Whodunit: A Forensic Investigation

Forensics is an extracurricular activity offered to students in 6th, 7th & 8th grade. The purpose of middle school forensics is to build self-confidence and oral competency by developing and practicing fundamental public speaking skills.

The case of Malcolm Fairley is a unique case in which paint analysis and the use of forensic science made investigators succeed in apprehending a criminal they were after for a long time. The role of paint analysis in this case was enormous and to date it is one of the cases people refer to when discussing the relationship between forensic science and crime (Smith, 2005).

crime scene could be analyzed and compared with a sample from a suspect. A match could place

I laid out the paper and pointed to the caption: Screaming Ghoul Seen Far and Wide—Leaves the Town of Whodunit Hill Paralyzed with Fear By THOMAS DREAD

On Sunday, December 4th at around 9:30 pm, a corrections officer was shot in her vehicle in New York City. Alastasia Bryan, 25 was sitting behind the wheel of her gray sedan when a man walked up to her vehicle and shot her to death through the window (NBCNewYork). The suspect has yet to be identified, but surveillance videos show a man exiting his vehicle, walking up to Bryan’s vehicle and shooting her to death. After the shooting, the unknown shooter walked back to his vehicle and drove off (NBCNewYork). Whether or not Bryan was intentionally targeted or not is still unknown. Sunday night investigators were seen examining the scene where they found numerous bullet holes in the driver side window of the gray sedan (NBCNewYork).

To determine the nature of the ink sample, we used paper chromatography to separate and examine the various pigmented chemicals in each possible type of marker. After careful cross-examination, we determined that ink sample B (the ink found at the crime scene) matched the ink sample of the Vis-à-vis marker. Both ink samples displayed a range of pigmentation from light to dark grey, with a bright blue rim on the ethyl alcohol chromatography test and a yellow-pink-magenta-purple-blue progression on the water chromatography test.

This information will help investigators cluster the symptoms with a particular disease and rule out irrelevant information. The surveillance of the components gather in this step will put a perspective on the abnormal health events that are occurring on the outbreak timeline.

In the United States, crimes are constantly being committed. Some of the crimes that are committed are simple, and other crimes are extremely complex. Every complex crime comes with its own challenges in distinguishing material evidence. Some evidence can be tiny as a hair, or a fiber that can be located on a piece of clothing or carpet. Even though, the size of the evidence is not important, the information that it provides investigators is crucial to finding the suspect of the crime. With the assistance of trace evidence, investigators can obtain the small particles that can transfer from two objects come together. Collecting material from any crime scene can yield a plethora of information. However, by properly collecting material evidence like the tire print impression, pubic hairs, multiple dog hairs, and foreign fibers. Investigators, were able to convict Cecil Sutherland for kidnapping, sexual assault, and three counts of murder.

We predict that if the samples are identical then the suspect was the criminal. We think the samples from the shoe of the suspect do not match with the sample from the crime scene.

The field of Criminal Justice has so many different career paths that anyone can succeed in and it’s for that reason I have picked the Forensic Science path to explore. There are a number of reasons why I have chosen to explore and get an education in this career. The specialization of Forensic Science within the Criminal Justice is right for me because I feel that families should have closure, I feel that people who don’t deserve to be in prison should have a fair trial, I like watching crime shows all the time, and last but not least it’s a more challenging field of work and I love

The results in this lab showed that suspect 2 was a match for the DNA found at the crime scene. This was determined by DNA fingerprinting. In this lab, the samples of DNA from two suspects and the DNA from the crime scene were cut with two different restriction enzymes and then the DNA was run through gel electrophoresis. The different restriction enzymes cut the DNA in different places, so when the DNA was run through the gel, the gel showed two fragments for each sample based on their size. The fragments shown are known as bands of DNA. These bands of DNA for each suspect were analyzed and compared with the bands of the DNA from the crime scene. The bands of DNA were compared based on the distance they traveled through the gel from the wells.

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.

Hollywood holds a notorious reputation for exaggerating scenes of criminal investigation with the intention to evoke drama for the viewer (Saferstein, 2015, p. 5). From the identification of evidence, to the handling etiquette of crime scenes – the exaggeration of various criminal investigation procedures has lead to the formation of an idealized image of forensic analysis (FA) in the public eye. It is an image that is arguably emotionally stimulating, but nonetheless, heavily inaccurate. Amongst all of the various fields of FA, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA) is arguably one of the most inaccurately portrayed types of FA in Hollywood films. This includes the duration of the process, the measuring methods of patterns, the classification

For centuries, forensic science has relied on one thing: evidence. That evidence has come in many different forms over the years; it can be derived from eyewitness testimony, ballistics, fingerprints, and even DNA. Investigators painstakingly search crime scenes for clues to solve cases, making sure to check every possible location for a key bit of trace evidence. It is therefore ironic that with such emphasis on painstakingly capturing every detail of a crime scene, crime scene investigators too often neglect that which is right in front of them. What could possibly be a part of so many households turned murder scenes? How could something be so common, yet so neglected by those in search of evidence? The answer to this question can be found on a sofa, table, or countertop, staring investigators--sometimes literally--in the face. Yes, this source of evidence is a beloved companion of families and crazed widows alike: the cat.

Today, more than ever, the quality of evidence in criminal cases is scrutinized because of contamination. Contamination is the introduction of something that physically corrupts a substance at a crime scene that was not previously there; it comes in many forms and most often times comes from the humans who investigate a crime scene. It is imperative that prevention of cross-contamination is implemented when gathering evidence. Several of the more sensitive forensic techniques such as trace analysis, bloodspatter interpretation, and DNA comparison are not being used to their fullest potential. Items of physical crime scene evidence are not always visible to the naked eye and may be easily overlooked so deliberate and methodical approach to collection and preservation of evidence is essential. Prosecutors have lost cases due to crime scene contamination; this could be prevented by simple and productive behaviors. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a leading case on physical evidence, stated: