Final Test: Solving the Ultimate Crime

Our ultimate test was one big crime scene investigation. When we first walked in we saw a bag of crack (not real of course), a shoe, a hairband, an earring, an ripped up note, a glass with fingerprints on it, and some blood. There were many different suspects. It was our job to figure out what took place and who did what. We all of a suddenly assumed it was a drug deal. Our team first examined the drugs. This means that it probably involved Sam Tilson, Kooladria Jones, and/or Mr. Popadines. But especially Kooladria because she was a woman and there was obviously a woman involved. We used common sense and came to the conclusion that a drug deal involves 2 people or more. We found the blood type to be AB. This further pointed out Kooladria. The writing looked a bit like Kooladria's and Mr. Kelly's handwriting. But with further examination we figured it was Mr. Kelly's handwriting. There were two samples of hair: some synthetic hair and a white males hair. Kooladria was a hair designer and had bullet proof hair. And the white male further pointed out Mr. Kelly. The fingerprint left at the scene was an ulnar loop which matched Mr. Kelly's fingerprints.

1C: Hair Sample #1 (Synthetic):

2C: Note, match to Mike Kelly's handwriting (Mike Kelly depicted below):


3C: Hair Sample #2: White Male:

4C: Blood Sample, AB (match to Kooladria Jones, shown below)



5C: Earring, fake gold, female:


6C: Shoe, female size 8:


7C: Fingerprint, Ulnar Loop (match to Mike Kelly):

8C: Bag of Potential Illegal Substance (Cocaine):




Tameika's Scenario:
Mike Kelly being a skilled chemist discovered how to make is own crack like substance. He needed more money for his chemistry lab so he decided to sell his crack. Knowing Kooladria he saw her as the perfect target. He invited Kooladria over and with her she had a envelope. Thinking there was cash inside Mike gave her the crack without looking inside. When he realized that in the envelope was just a note that said "Ha Ha Ha I love crack" he became infuriated and tried to suffocate Kooladria with a pillow thus knocking out her earring. Kooladria fought back by taking off her shoe and throwing it at Mike. While Mike was distracted Kooladria ran off and was shortly followed by Mike


Ari's Scenario:

Kooladiria Jones comes to Mike Kelly for cocaine (Exh. 8C). She enters the deserted warehouse and walks into the back rooms where Mike Kelly has a drug lab set up (in interrogation, Mike Kelly admitted to having a Masters Degree in chemistry). Mike Kelly hands over the drugs (Exh. 8C), however, when Kooladria cannot pay, he pushes her against the wall where she knocks her head against a cabinet (producing Exh. 1C). Kooladria Jones then begins to fight back against Mike Kelly, tearing out some of his hair (Exh. 3C) and also getting her earring torn out in the process (producing exhibits 4C and 5C). Kooladria Jones then proceeds to flee from the scene, leaving behind her shoe (Exh 6C). Later at the crime scene, forensic evidence analysts discovered a leftover beaker with Mike Kelly's fingerprints (Exh. 7C) and the drug lab's motto/title on a scrap of paper (Exh 2C).


Hamp's Scenario:
Mr. Kelly went to Kooladria, a well known hooker, and figured she was probably into drugs. And because of Kooladria's background of taking drugs she accepted. Mr. Kelly was very good at staying in the dark because he had no record. Kooladria accepted and began to bargain with Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kelly, upset from losing his tennis match, was not willing to be ripped of and said "NO! EITHER YOU HAVE THE MONEY OR YOU DON'T!" She said she didn't have the money but took the drugs anyway. When she did this Mr. Kelly viciously attacked Kooladria (he was also probably on drugs) and preceded to beat her and she got one good slap across his face with her nails. That was her chance and she took it: she ran. But leaving some of her belongings behind.



***Thanks to Tameika Young for the Pictures!

Blood Typing: Major Types of Blood

There are 4 different types of Blood: A, B, AB, and O (based on the ABO system). This is based on the presence or absence of antigens on the surface of the red blood cell.There are technically 2 different types: A and B. AB is when you have both types and O is when you have none.

Blood Typing: Mixing Blood/Transfusions & +/- Blood

Transfusions are intended to save a lives. A transfusion is taking blood from one blood type and giving it to someone with the same blood type to help them with things like massive blood loss due to trauma. Although various diseases can be passed from one to another through transfusions like HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Malaria etc.

Have you ever wondered why people bother with blood typing? Or why people who donate blood have to have their type verified first?

Is because blood typing is very important when doctors make transfusions or mix different kinds of bloods. In fact, there is a whole field devoted to taking blood samples and studying them: its called Phlebotomy.

Transfusions are intended to save a lives. A transfusion is taking blood from one blood type and giving it to someone with the same blood type to help them with things like massive blood loss due to trauma. Although various diseases can be passed from one to another through transfusions like HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Malaria etc.

There are several different kinds of blood (A, B, AB, O, positive or negative, etc). They are usually based on two systems, the AbO system (A, B, AB, and O) and the Rh system (positive or negative). The Rh system classifies blood as positive or negative depending on whether or not it contains the RhD antigen. If it does, it is positive, and if it does not, it is negative and likely to make anti-RhD if exposed to the RhD antigen through transfusion. Therefore, when you receive a blood transfusion, the type of blood you receive should match your own blood type. If it doesn't, your immune system may form antibodies and begin attacking the donor blood because it does not recognize it. However, a person with blood type AB can receive from either A, B, or O individuals but can only donate to another person with AB type blood. Someone with blood type A can donate to either an A or AB, but can receive from O (because it does not have any antibodies) and other people with type A blood. Type B blood can be donated to either AB or B and can receive from either B or O. Type O blood can donate to any of the other types (A, B, AB) but can only receive from O.



The RhD is also a very important factor. If the RhD is not the same then the consequences would be the same as mixing two different types of blood. RhD refers to the absence (-) and the presence (+) of the Rhesus, a type of antibody. This was discovered in an experiment in 1937 where Karal Landstiner and Alexander S. Wiener discovered that rabbits, when immunized with rhesus monkey cells, created agglutinates, an antibody.

Blood Typing: Lab Analysis/Comments

Blood Typing Lab:
We did a blood typing lab using simulated blood to learn how to determine the different kinds of blood based on the ABO system.



Sample #1 (Type A): Blue precipitate formed on the bottom of the slide in little flakes with the Anti-A serum. Nothing happened with the Anti-b serum.

Sample #2 (Type B): Orange precipitate formed when Anti-B serum, nothing happens with Anti-A serum.

Sample #3 (Type AB): Blue precipitate formed in small grains on the bottom of the slide when Anti-A serum was added, and yellow precipitate formed in small flakes when Anti-B serum was added.

Sample #4 (Type O): No change when either serum was added.

Hair and Fiber: History/Techniques to Identify

During a crime, at least two people interact. When they interact, both of them take something away and leave something behind. In some movies you may see specialists analyzing hair and fibers through a microscope. Well since humans lose about 100 hairs a day, hairs are a perfect thing to find and use at a crime scene. It is very common for hair from the owners pet took transfer to the criminal and then to be left at the crime scene. Hair and fiber analysis has played an important role in solving crimes, used in the Leo Rank Trial of 1913 to match the hairs of the victim with the crime scene. Hair analysis was also used in the Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti to match hairs found in a cap to those taken from Sacco. Here are some links to famous criminal cases which involved the use of hair and fiber analysis:

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/SaccoV/s&vaccount.html
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/frank/frankaccount.html

There are also several different types of hairs that differentiate between cat hairs, dog hairs, human hairs, ect. Most comparisons of hair and fiber are done with a microscope, although fibers can be run through a spectrometer (spectroscopic analysis) to determine the unknown material. A forensic scientist will take hairs from the crime scene and samples from the suspects to try and make matches.Some of these distinctions between different hairs and fibers may be determined by what the outside looks like. This can be classified into three groups:

Coronal:


Spinous:


Imbricate:

Hair and Fiber: Pictures/Analysis from Lab & Guesses/Justfication of Findings

Here are a few pictures from the Fiber Identification lab:



Guess: Wool (on high magnification)



Guess: Cotton Fibers (fibers are translucent, the picture is a little dark)



Guess: Acrilan (red, spindly, thin fibers)



Guess: Viscose Rayon (many thin, black fibers running together in one direction).




OTHER FIBERS:

1. Guess: Rubber Band
------Description: Yellowish-tan, uneven surface with black pits and lines and rough edges.
2. Guess: Linen
------Description: Looks like clear spaghetti, with some multi-colored particles on different strands. Rins in many directions.

Handwriting: A History

This is known as the Lindbergh kidnapping of 1932. Where someone wrote 14 ransom notes to a family. When the police got a hold on these letters they had no trouble identifying them as all the same person, but had a great deal of trouble identifying the culprit: Richard Bruno Hauptmann. They figured out the kidnapper's identity by using techniques that Albert Osborn discovered in 1910. Osborn recognized the significance of handwriting analysis, and he devised a means and techniques for matching them. Many of the techniques still used today. The technique used to determine the culprit in this case was to look for the differences. Anyone can look at the similarities with a fair amount of accuracy but to look at the differences, especially the ones that matter, is not hard and often requires years of training and practice. Handwriting changes over they years. Also, each time you write a word, it will look different (at least some parts will). The letter's will change depending on where they are placed in the word/sentence. The trick is, the one that Osborn discovered, is what letters don't change; better yet, what parts of the word/letter don't change.

Handwriting: Inaccuracies in Analysis

Although handwriting analysis has been proven useful in forensic science, it has many shortcomings that can make its authority in investigations and court questionable. In the past, convincing forgeries have made people question the 'science' of handwriting analysis.

Amongst a very precise science like Forensics, handwriting analysis can appear more speculative than things like fingerprinting, hair and fiber analysis, and DNA analysis. Here are some reasons why handwriting analysis can be proved ineffective in an investigation:

-Handwriting, although hard to imitate, can be copied by a professional. There have been instances in the past where professionals have fooled analysts. Handwriting is not always the only thing forged--- paintings, currency, and government documents like passports have been forged in the past and can be used by criminals to cover their tracks.

-To correctly match handwriting to a person, you need a sample of that persons natural handwriting (called an exemplar). Exemplars can be hard to find, as it is difficult to match capitol letters, cursive, and print.

-Ransom notes can simply be printed from any computer in the world. Printers are now available on a huge (and occasionally public, like libraries and stores) scale.

-A persons handwriting will change with age and physical weakness.

Handwriting: Techniques Used to Identify

The technique used to determine the culprit in the Lindberg kidnapping of 1932 was to look for the differences. Anyone can look at the similarities with a fair amount of accuracy but to look at the differences, especially the ones that matter, is not hard and often requires years of training and practice. Handwriting changes over they years. Also, each time you write a word, it will look different (at least some parts will). The letter's will change depending on where they are placed in the word/sentence. The trick is, the one that Osborn discovered, is what letters don't change; better yet, what parts of the word/letter don't change.

Another important thing to remember is that you have to distinguish between style characteristics and individual characteristics. Forensic Scientists want to examine the individual characteristics. Things like the sizes of the letters: width, height; the curves of the letters, the slants. Also if the letters are "slurred" together or connect. How close the words are together, or how close the letters are to other letters, the pressure put on the pencil on down strokes, upward strokes. Also the placement on the line is important. Example: if the letters on one line are so tall that they intersect with letters on the line above it. The margin left over is important as well.


PERSONALITIES IN HANDWRITING:
Does your personality match a particular personality type? You can find out about personality types here.
Typologies
There are a number of Graphologists, particularly in Europe, who subscribe to what is known as the "typological" theory of personality.
Typology experts have a particular way of categorizing personality according to special guidelines.
There are several theories of typology but the main thought behind them is that most personalities can be categorized according to type – hence the word typology. In other words a personality can be classified as belonging to a specific personality group.
As can be expected with a theory of this nature, there is always a great deal of controversy.
Typology as a helpful guide
Anti-typologists are critical of using typologies to describe people. They feel that people who use typologies are guilty of putting people into boxes.
However, those who subscribe to typological theories argue that they in no way attempt to put people into boxes. Typologies are purely to be used as helpful guides.
Be that as it may, there are a number of different schools of typology and some very important thinkers have subscribed to this line of reasoning.
Jung
Jung believed that people conformed to certain basic personality types and wrote a massive book to explain and support his theories.
He classified people into two main groups according to their personality attitudes. In fact it was Jung himself who first used the words "introverts" and "extroverts" to describe these two attitudes.
Now to these attitudes he added 4 principal functions, namely sensation, thinking, feeling and intuition. He suggested that by combining the 4 functions with the 2 attitudes we would arrive at the most important personality classifications.
ATTITUDES
Introvert
Extrovert
FUNCTIONS
Thinking
Feeling
Intuition
Sensation
For instance you could be an introverted thinker; or you could be an extroverted sensation type. Then there was an introverted intuitive type and so on. All in all, if you juggled these about, there were 16 possible permutations or personality types.
When we apply this to handwriting you'll find that the handwriting of an introvert will differ widely from that of an extrovert.
While the handwriting of an introvert will conform to certain graphological patterns the handwriting of an extrovert will conform to a completely different set of patterns.
For more on Jung's personality types Ref: Psychological Types by C.G. Jung
Myers-Briggs
The typology of Jung forms the basis of the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator which is well-known among psychologists today. It also refers to 16 basic personality types and is widely used as a personality assessment tool.
Le Senne
Highly regarded among French graphologists was the French philosopher and psychologist, Le Senne. He created a typological system which divided people according to emotivity and activity.
The emotive person is someone who is easily moved by events - he shows a lot of feeling. The active person is one who translates everything into action - so that even his thinking is action orientated.
Le Senne combined his two classes of personality with people who were guided by primary or secondary responses.
Simply put, this meant that they were either impulsive (primary) or they thought about things carefully before acting

Handwriting: Pictures/Analysis of In-Class Forgeries

Thanks to Tameika Young for the Pictures!


The following pictures were taken, courtesy of Hamp Beddoes:

These are pictures that of a forging assignment that we did in class where the top is the original, the middle is a free hand forge and the last is a trace forgery.



These are pictures that of a forging assignment that we did in class where the top is the original, the middle is a free hand forge and the last is a trace forgery.

Fingerprints: A History

First of all, why is fingerprinting needed? Well society has always looked for a a means to verify a persons criminal record using marks of identification that cannot be removed. In early civilizations they branded criminals so that they could be recognized for what they were and the past crimes they has commented.

The Romans used tattoos to identify mercenaries since they would often wear different armor then that of a normal Roman soldier. Before the mid 1800's they used to identify criminals visually. Certain police officers with "camera eyes" A.K.A. photographic memory. However this did not solve the person identification problem due to the fact that personal appearances change.

In 1870, Alphonse Bertillon devised a system to measure and record the dimensions of certain bony parts of the body. These measurements were made into a formula in which, theoretically, would apply only to one person and would not change during their adult life. Fingerprinting however would make a come back when the Bertillon system calculated two people to be exactly alike.

1686 - MalpighiIn 1686, Marcello Malpighi, a professor of anatomy at the University of Bologna, noted in his treatise; ridges, spirals and loops in fingerprints. He made no mention of their value as a tool for individual identification.

The English first began using fingerprints in July of 1858, when Sir William James Herschel, Chief Magistrate of the Hooghly district in Jungipoor, India, first used fingerprints on native contracts. On a whim, and without thought toward personal identification, Herschel had Rajyadhar Konai, a local businessman, impress his hand print on a contract.

The idea was merely "... to frighten him out of all thought of repudiating his signature." The native was suitably impressed, and Herschel made a habit of requiring palm prints--and later, simply the prints of the right Index and Middle fingers--on every contract made with the locals. Personal contact with the document, they believed, made the contract more binding than if they simply signed it. Thus, the first wide-scale, modern-day use of fingerprints was predicated, not upon scientific evidence, but upon superstitious beliefs.

As his fingerprint collection grew, however, Herschel began to note that the inked impressions could, indeed, prove or disprove identity. While his experience with fingerprinting was admittedly limited, Sir William Herschel's private conviction that all fingerprints were unique to the individual, as well as permanent throughout that individual's life, inspired him to expand their use.

Fingerprinting Developed over the years and became more of a mean of identification. Juan Vucetich made the first criminal fingerprint identification in 1892. He was able to identify Francis Rojas, a woman who murdered her two sons and cut her own throat in an attempt to place blame on another. Her bloody print was left on a door post, proving her identity as the murderer.
Francis Rojas' Inked Fingerprints

Sir Francis Galton published his book, "Fingerprints", establishing the individuality and permanence of fingerprints. The book included the first classification system for fingerprints.
Galton's primary interest in fingerprints was as an aid in determining heredity and racial background. While he soon discovered that fingerprints offered no firm clues to an individual's intelligence or genetic history, he was able to scientifically prove what Herschel and Faulds already suspected: that fingerprints do not change over the course of an individual's lifetime, and that no two fingerprints are exactly the same. According to his calculations, the odds of two individual fingerprints being the same were 1 in 64 billion. Galton identified the characteristics by which fingerprints can be identified. A few of these same characteristics are still in use today, and are sometimes referred to as Galton Details.

Fingerprints: Types

Latent Prints:
Although the word latent means hidden or invisible, in modern usage for forensic science the latent means any chance of accidental impression left by friction ridge skin on a surface, regardless of whether it is visible or invisible at the time of deposition.
Latent prints may exhibit only a small portion of the surface of the finger and may be smudged, distorted, overlapping, or any combination, depending on how they were deposited.
Direct (also called Visible or Patent) Prints:
These are friction ridge impressions obvious to the human eye and are caused by a transfer of foreign material on the finger, onto a surface.Finger deposits can include materials such as ink, dirt, or blood onto a surface.
Plastic (also called impressed) Prints:
A plastic print is a friction ridge impression from a finger or palm deposited in a material that retains the shape of the ridge detail.

Fingerprints: Techniques to Develop Prints

Hard, Smooth, and Nonabsorbent Surfaces(tiles, glass, lacquered/painted wood): Use Carbon or Charcoal powder for light-colored surfaces. Use grayish-white powder for dark surfaces). Fluorescent powder, visible under ultra-violet light, can also be used. The powder will stick to the sweat and oils left behind and leave a visible print that can be lifted.

Soft and Porous Substances (cardboard, paper, cloth): Chemicals are used, such as Iodine, Silver Nitrate, and Ninhydrin. Iodine is used in a fuming process to photograph the prints. Silver Nitrate can be used a last resort when other methods do not work as it renders the other tests ineffective. A 3% solution is dusted on the print and then an ultraviolet light will reveal the prints as reddish-brown. Ninhydrin is made into a .6% solution by dissolving it in ethyl alcohol or acetone and sprayed on the print, causing it to turn dark purple in an hour or two.

Fingerprints: Basic Patterns and Shapes

There are eight basic kinds of fingerprints listed in this picture. The loop is the most common, although most people have many different kinds of prints on different
fingers.




Here are some pictures I took of my own fingerprints:



My left hand.



Right hand, middle finger= Ulnar Loop


Right hand, pointer finger= Ulnar Loop


Left hand, middle finger= Tented Arch

Bibliography (Picture Credits)

Pics:
1. http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/systems/images/print-types.jpg
2. http://www.onin.com/fp/fphistory.html
3.http://www.carolina.com/product/carolina&%23153-+aborh+typing+synthetic+blood+kit.do?keyword=synthetic+blood&sortby=bestMatches
4. http://schools-wikipedia.org/wp/a/ABO_blood_group_system.htm

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*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrometer
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*http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/july2000/deedric1.htm