Enrico Natale Togneri died 19 December 2003 in Reno of a heart attack at the age of 56. He was an expert on DNA testing and crime laboratory procedures. Mr. Togneri, former Director of the Washoe County Crime Lab and past president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, was an internationally recognized expert on crime lab procedures and DNA testing. Mr. Togneri consulted worldwide on crime laboratory design, procedures, and certification. He served as President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) in 1993-94, President of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) in 1983, and he served as the chairman of numerous ASCLD committees, including the New Developments & Research Committee, the Forensic Science Operations & Programs Committee, the Law Enforcement Liaison Committee, and the Site Selection Committee. He was a member of the California Association of Criminalistics (CAC) and served as chairman of the CAC Certification Committee. He also served as president of the California Association of Crime Laboratory Directors. Mr. Togneri was instrumental in the design and organization of the Washoe County Crime Lab, one of the finest laboratories in the nation. He was a faculty member of the National Judicial College in Reno and taught at Truckee Meadows Community College.

Born in Lucca, Italy, Mr. Togneri came to the United States at the age of 12, where he grew up in Occidental, a small town in western Sonoma County, California. He attended Sonoma State University and the University of California at Berkeley. He began his career in criminalistics at the Contra Costa country crime lab in California, accepting the directorship at Washoe County's crime lab in 1978. He retired from the Washoe County crime lab in 1994. He worked in the office of David R. Houston, Attorney at Law, until his death. Mr. Togneri served on the Board of Directors of the Committee to Aid Abused Women (CAAW) in Reno for a number of years and volunteered with CAAW for more than 10 years.

A lifelong soccer fan, Mr. Togneri was active as a coach in the American Youth Soccer league in Sparks and was a certified referee. He was an accomplished alpine skier and tennis player. As a member of Rotary, Mr. Togneri traveled with a delegation to Italy that was organized to exchange management techniques.

He is survived by his wife, Amy Saathoff Togneri of Reno, his son Marcello Togneri of Irvine, California, his father, Alberto Togneri, of Reno, Nevada, his sister Annamaria Williams of Mill Valley, California, His brother Mauro Togneri of Houston, Texas, and numerous nieces and nephews, as well as his former wife, Cindy Jack of Sparks, Nevada. Mr. Togneri's passing will also be mourned by his may friends and colleagues around the world.

If you wish, send contributions in Mr. Togneri's memory to Forensic Sciences Foundation Endowment Fund, c/o The American Academy of Forensic Sciences, 410 N. 21st St., Colorado Springs, CO 80904; the Committee to Aid Abused Women, 1735 Vassar St., Reno, NV 89502; or The ACLU Foundation, 125 Broad St., 18th Floor, New York, NY 10004.