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"FORENSIC SOIL ANALYSES APPLIED TO THE LAURA M. HOMICIDE CASE". R.M. Di Maggio(*), L. Nuccetelli(*) G.S.A. Annual Meeting 22-25 October 2006 Philadelphia. (*) Minister of Interior, Italian State Police, Forensic Science Department. SUMMARY. CRIME SCENE
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"FORENSIC SOIL ANALYSES APPLIED TO THE LAURA M. HOMICIDE CASE" R.M. Di Maggio(*), L. Nuccetelli(*) G.S.A. Annual Meeting 22-25 October 2006 Philadelphia (*) Minister of Interior, Italian State Police, Forensic Science Department
SUMMARY • CRIME SCENE • EVIDENCES AND USEFUL INFORMATION FOR INVESTIGATION • PURPOSE OF THIS WORK • A, B, C, D, COLLECTED SAMPLES • ANALYSES PROCEDURES AND METHODOLOGY • RESULTS AND CONCLUSION
CRIME SCENE In the year 2005, in a small village near Rome, a young woman was found dead in her home. Near the body, the police found two muddy footmarks. The Police collected two samples on the crime scene: the mud from footmarks and victim’s shoes.
INFORMATION FOR INVESTIGATION Some neighbours reported to the police that the evening before the crime, Laura quarreled with her boyfriend and that they used to do that very often. In the boyfriend’s home, the investigators found a pair of shoes dirty of mud, and collected them. The Police carried out a survay on the suspect’s car, the pedals were dirty of mud and the pedals were collected. The Police collected the two samples.
THE PURPOSES OF THIS WORK ARE: • to make a comparison between the mud collected on the crime scene, with the mud adhering on the pedal’s car and the soil adhering on the suspect’s shoes • to demonstrate differences or analogies among the samples • to prove if the suspect has been on the crime scene.
SAMPLE A VICTIM’S SHOES
SAMPLE B SOIL NEAR THE BODY
SAMPLE C SOIL ADHERING ON THE SUSPECT’S CAR
SAMPLE D THE SUSPECT’S SHOES
ANALYSES PROCEDURES ANDMETHODOLOGIES • MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION • S.E.M. ANALYSES • GRAIN SIZE SEPARATION • XR DIFFRACTOMETRIC ANALYSES • THIN SECTION ANALYSES BY MEANS OF A POLARIZING MICROSCOPE • THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSES
GRAIN SIZE ANALYSES W% PHI
RESULTS DISCUSSION • MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION: Colour, morphology, vegetables fragments and fibres have very similar features in each samples, especially between B and C samples • S.E.M. ANALYSIS: The grains of the samples A, B, C, D have the same chemical composition • ANALYSIS AND GRAIN SIZE SEPARATION: The grains of the samples A, B, C, D have very similar size (sand and silt) • XR DIFFRACTOMETRIC ANALYSIS: The samples A, B, C, D have the same mineral phases • THIN SECTION ANALYSIS BY MEANS OF POLARIZING MICROSCOPE: The thin section analyses show the same minerals, rocks fragments and microfossils in all samples, with small differences among them • THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS: Thermogravimetric analyses show features with high analogy among all the samples, except for the sample A.
CONCLUSION THE ANALYSES SHOWED THAT THE SAMPLES A,B, C, D HAVE: • HIGH ANALOGY IN INORGANIC COMPOSITION (MINERALS AND ROCK FRAGMENTS) • HIGH ANALOGY INANTHROPIC COMPOSITION (FIBRES) • HIGH ANALOGY INORGANIC COMPOSITION (VEGETABLES). THE ANALYSES APPLIED ON THE SOIL STUDY,GAVE THE INVESTIGATORS THE EVIDENCE IN ORDER TO LINK LAURA’S BOYFRIEND WITH CRIME SCENE.