Raquel Scalzo ENC 1102 Annotated Bibliography Introduction This annotated bibliography covers the subject of bloodstain pattern

analysis and its importance in the criminal justice system. Bloodstain pattern analysis can be one of the most telling aspects of a crime scene, giving information to the investigators that they may have never received from other biological evidence. The technologies used in bloodstain pattern analysis are changing day by day and becoming much more intricate as well as making the investigators job somewhat easier. Through the examination of case reports and different experiments scientists are able to gather important information, such as the origin of the blood stains which in turn leads to the cause of death, other significant facts about the suspects and weapons used. Articles and case reports from the last few years are primarily prevalent in this document because the field is forever changing as well as improving. Bloodstain pattern analysis techniques and methodology from 10 years ago may not be as significant today because the methodologies and technologies change so quickly. In this annotated bibliography only peer reviewed journal articles are referenced because it is a very scientific topic and just anyones opinion on the subject would be irrelevant to this subject matter. All the articles used are peer reviewed and some even come from the same authors because they have high standing power and influence in the field. This document is targeted towards forensic scientists who are in the field and at crime scenes day in and day out. The average person may not be interested in the subject matter because it has no effect on them in their daily lives, but for a forensic scientist the aspect of bloodstain patterns can make or break a case and give information that other physical or biological evidence may not.

Annotated Bibliography on Blood Stain Pattern Analysis

Bremmer, Rolf H., et al. "Forensic Quest For Age Determination Of Bloodstains." Forensic Science International 216.1-3 (2012): 1-11. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. The authors of this article begin by acknowledging the importance of bloodstain pattern analysis but point out that scientists are still unable to determine the age of bloodstains and elapsed times since the crime had taken place. The authors discuss potential techniques that can be used in determining this useful information. The first technique discussed is using the color of the bloodstain to determine the age. The second technique includes the use of high performance liquid chromatography, the detection of certain proteins found in the stains can help indicate the age. A technique based on white blood cells that is brought up uses RNA degradation to determine ages. Technological improvements have made many steps forward in this field but all are still in the experimental phases.

Buck, Ursula, et al. "3D Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: Ballistic Reconstruction of the Trajectories of Blood Drops and Determination of the Centres of Origin of the Bloodstains." Forensic science international 206.1-3 (2011): 22-8. ProQuest. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. The authors of this article set out to prove that the morphology of the blood stains found at a crime scene are helpful in reconstructing the crime scene and finding the source of the location for that particular blood. The authors go through all the analysis methods that are used in bloodstain pattern analysis, but the focus of the article is on ballistic analysis. This approach helps to estimate the paths of the blood drops, as well as helps find the center of origin of the blood stains. The authors then use this approach on two homicide cases,

using the 3D documentation and ballistic approach to find out the position of the victim at the time of injury and to recreate the crime scene. Other methods that are used in the field are not as precise and do not give the correct information that the ballistic approach uncovers for the investigator. The Ballistic method gave the investigators of both cases discussed in this article hints as to the source of the blood, the least number of injuries to the victim, the location of the victim at time of injury and helps uncover the sequences of events that took place at the time of the crime.

Camana, Francesco. "Determining the Area of Convergence in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: A Probabilistic Approach." Forensic science international 231.1-3 (2013): 131-6. ProQuest. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. The authors admit that finding the origin of the blood is the most important aspect of a crime scene but go on to say that the traditional way of doing this has two major issues. The first issue being that the origin is an arbitrary idea, not based on mathematical proof. Secondly, there are uncertainties when it comes to the measurements of the bloodstains. The authors go on to describe an approach that is an arithmetical extension of the traditional approach explained in the beginning. The authors go on to describe the advantages of the statistical process such as providing more consistent results and having more forensic relevance. Castro, Therese, et al. "Interpreting The Formation Of Bloodstains On Selected Apparel Fabrics." International Journal Of Legal Medicine 127.1 (2013): 251-258. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. Bloodstain patterns can be affected by different variables and also distorted by different target surfaces such as fabric. The goal of this experiment was to investigate the interaction of passive, absorbed and relocated bloodstains formed after vertically dripping blood onto two typical clothing fabrics. The

two fabrics used were a t-shirt like fabric and a denim-like fabric. This experiment brings up three further points of conversation, effect of drop height, effect of fabric, the formation of the bloodstains through transference. In this experiment alone the dropping height has no effect on the bloodstain patterns for either fabric. Although, fabric structure did effect the size and amount of spines on the patterns and it is a good idea to take fabric materials into account when it comes to crime scenes. Lastly, the transfer of blood from one surface to another created a smaller stain on the new surface which can help in determining which surface was first impacted. Connolly, C., Illes, M., Fraser, J. Affect of impact angle variations on area of origin determination in blood stain pattern analysis. FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL. 223 (2012): 233-240. Web of Sciences. Web. 13 Mar. 21014. This article begins by discussing the importance of bloodstain pattern analysis in crime scenes, especially when involving violence. The authors then go into different techniques used to analyze blood stains at crime scenes. The first method discussed is called the virtual model which is computer based modeling that is used to recreate blood stain patterns that are found at the scene of a crime. By plotting the pattern the computer is able to determine the point of origin for the investigators using different derivatives. The authors then compared this model of blood stain patterns on the computer to real blood stain patterns. It was found that the computer model may produce large inaccuracies when it comes to alpha angle estimation but this has little impact on the overall point of origin estimation. de Bruin, Karla G., Reinoud D. Stoel, and Josita C. M. Limborgh. "Improving The Point Of Origin Determination In Bloodstain Pattern Analysis." Journal Of Forensic Sciences (Wiley-Blackwell) 56.6 (2011): 1476-1482. Academic Search Premier. Web. 13 Mar.

2014. The authors of this article discuss the importance of knowing the point of origin when it comes to bloodstain pattern analysis. The most common methods of finding the PO (point of origin) are the stringing method, and two computer programs called HemoSpat and BackTrack. The authors performed nine different experiments all having different bloodstain patterns using the HemoSpat and BackTrack technology. The blood that was used for the experiments was no more than four weeks old and was splattered onto the surfaces using a custom made mouse trap. This study was performed to test the accuracy of both of these programs, an experiment that is the first of its kind. The results concluded almost no difference in the outcomes between the two programs, and both detected the point of origin accurately. Denison, David, et al. "Forensic Implications of Respiratory Derived Blood Spatter Distributions." Forensic science international 204.1-3 (2011): 144-55. ProQuest. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. The authors of this article explain that some blood spatter patterns at crime scenes may originate from the respiratory system and sometimes possibly postmortem. The authors question whether the distribution of blood on a suspects clothing could be the consequence of respired blood rather than the result of impact. The authors connect results from experiments and knowledge of the respiratory system to explain the produced exhaled aerosols. Through the discussion of four different experiments that were undertaken the authors come to the result that blood splatter patterns originating from the respiratory system are very likely and can sometimes be over looked and confused with other bloodstain patterns from different origins. Farrar, Andrew, Glenn Porter, and Adrian Renshaw. "Detection Of Latent Bloodstains Beneath Painted Surfaces Using Reflected Infrared Photography." Journal Of Forensic Sciences

(Wiley-Blackwell) 57.5 (2012): 1190-1198. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Authors discuss the fact that bloodstain pattern analysis is one of the most telling aspects of a crime scene and one way to hide this evidence is by the use of paint. The use of monochromatic light sources can be used to reveal bloodstains beneath layers of paint without doing damage to the evidence. One of the newest methods of determining the location of bloodstains underneath layers of paint is IR radiation which is already being used on a day to day basis for other aspects of forensic science. An experiment was conducted using an infrared camera and a visual light camera to see the pros and cons of each method. Results concluded that the infrared technology could detect bloodstains under six layers of paint. It was also determined that colored paints were the worst in concealing bloodstains, the poorest being red paint. It was also found that diluting the blood before painting over it greatly decreases the rate of IR detection. Illes, M., and M. Bou. "Robust Estimation for Area of Origin in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Via Directional Analysis." Forensic Science International (Online) 226.1 (2013): 223-9. ProQuest. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. The authors make the point that bloodstain analysis is one of the most important and telling aspects of a crime scene. They discuss the method of directional analysis and how the process helps to find the origin of bloodstain patterns, but question if this process can produce a stronger analysis by modifying the technique. The authors go into describing three different types of methodology, arithmetic mean, trimmed mean, and Random Sample and Consensus algorithm (RANSAC). By discussing and analyzing two case studies, the authors conclude that using directional analysis (arithmetic mean), and trimmed mean provide stronger arguments than that of RANSAC and those are the better methodologies to turn to.

Kabaliuk, N., et al. "Blood Drop Size In Passive Dripping From Weapons." Forensic Science International 228.1-3 (2013): 75-82. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. In this article an experiment was conducted to determine the effects of blood dripping for handheld weapons, pig blood was used and distilled water was also used as reference. The objects tested were cylinders, flat plates, a wrench and a knife; the size of the objects correlated with the amount of drops of blood. The blood itself was also found to create more droplets off the objects than the water did. It is determined through this experiment that the primary drop size can be predicted for smaller handheld weapons if the size and surface roughness of the weapon is known. Karger, B., et al. "Bloodstain Pattern Analysis--Casework Experience." Forensic Science International (Online) 181.1 (2008): 15-20. ProQuest. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. The authors of this article review four different case reports, each discussing a different importance of blood spatter patterns. The first case report describes the death of a 23 year old male who was found dead close to his vehicle. The authors discuss that through the bloodstain patterns it is noticeable that much of the blood from this victim was produced postmortem while the heart was still functioning. The second case report discusses how the bloodstain patterns disclose that the victim was not moved during or after the crime. The third case report discusses the sequence of events and that the bloodstain patterns describe the events in order to the investigators. Lastly, the final case report shows that bloodstains on victims may not always only belong to the victim themselves and can help investigators find suspects that they may not have found without the help of the bloodstains. Each case report has a final sentence stating the suspects of the crimes confessed that the predictions based on the bloodstains were correct. This article proves

that bloodstain patterns can help investigators tremendously when trying to understand a crime scene. Kunz, S. N., H. Brandtner, and H. Meyer. "Unusual Blood Spatter Patterns on the Firearm and Hand: A Backspatter Analysis to Reconstruct the Position and Orientation of a Firearm." Forensic science international 228.1-3 (2013): e54-7. ProQuest. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. The authors of this case report set out to prove that not only does the entrance wound, path trajectory and gunshot residue help in solving homicide cases. According to these authors another important factor is the blood stain analysis of gunshot backspatter on the hands of the person who was holding the weapon. The case report visits a case of a 90 year old man and the authors use the backspatter on the mans hands to prove that although not all of the signs lead to suicide, the hand backspatter strongly suggests it. The authors go on to talk about the limitations of using this approach in the field and why it would not always be helpful. The authors prove that in uncertain situations the hand backspatter can be used to reenact the position of the firearm as well as give clues to the cause of death. Larkin, B. A. J. and Banks, C. E. (2013), Preliminary Study on the Effect of Heated Surfaces Upon Bloodstain Pattern Analysis. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 58: 12891296. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. The authors of this paper explore the effects of heated surfaces coming into contact with blood splatter at the scene of a crime. The experiments showed that the diameter blood stains in contact with heat will expand up to the temperature of 90 degrees Celsius. If the temperature would continue to increase the diameters will decrease as a result of evaporation. The effect of heat on the spines of the bloodstain patterns were considered insignificant and did not follow any consistent patterns during

the experiment. The authors came to the conclusion that heat has a very significant effect on bloodstain patterns and it changes their dimensions and form radically. Peschel, O., et al. "Blood Stain Pattern Analysis." Forensic Science, Medicine & Pathology 7.3 (2011): 257-270. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. This article describes the science of BPA teaching the reader the correct terminology having to do with the matter. The authors begin the article by describing biophysical fundamentals of blood including, viscosity, adhesion, cohesion, oscillation, air resistance, dispersion and surface tension. The article then goes into target surfaces stating that different surfaces effect blood patterns differently thus creating different pattern shapes. The authors then discuss projected patterns of bloodstains created by force the kinds of patterns include, arterial patterns, cast-off patterns, exhaled patterns, splash patterns and pattern stains. This article also states that the examination of bloodstain patterns requires medically and scientifically based reconstruction of wound instruments that lead to the outcome being investigated. Thanakiatkrai, Phuvadol, Alisa Yaodam, and Thitika Kitpipit. "Age Estimation of Bloodstains using Smartphones and Digital Image Analysis." Forensic Science International (Online) 233.1 (2013): 288-97. ProQuest. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. In this article an experiment to find the age of bloodstain patterns is conducted using smartphone technology for the first time. After conducting the experiment with the Samsung Galaxy S, Apple iPad 2 and iPhone 4, the Galaxy S was chosen for further studies. The phone was able to detect changes in color based on the different ratios of hemoglobin in the bloodstains. The authors found that phone brand, temperature, humidity and light exposure all effected the colors of the bloodstains. Although there was a good amount of evidence that the Galaxy

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S was able to estimate the age of bloodstain patterns in this experiment, the use of smart phones at crime scenes in the future warrants further experimentation and investigation.