Poison Analysis

In this lab a groups of 4 students rotated around the room to various substances. we had to determine if the substances was a certain poison. The Different poison we were looking for was Household Ammonia, Aspirin, Cyanide, Iodine, Metal poisons, and suger. The indicators were placed next to each test for use of finding out which one was which. from this I learned even the simplest things in the house could be treated as poison.

Forensics Investigation

In this lab as a group of 5 students we were given a certain amount of exhibits, and were asked to analyze each individual one and put a scenario together.


The Setting: Outside, In A Field, In A Wooded Area


Lucas Moore, a depressed psychiatric patient, took his dog on walk. while walking through a wooded area he came a drug addict named Sandra O'Connor. By the evidence found we came to a conclusion with fingerprint evidence that Jet Trong had given the drug to her. When Lucas made contact with Sandra, he decided to shoot up cocaine with her. After this happened Sandra overdosed and died. Lucas panicking decided to write a suicide note so he didn't get into trouble for having drugs and Sandra's death. after finishing he left with his dog and Sandra was found 2 weeks later in active decay.


Evidence:
Possible Poison/Syringe: we were given a substance that we had to test for poison or drugs. after testing for both the substance came out positive for cocaine. We concluded that Lucas and Sandra had use the syringe to inject themselves with the cocaine.


Body/Maggots: One of our evidences was a maggot infested skull, from prior knowledge that would lead us to believe that the person had to be dead for over 2 weeks in active decay.


Footprints: There was two separate footprints found at the crime scene. Both with further analysis was found to be tennis shoes. One was of the victim and the other was a footprint leaving the scene. the victim's shoe was smaller to the footprint leaving the scene. We concluded that the victim was a women and the person who left was a male.


Hair: There was hair found at the scene near the victim's body. We had to analyze it under the microscope. when we concluded that it wasn't human we compared it with animal hair and came out to be dog hair.


Fiber: A small piece of fiber was recovered from the scene and after analysis was completed, we found it to be wool. This fiber tends to be warm so they make coats out of them. Which brings us to a conclusion that it was cold or night time.


Ripped Note: Pieces of ripped paper were found at the scene. When we put together it said "Please forgive me! I love you all." The way this note was wrote it looked like a suicide. The thing that gave it up to not be Sandra's note was the handwriting. We looked at our suspects list and found Lucas Moore's handwriting to match. So as a group we came to the conclusion that Lucas had faked Sandra's suicide note.


Fingerprints: First print would be a plain arch which only matched one suspect which was Lucas Moore, this helped us decrease the list of suspect. second print would be a double loop which brought us to the drug dealer Jet Trong, who gave Sandra the drugs. Third and last print would be a ulnar loop which brought us to another suspect Sandra O'Connor the drug addict who ended up being the dead body found at the crime scene.


Pictures taken by Sara Ward. Thank You

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In this experiment we used everything we learned from Hair, Fingerprint, and Handwriting Analysis to form a  scenario and a suspect. Each group was given 5 clue to use. The first clue was fingerprints and we had to determine what hand and what type of print it was. It was from the right hand.
All pictures in post was taken by Alonzo Fullenwilder
Clue 2 was either a hair or fiber, after analyzing it we concluded that it was colored hair.

Clue 3 was a torn note that had said "you will never find her".

Clue 4 was yet another Hair or Fiber clue which turned out to be African-American hair.

Clue 5 was a red smudge that could of either been lipstick or blood. (further testing required to find out.)
 
This lab helped us use problem-solving to create a educated assumption on who was there and what happened.

Lipstick Experiment

When all students applied the lipstick we put it on notecards to get a print. then label distinct things on your lips. then as a group we applied more lipstick and all put a print on one whole paper. With our single print another group would try to match the lip prints to see whose was whose print.

Reflection on Witness Protection

Picture Taken By Alonzo Fullenwilder
This test we had ton use memory of distinct characteristics. As seen in this photo we cut a face into four separate groups. 1) Hair 2) Eyes 3) Lips 4) Nose
we did this we three different same sized faces and jumbled them up. We then used memory and the characteristics and found the same to each until we created the face again. One of the things that helped us find the correct pieces was the color of their skin but that doesn't happen all the time.

Reflection on Footprinting

Picture Taken By Alonzo Fullenwilder
To perform this test we as a team collected dirt from outside to use with footprints. We used different sized shoes and angled them different ways to get different results. for example this one is facing south and moving forward. so we could guess that they are heading south to the destination intended. we did this for four separate shoe sizes. the reason why we used different shoe sizes so we could guess that it could be male or female so we use assumptions.

Reflection on Drug Analysis

Picture Taken By Alonzo Fullenwilder
What we did was grab a substance and tested it with a cocaine or LSD reagent. When the substance changed blue it was positive for cocaine. When turned yellow it is positive for LSD. also testing for the pH level of each individual Drug. We tested them on six different substances around the room.

Famous Forgery Cases

Early in 1972 a Federal Grand Jury heard the testimony of a Questioned Document Examiner from the Crime Laboratory of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service regarding questioned documents allegedly written by Howard R. Hughes. In these documents permission was granted for a biography of Mr. Hughes to be written by Clifford Irving. Mr. Irving had used these questioned documents to convince the editors of McGraw-Hill Book Co. and Life Magazine that he had a deal with Mr. Hughes - an allegation hotly contested by Howard Hughes when he learned of it.

The testimony of the experts from the Postal Inspection Service was that the questioned documents were not written by Mr. Hughes. Often in forgery cases it is possible to conclude that the alleged author of a document did not do the writing, but it is more difficult to conclude that a particular person did do it. This is because the writing habits of the forger will often be buried in the attempt to simulate the pictoral look and style of the "target" writing. However, in this case, there was a large amount of writing in question. Mr. Irving had even had "Mr. Hughes" write a letter to the editors of Mc-Graw Hill to validate his agreement with Mr. Irving. The volume of questioned writing was enough that Mr. Irving was not able to keep up his "disguise" and his own individual writing characteristics showed through the veneer of the simulated "Hughes" writing.

Through forensic people saw how Mr. Irving’s handwriting had slight differences from his handwriting and Mr. Hughes so they found that what was wrote was forgery.

Citation: http://qdewill.com/oldsite/famous_cases.htm

How would you tell that the handwriting is forgery?

Authentic signatures are included on such papers as checks, employment records, legal agreements, licenses, titles, wills, and any other type of personal or business transaction or agreement. Even slight handwriting alternations are considered as much a crime as the complete fabrication of a signature when the intent it to deceive.

 In both cases, tracing and freehand, the forger is unable to exactly reproduce the various impressions and downward pressures used by the original writer.

Which Forgery do you find easier? Freehand or Trace

I believe it would be freehand because you could try to practice that persons handwriting until you got it perfect and use that persons signature.

Citation: http://www.enotes.com/handwriting-forgery-reference/handwriting-forgery

Handwriting Characteristics

Skill level- can best be described as an appreciation of beauty as applied to handwriting.

Slant- refers to the angle of inclination of writing or a letter of writing from the base line of that writing. It may be forward and leaning to the right, or "backhand" if it leans to the left.
 Form- is the pictorial representation of a letter or writing movement. A highly visible dissimilarity in the form of the same letter found in both the questioned and standard material is an inherent difference in handwriting.

Movement-This is the manner in which the pen moves in order to form a letter.

Proportion- generally refers to the symmetry of an individual letter.

Height ratios- are a comparison or correlation of the height of one letter or letter segment to another letter, usually within the same word or signature.

A portion of writing as small and as innocuous as an "i" dot may at times become a prominent identifying characteristic.

"T" crossings occupy much the same weight, or more, for the document examiner as the "i" dot does. A "t" crossing may go from right to left, left to right, it may incline up, incline down, or be perfectly horizontal.

Loops- found in a cursively written letter may be symmetrical or may be flat on one side and therefore be asymmetrical.

This concept is the study of changing width of a line as pen pressure varies.

Alignment To Baseline-This is simply the relationship of the questioned writing to a baseline.  It is the adherence of the writing to either a preformed (printed) or imaginary baseline.

Pen Lift- Here we note where the writing implement lifts from the paper, usually interior to a word or signature.

Pen speed is often an essential element of the examination process. As will be discussed elsewhere, fast, fluid pen movement is difficult to duplicate by a forger.

Citation: http://www.questioneddocuments.com/Individual%20Characteristics/individual_characteristics.htm

History of Handwriting Analysis

1.     .  Prospero Aldorisio's ^[25] 1611 manuscript is the first book to describe how to analyze handwriting. The major contender is Camilo Baldi's manuscript ^[26] which was unofficially published in 1622. The 1625 edition was probably the first authorized edition of Baldi's book.
2.      . Alfred Binet was convinced to do research into graphology from 1893 to 1907. He ended up calling it "The science of the future", despite graphologists' rejecting the results of his research.
3.       .In 1929 Milton Bunker founded The American Grapho Analysis Society teaching Graphoanalysis. This organization and its system split the American graphology world in two. Students had to choose between Grapho analysis or Holistic Graphology. 
4.     .  In 1972 talks between the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation and the American Association of Handwriting Analysis started, with the aim to form a single organization. Those talks resulted in the creation of the Council of Graphological Societiesin 1976.

Famous Cases dealing with Hair/Fibers

1. The Atlanta Child Murders- young girls had been raped and strangled with unique orange fibers on their body. A older women was abducted one day and escaped. When cops checked this man’s van had the same orange fibers as on the bodies. The forensics later found out 74 yards of this fiber had been shipped to the Ohio area and later Robert Anthony Buell was convicted.

Citation: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/williams/33.h

 Atlanta Child Murders- From October 1979 to May 1981, Wayne Williams killed twenty-seven young black boys in Atlanta.  As most serial killers are white, it was thought that the Atlanta child murderer was a white racist.  Most of the boys were taken from black neighborhoods where a white man would stand out, so police announced that they were looking for a probable black serial killer.

On 22 May 1981, police heard someone dumping something in the Chattahoochee river.  A black man, 22-year-old Wayne Williams, was found climbing into a station wagon, and was questioned by police then allowed to go.

When a body turned up in the river a week later police talked to Williams again.  Fibers found onthe victim matched one's found in William's car and he was arrested.  At trial Williams was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

How do scientists analyze hair/fiber data?

1.By identifying and comparing animal and human hairs under a microscope, investigators gain valuable insight into events that occurred at a crime scene.

2.They can establish physical contact between suspect, victim and crime scene and use the information in court to aid in the prosecution or defense by using the information they find.

3. DNA technology has become as important in the field of hair analysis.

4. “by combining DNA testing with microscope procedures, investigators can now screen for illegal drugs, test for presence of heavy metals, test for nutritional deficiencies and discover the approximate age of a person all by analyzing a single strand of hair.”

Reliability of hair/fiber crime scene data

Even with the smallest piece of hair you could solve some of the most important parts of

a crime. If it has DNA on it or any other piece of fiber or materials this could help cases

to a extent of solving it. Or certain fibers that are not in a certain region that could

pinpoint a certain area of interest.

Citations: http://www.ehow.com/about_6102496_forensic-science_-hair-fiber-analysis.html

Hair/Fiber collecting techniques

• Hair- Recover all hair present. If possible, use the fingers or tweezers to pick up hair, place in paper bindles or coin envelopes which should then be folded and sealed in larger envelopes. Label the outer sealed envelope.
• If hair is attached, such as in dry blood, or caught in metal or a crack of glass, do not attempt to remove it but rather leave hair intact on the object. If the object is small, mark it, wrap it, and seal it in an envelope. If the object is large, wrap the area containing the hair in paper to prevent loss of hairs during shipment.

• Fibers- If threads or large fibers are found, they can often be picked up with the fingers and placed in a paper bindle, then in a coin envelope, which can be sealed and marked. Never place loose fibers directly into a mailing envelope since they can be lost from this type of envelope.
• If the fibers are short or few in number, and if it is possible to do so, wrap the area or the entire item containing the fibers in paper and send the whole exhibit to the Laboratory.
• Pick up fibers on tape only if the laboratory in your jurisdiction allows it and gives you its requirements. When fibers or threads are recovered, always send all clothing of persons from which they might have originated to the Laboratory for comparison purposes.

Citations:http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/collect.html

Major types of fibers

a. cotton

 

b. hemp 

c. jute

 

d. flax 

e.  ramie

Citations:http://www.swicofil.com/products/007ramie.html

http://www.public-domain-image.com/backgrounds/slides/jute-pattern-background.html

http://www.cotton-bales.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber

Picture and labeled parts of complete hair

Citation:http://www.sadafherbalhairoil.com/HairLifeCycle.asp

History of Hair/Fiber Analysis

1

a.       1857 in France one of the first reports regarding trichology introduced the world to the idea.

b.      The field expanded rapidly after microscope hair examination in the early 20^th century.

c.       Professor John Glaister's "Hairs of Mammalia from the Medico-legal Aspect," published in 1931, became a renowned resource for hair analysis information.

d.      1977 John Hick's "Microscopy of Hairs: A Practical Guide and Manual" laid out the groundwork for the use of hair evidence by the forensic examiner.

Citations:http://www.ehow.com/about_6102496_forensic-science_-hair-fiber-analysis.html

Procedure for Collecting/Lifting Fingerprints

     Hinge lifters come in many different color backgrounds to allow for the visualization

fingerprints developed with different color powders. The hinge lifter is placed on the

print and pressed down evenly. The lifted print is covered with the hinged cover and is

protected from scratches and dirt. Using a roller can sometimes help to smooth the cover

to avoid bubbles. An image of the fingerprint is obtained just as it was found.

      When using lifters, it is important that the handler not get their own fingerprints on the

lifters. It is also important not to get air bubbles under the lifters. Bubbles destroy the

value of the print and obscure the fingerprint.

Basic shapes/patterns of Fingerprints

Citations:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=basic+shapes/patterns+of+fingerprints&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1600&bih=799&tbm=isch&tbnid=8ZyMcYQ3LP3UJM:&imgrefurl=http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread700030/pg1&docid=Q_VRa9B31l0VtM&imgurl=http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1c200aa9fdac.jpg&w=757&h=473&ei=hAPATpiXM8-4twf115B2&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=546&sig=100156578123285906832&page=1&tbnh=114&tbnw=183&start=0&ndsp=33&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=30&ty=49

Techniques/Chemicals Used to Develop Prints

      On a porous surface, you have to find out whether or not the surface where the print was left was wet. If it was, more than likely the latent fingerprints will not turn up.

      On nonabsorbent surfaces, after finding the fingerprint, put powder (white for dark surfaces, black for light colored/glass surfaces) over the print, then dust the extra powder away to make-out the print.

<!  Hard surfaces, such as glass or tiles, you use powder. When choosing a powder to use for developing fingerprints, you’ll get a better result if you use a color that contrasts with your surface. For example, when you’re trying to develop a fingerprint on a window, you use a dark powder.

      Smooth surfaces, like paper or cardboard, you use certain chemicals. One method is using iodine crystals. The reason why iodine is used is because it sublimes, meaning it can go from solid to vapor without turning into liquid.

      If we didn't have these types of collecting techniques we would not find most of the prints that forenscis  find today to catch a criminal.

Citations:

http://tnguyenforensics.blogspot.com/2009/08/techniqueschemicals-used-to-develop.html

Types of Fingerprints

1.PLASTIC PRINTS - are visible, impressed prints that occur when a finger touches a soft, malleable surface resulting in an indentation.

2. LATENT PRINTS - are fingerprint impressions secreted in a surface or an object and are usually invisible to the naked eye. These prints are the result of perspiration which is derived from sweat pores found in the ridges of fingers.

3.  PATENT PRINTS - are visible prints that occur when a foreign substance on the skin of a finger comes in contact with the smooth surface of another object.

Through these types of prints many people are caught for the crimes they committed and if we didn't find these prints it would be harder to find the criminal.

Citations:http://www.fingerprinting.com/types-of-fingerprints.php

History of Fingerprinting

 a.       Picture writing of a hand with ridge patterns was discovered in Nova Scotia. 

In ancient Babylon, fingerprints were used on clay tablets for business transactions. 

In ancient China, thumb prints were found on clay seals.

b.     In 1823, John Evangelist Purkinje, an anatomy professor at the University of Breslau, published his thesis discussing nine fingerprint patterns, but he too made no mention of the value of fingerprints for personal identification.

c.      Sir Francis Galton, a British anthropologist and a cousin of Charles Darwin, began his observations of fingerprints as a means of identification in the 1880's.  

d.       1908 U.S. Marine Corps begins using fingerprints.

e.       2011 The largest AFIS repository  in America is operated by the Department of Homeland Security's US Visit Program, containing over 100 million persons' fingerprints, many in the form of two-finger records.  The two-finger records are non-compliant with FBI and Interpol standards, but sufficient for positive identification and valuable for forensics because index fingers and thumbs are the most commonly identified crime scene fingerprints.  The US Visit Program has been migrating from two flat (not rolled) fingerprints to ten flat fingerprints since 2007.  "Fast capture" research funded by the US government will enable implementation of ten "rolled print equivalent" fingerprint recording (within 15 seconds per person fingerprinted) in future years.
Citations: http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html