henry Lee.” In his final days he was finalizing a book on missing-persons investigations that the university said is expected to be published posthumously.
Lee’s legacy was complicated by controversy. A 2020 state judge vacated the 1985 murder convictions of two men whose convictions had been tied in part to Lee’s testimony about what were said to be bloodstains on a towel; later testing showed the stains were not blood. In 2023 a federal judge found him liable for fabricating evidence in that case. Lee denied fabricating evidence, saying the traces he observed might have degraded in the roughly 20 years between the crime and later tests.
“Dr. Lee was a remarkable individual,” University of New Haven President Jens Frederiksen said. “His contributions to our University as well as forensic science and law enforcement are extraordinary and unmatched. His legacy lives on in the generations of students and law enforcement professionals he impacted throughout his brilliant career.”
At the university’s spring commencement in 2025, Lee told graduates, “There is no obstacle that cannot be overcome if you persist and believe.”