Forensic Odontology And Bite Mark Analysis

The popular television show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations has been on the air for 12 years, and it has brought forth the behind-the-scenes actions of criminal investigations, even if its portrayals are not always scientifically accurate. This has caused an interest in the forensic sciences that has led most people to a skewed view of how a criminal investigation actually works. The reality of a criminal investigation is that it is generally more tedious and difficult than the theory of criminal investigation would have you believe. By examining the forensic and investigative procedures of the case of Pamela Foddrill, it is apparent that the theory of criminal investigation was not representative of the procedures concerning examination

Police started to link him with several other murders after he had been arrested with various weapons and items in his vehicle such as a crowbar, ropes and handcuffs the police had reasonable doubt to believe that he may be connected to the murders which had been taking place because he also fit the profile of the suspect the police were looking for and thus a full-blown investigation had taken place. One of the most known cases involving Bundy is the Chi Omega case where he broke into a sorority and assaulted for of the residence killing two of them. (Rule, 2009) Ted Bundy was finally charged with two life sentences after police had discovered bite marks that matched Bundy's teeth. (Michaud, Aynesworth, 1999) Although there was, even more, evidence regarding the other crimes he committed the bite marks directly linked him to the Chi Omega killings allowing for a clear conviction and evidence against him. Bundy was finally charged with three life sentences and ultimately execution. Although Bundy tried to appeal his execution was rejected every single time and was executed by electric chair on January 24, 1989.(A&E Television Networks

Ted Bundy was a notorious American serial killer known to be active between 1973 and 1978. Before his execution in 1989, Bundy confessed to over 30 murders, although the actual number is estimated from 26 to 35 or more. His modus operandi was to lure and bludgeon young women, and then strangle them to death. Bundy confessed to acts of rape, mutilation and necrophilia with his victims. He escaped twice from county jails prior to his final apprehension in 1978, and was executed by electric chair in 1989 in Florida.

Ted Bundy was born on November 24, 1946. He was known as a rapist and murderer to young women in different states. He was incarcerated in Utah in 1975 for aggravated kidnapping and attempted criminal assault. Bundy became a suspect in unsolved homicides in multiple states. Facing murder charges in Colorado, he escaped and committed further assaults. Three of them were murders in Florida in 1978. He was finally captured in February of that year. The physical evidence in the case led to his conviction. Incriminating physical evidence included the bite impressions that Bundy left in a females left buttock. The jury deliberated for almost seven hours before convicting Bundy on July 24, 1979. The trial judge imposed death sentences for the murder

His first murder is believed to have occurred in 1974, when a young woman was kidnapped from her basement apartment in Seattle. The only evidence that remained was a few blood stains (Salem Press, 2008). Upsurges in abductions of young women, in their college years, around the King County area in Washington followed suit. As time progressed, skeletonized remains of those missing women were later discovered amongst the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. After kidnapping his victims, Bundy would often rendered them unconscious, take them to a remote location where he would then strangle and assault them (Salem Press, 2008).

hide what is going on there could also be bite marks scars and broken bones

In a few months he raped and killed four girls in that area. In November of 1974, he attempted to kidnap a girl but luckily she escaped before any harm was brought to her by Ted. In the seven months that followed, six more girls would be abducted by Ted. In August of 1974, Utah state trooper pulled over Ted after seeing him doing suspicious activity where they found burglary equipment in his car. He was then convicted of attempt of kidnapping from back in November of 1974. In 1977 he was in trail in Colorado facing charges of the murder of a 24 year old. During the trial, in which he represented himself which granted him some freedom to defend himself, he asked if he could go the law library of the courthouse. (Edwards, 2005) They gave him that permission and he then jumped out the window on the second floor of the library. However, after a week loose he was caught. Furthermore, in December 1977 he escaped again by losing weight and crawling through a hole he made in the ceiling and then ran away to Tallassee, Florida. In January of 1978 he broke into Sorority house of Florida State University where he left two dead and two wounded. A month later he kidnapped and killed a twelve year old girl in Lake City. On February 15 of 1978 he was caught and arrested Ted Bundy after being observed by police officers of suspicious

Ted Bundy was a notorious serial killer of the 1970’s. He killed around 30 plus victims in a 4 year span. Bundy attacked, raped, and mutilated his victims. When his victims were dead, Bundy would keep the corpses and still have sexual intercourse. Bundy was first arrested in Utah, 1975 on a sentence to 15 years in prison, to then escape only a week later and continue to attack more women and finally be caught in a stolen vehicle. Throughout the the second trial Ted Bundy claimed he was innocent. It was not until the day of the execution, on the way to the electric chair, that bundy pleaded guilty to the many murders and mutilations of women. Bundy was then put onto the death sentence, and was killed in the electric chair on January 24, 1989 at the age of 42.

Bundy escaped from custody again in 1977 when he climbed out of a hole he made on the ceiling of his cell. He reportedly lost over 30 pounds in order to fit through the hold. Unfortunately, the guards did not realize he was missing until 15 hours later, giving him a huge head start to run as far away as he could. He made it all the way to Tallahassee, Florida where he snuck into the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University and attacked four female residents, killing two of them. He later kidnapped a twelve year old girl and murdered her. In July of 1978 Bundy was convicted for the murders of the two sorority girls. The murders were so vicious, that they were able to identify him from bite marks he left on their flesh. He received two death penalties, one for each of these crimes. He received another death sentence for the murder of 12 year old Kimberly Leach in the years following his incarceration.

I have always loved suspenseful whodunit television shows, movies, and books that use forensic science to crack the cases. My favorite television show is The First 48, my favorite movie is The Silence of the Lambs, and my favorite book is The Body Farm. Therefore, I was excited to have the opportunity to take this course and learn even more about the subject of forensics. This essay gives a summary of N. E. Genge’s book, The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene Investigation, and includes the things I disliked and liked about the book.

Bite marks are usually an oval or circular in shape. It is a visible wounds, indentations or bruising from individual teeth.

Bite mark evidence should be admissible in court because in some cases that are introduced to courts bite mark evidence is the only evidence that can connect someone to a conviction. Everyone has a different teeth mark impression that would be left from biting. Either they have teeth thats slanted a certain way, separated a certain distance or worn down differently. An individual's life will definitely have an impact on how their teeth look, which is why bite mark evidence is unique and should be used to connect criminals to crimes. Bite mark evidence is considered to individual evidence because everyone's teeth are different.

He made a hole in the ceiling of his cell and dropped over thirty pounds to climb out of the hole. He wasn’t reported missing until fifteen hours later, which gave him a head start and managed to escape to Florida. On January 14, 1978, Bundy broke into the Chi Omega sorority house located at Florida State University. He attacked four young women residing in the house and ended up killing two of the girls. But his last victim was a 12 year-old girl, Kimberly Leach. He lead Leach to his stolen vehicle where carried out his master plan. The following month, Bundy was pulled over and arrested for driving a stolen vehicle, and soon found guilty of the murders at the sorority house and the murder of Kimberly

It's really interesting to see how the advancement in technology impacts an accused suspect's life. Either by gaining them a conviction or releasing from their imprisonment over time. Even though bite mark evidence is rare it seems to hold great importance when it does appear. Although, Bite mark evidence can be crucial to a case it holds some difficulty to investigators in its preservation. The textbook says "They are generally formed in material that cannot be sent away or kept for a long time without marks changing in appearance due to drying or decomposition of material" (Fisher &Fisher,289). The original bite markings can appear different over time, so it may be hard to prove to the courts that you are 100% sure

Described as “THE execution” (Lyons & Trei, 1989, p. Ia) serial killer and rapist Ted Bundy was put to death by the State of Florida at 7.16 A.M. January 24, 1989. During his life he had been convicted of the 1978 rape and murder of a 12 year old, Kimberly Leach in Lack City; and the death of Lisa Levy and Margaret Bowman, sorority sisters at Florida State University. Just two days before his execution Bundy also admitted to killing a number of other females of various ages in Washington, Colorado, Utah, Oregon and Florida although he was never tried or convicted for those (Rule, 1989, p. 479-480). In total it is estimated that he killed between 25 and 30 women (Rule, 1989).