The transfer and persistence of metals in latent fingermarks

In forensic science, knowledge and understanding of material transfer and persistence is inherent to the interpretation of trace evidence and can provide vital information on the activity level surrounding a...

Unusual Application of Insect-Related Evidence in Two European Unsolved Murders

Insect-related evidence must be considered of probative value just as bloodstains, fingerprints, fibers, or any other materials. Such evidence if properly collected and analyzed can also provide useful details in the reopening of old unsolved murders, also called “cold cases”. This paper presents the case of two murders that occurred in two different European countries and remained unsolved for years. The remains of a girl found in Italy 17 years after her disappearance helped to solve a murder that occurred in Britain 8 years prior. The cases were unexpectedly linked together because of the similarities in the ritualistic placing of strands of hair and connections with the suspect. The trace evidence relating to insects and hairs played a relevant role in the conviction of the perpetrator. In Italy, the defense raised the doubt that the strands of hair found nearby the skeletal remains could be the result of insect feeding activity and not the result of a cut by sharp objects. Therefore, it was fundamental to distinguish between sharp force lesions and insect feeding activity on hair. This unusual application of insect-related evidence clearly emphasizes the importance of an appropriate professional collection and analysis of any physical evidence that could be of robust probative value.

Tire Classification by Elemental Signatures Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Tire evidence is a form of trace evidence that is often overlooked in today's forensics, while frequently found at crime or accident scenes, usually in the form of skid marks. The pattern of the tire skid mark has been used before to link a tire or car to a scene, but the widespread use of anti-lock braking systems makes this an almost impossible and abandoned route of analysis. With this in mind, using the chemical profile of a tire has potential to link a car or tire back to a scene in which its trace material is found. This study shows the successful use of the elemental profile of tire rubber to classify 32 different samples using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, analyzed by principal component analysis combined with linear discriminant analysis. A classification accuracy close to 99% shows the ever-growing use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy as a technique of choice for forensic analysis of tire rubber, opening the path for its use as a forensic evidence.

Forensic Applications of Microbiomics: A Review

The rise of microbiomics and metagenomics has been driven by advances in genomic sequencing technology, improved microbial sampling methods, and fast-evolving approaches in bioinformatics. Humans are a host to diverse microbial communities in and on their bodies, which continuously interact with and alter the surrounding environments. Since information relating to these interactions can be extracted by analyzing human and environmental microbial profiles, they have the potential to be relevant to forensics. In this review, we analyzed over 100 papers describing forensic microbiome applications with emphasis on geolocation, personal identification, trace evidence, manner and cause of death, and inference of the postmortem interval (PMI). We found that although the field is in its infancy, utilizing microbiome and metagenome signatures has the potential to enhance the forensic toolkit. However, many of the studies suffer from limited sample sizes and model accuracies, and unrealistic environmental settings, leaving the full potential of microbiomics to forensics unexplored. It is unlikely that the information that can currently be elucidated from microbiomics can be used by law enforcement. Nonetheless, the research to overcome these challenges is ongoing, and it is foreseeable that microbiome-based evidence could contribute to forensic investigations in the future.

THE POSSIBILITY OF TRACEOLOGICAL EXAMINATION LOCKS AND SEALS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF CRIMINOGENIC NATURE

The article examines the role of forensic traceological examination in establishing the circumstances conducive to the commission of criminal offenses. The authors substantiate the thesis that, among other diagnostic tasks that are solved by the forensic and traceological examination of locks, it is important to resolve the issue of a malfunction of the lock mechanism and its causes, as well as the suitability of the lock for use by appointment. The study of locks of various designs by experts allows to determine the following main disadvantages that make it impossible to use it for its intended purpose: constructive primitiveness of the locking mechanism; production of a large number of locks with the same secrets, that is, virtually no secrets; unreasonable dimensional characteristics of some interacting parts; lack of proper padlocks. Deviations from the requirements of state standards and technical conditions by manufacturing enterprises for which the production of locks is not profiling lead to a significant decrease in the security properties of products. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that in all cases when the expert establishes that the design of the lock is unsuccessful. Alternatively, the details that form the secret of the locking mechanism do not provide a secret, in the order of the expert initiative, in his/her conclusion must: first, reflect this circumstance. Secondly, to explain what the secret of a particular design is, as well as what exactly in this lock, if it were made with high quality, would make it difficult to unlock with a foreign body, and what specific reasons make it easier to open it with foreign objects. Third, to propose ways to eliminate the identified shortcomings. To other circumstances of a criminogenic nature that can be detected by trace evidence experts, the authors also include the inadequacy of premises for storing money, shortcomings in the packaging of material values that facilitate theft, imperfection of the seals used for sealing containers, improper hanging of a seal, etc.