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Speaking for the Dead: A Look at the Science of Forensic Investigation

Speaking for the Dead: A Look at the Science of Forensic Investigation. Xenora L. Collins. What is Forensic Science?. Forensic Science is defined as, “The application of scientific principles and methods to the investigation of crime.”

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Speaking for the Dead: A Look at the Science of Forensic Investigation

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  1. Speaking for the Dead:A Look at the Science of Forensic Investigation Xenora L. Collins

  2. What is Forensic Science? • Forensic Science is defined as, “The application of scientific principles and methods to the investigation of crime.” • Put another way, forensic investigation allows us to examine and analyze a crime scene through the steps of the scientific method, and answer our own questions about who, what, when, where, and how the crime was committed. • Sound interesting? Read on.

  3. Narrowing the Spectrum • No thanks to TV series such as CSI and NCIS, forensic investigation has a new following, with a slightly Hollywood-ized twist. Despite Hollywood influence, shows like these incite curiosity. • Forensics is a broad subject area. To narrow that subject, this project shall focus on one of the more popular studies in forensics, Bloodstain.

  4. The Experiment The experiment will be to drop a solution of karo syrup and red food coloring to simulate blood from varying heights onto a piece of poster board. The resulting bloodstain will prove or disprove the hypothesis.

  5. The Problem • When observing the crime scene, will the height of the blood source (i.e. victim or weapon) effect the diameter of the resulting bloodstain?

  6. The Hypothesis • If the blood source is further from the surface, then the resulting bloodstain will be of a larger diameter.

  7. Materials

  8. Procedures Note: In this experiment I went only to six feet due to the height of my apartment.

  9. Variables

  10. Data & Conversion Each measurement is averaged from the four original stains to reduce the risk of human error. 12in Diameter=.5cm Radius=.25cm Area=.25 ²x3.1415927=.20sq.cm 24in Diameter=.75cm Radius=.38cm Area=.38²x3.1415927=.45sq.cm 36in Diameter=1.0cm Radius=.5cm Area=.5²x3.1415927=1.76sq.cm 48in Diameter=1.5cm Radius=.75cm Area=.75²x3.1415927=1.76sq.cm 60in Diameter=.1.25cm+spatter Radius=.62cm Area=.62²x3.1415927=.1.20 sq.cm+spatter 72in Diameter=1.5cm+spatter Radius=.75cm Area=.75²x3.1415927=1.76 sq.cm+spatter

  11. Graph

  12. Conclusion Hypothesis proven!

  13. The Final Product

  14. Sources • Hallcox, Jarrett. Bodies We’ve Buried: Inside the National Forensic Academy, the World’s Top CSI Training School. Berkley Publishing Group, New York, NY. 2006. pg.181-189.

  15. Acknowledgements • Special thanks to my mother, Lori Collins, for assisting in photographing the experiment and tolerating “bloodstain” in her kitchen, of all places. You were really a great sport!

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