Forensic scientists and investigators can employ numerous forensic techniques to help solve this crime. These can include using biological examination in terms of detecting and identifying bloodstain pattern analysis, analyse ballistics and fingerprints.
Guns are known to produce a distinct bloodstain pattern, which is the High-Velocity Impact Spatter where tiny droplets are caused by blood travelling at high speeds. By using this knowledge that investigators have about guns, they can track down and reconstruct the crime scene using biological examination. Additionally, gunshots leave different types of evidence behind, depending on the distance in which the gun is shot. With close-range shots, guns would usually produce tiny spatters on the victim, which is caused by burning from gunpowder. Also, at very close range, after an explosive shot, high-velocity impact spatters could travel back towards the gun 's barrel as it hits a surface area and spatters back with high force, which is known as back spatter or a blowback. The distance between the gun and the back spatter is also a factor in affecting the amount of back spatters. Further understanding of how different types of guns and other firearms work can be done by firearm experts. Through employing biological examination, forensic scientists and investigators can analyse the blood spatters present on the walls and on the floor with an ultraviolet light to help them identify the locations of the blood that the culprit had attempted
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The amount of damage a bullet has sustained upon hitting a hard surface like the floor or the wall of the abandoned house can help determine approximately where the shooter was standing, what angle the gun was fired from, and when the gun was fired. Any residue on the bullet can be studied and compared to residue on the hand of a suspect, the gun that was fired, or any object that was close by when the firearm was used. This information helps investigators uncover the identity of the shooter. Similarly, studying the markings found on a bullet or the impact a bullet made on any surface can establish exactly which gun the criminal used. Every firearm produces a slightly different and unique pattern on the shell-casing it fires; the bullet will therefore imprint a distinct pattern upon anything it hits. Once investigators and scientists have identified these markings, they can easily match them to the appropriate firearm and identify the criminal of the
A 15 year-old Norland High School student has been arrested for shooting a rabbi. The rabbi, whose name was Joseph Raskin, was walking to the temple last year when he was shot. Neighbors in the community worked tirelessly along with the police in order to find the rabbi 's killer. Rabbi Joseph was not carrying any money when he walked to the temple.
The morning of February 24, 2005, the grandmother of 9yr. old Jessica Lunsford called the police in Citrus County, Fla., to report her granddaughter had disappeared from her room the night before. She had tucked her into bed. The only thing that was missing was a stuffed animal that her father won for her at the county fair. Immediately police began to search for Jessica.
The Walther P-38 was found coated in dirt along with unknown oil matter. They couldn’t recover fingerprints from the weapon nor could they make out the serial number because it had been filed down. Furthermore, the night of the murder Blake was carrying a registered .38 Special Smith and Wesson revolver so when he was tested for gunshot residue his defense argued that the powder could have been from the revolver he was carrying, not from the murder weapon.
As to the direction the shots came from, the witnesses were undeniably divided. To explain this, it is important to understand not only the fragile nature of eyewitness testimony-particularly during moments of highly elevated stress, but also problems with eyewitness descriptions of gunfire in particular, as well as difficulties raised by specific conditions at the scene of the crime. The authoritative textbook, Firearms Investigation Identification and Evidence, states, "It is extremely difficult to tell the direction [from which a shot was fired] by the sound of discharge of a firearm." The authors go on to note that "little credence" should be placed in such testimony.15 Not only that, but as Charles Manson-prosecutor and later JFK-assassination author Vincent Bugliosi puts it, "Dealey Plaza resounds with echoes, the multistory buildings on the north, south, and east sides making it a virtual echo chamber. "16
This first analysis paper will be based on the case of The Murder of Stanley Van Wagner. This case involves a husband, Stanley Van Wagner, who was found dead on May 15, 2015, with bullet shot wounds. The perpetrator involves Stanley’s wife, Amy, who was charged with the murder of her husband. All of the inculpatory evidence found at the scene where Wagner was found, points to Amy as the murderer, that is from the gun that was used, a .380 caliber handgun. After some investigating, it was found that Amy had a registration for the exact same type of handgun.
GSR is short for gun shot residue; the residue is created from a firearm being discharged. Residue is deposited on the hand or the clothes of the individual who discharged the firearm. The residue is made up of burnt and unburnt particles from the bullet and the cartridge case. GSR residue helps investigators to determine who fired the firearm and what type of firearm was used. In some cases it helps investigators know the distance of the shot that was fired based on the residue
In 1979, the House Committee on Assassination released a report claiming the recording established a high probability of a second gunman. The committee hired scientists who identified four gunshots. Three coming from the direction of the Texas School Book Depository and one from the general area of the “grassy knoll.” Later on, the House Committee on Assassinations asked Bolt Beranek and Newman -- also known as BBN, a high-technology company -- to analyze to audio recording. The committee concluded a 50 percent probability a fourth gunshot came from the grassy knoll.
“Ballistic imaging and microstamping technologies have the potential to reduce gun violence by improving the solve rate of gun-related crimes”(Giffords Law Center). Requiring microstamping and ballistic identification for any and all firearms can help detain and detect the person responsible for any local shootings. Microstamping is a needed adjustment for all firearms. This micro adjustment will enable us to find more evidence that police cannot in crime scenes and help find and track exactly which gun fired the bullet. In a blog posted by Towne Currier he explains the reason for this certain development: “The development of this tool is because of the challenging identification of a firearm due to the multiple sources of randomness present
Dr. Vincent C. Guinn “Claimed that each individual bullet was chemically unique.” (The Conversation, 2017) and stated that 2 bullets were fired which had hit John F. Kennedy and Governor John Connally by Oswald. But in the late 1980’s Guinn’s theory was challenged by the FBI Agents saying that bullets were indistinguishable if they were from the same manufactured batch. In 2004 a team came together to test if Guinn’s theory was correct and if not they would test that the fragments would match the fragments from the bullets in the JFK case. For their experiment they tested 30 bullets, all but 1 match.
Have you ever wonder how does a crime scene investigator, known as a CSI, discover blood spatter on different fabrics, which is not visible to the human eye? The key is bluestar. According to the article “Influence of Bluestar Reagent on Blood Spatter Stain of Different Fabrics” by Arnon Grafit, bluestar is a “luminol-based reagent that is applied by spraying on surface.” Not only that, but “it helps obtain DNA and to analyze spatters patterns. By analyzing the article the reader is able to understand how bluestar works through the rhetorical techniques used.
There are three different types of bloodstains which are: passive stains, transfer stains and projected stains. These interpret the type of event which took place and elaborates the crime situation which helps in finding a possible description of the event. For example, the type of crime can be specified depending on the pattern and amount of blood present in the crime scene. A gunshot injury can be specified by a mist-like spatter determined by the bullets entering and exiting the body. Stabbing can be confirmed by looking at the linear pattern as less blood is deposited on the instrument used for stabbing.
Science has come a long way over the years. It has helped countless every day struggles and cure diseases most commonly found. What you don’t hear about however is the advancement of forensic science. Forensic science has helped solve countless cases of murder, rape, and sexual assault. In the case of John Joubert, it helped solve the murders of three young boys with one small piece of evidence that linked him directly to the crime.
It sends all kinds of thoughts through the reader's head, “Did he hit him? Was he spotted? Is he about to get shot? Did he miss? That was an amazing shot if he hit, and with a revolver too!”
‘’Guns are responsible for over thirty-three thousand deaths in the United States annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).. In 2014, the CDC reported that 11,008 of the 15,872 homicides committed in the United States that year involved a firearm. Of the 42,826 suicides reported that year, 21,386 involved a firearm. These statistics have inspired efforts at the federal and state levels to enact gun control legislation to reduce crime and violence’’(‘’Gun Control’’). According to the statistic guns are held for over 33,000 deaths in the United States.
At a news conference, Michael Bouchard of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms told reports the rifle “has been forensically determined to be the murder weapon”. Investigators were able to match Muhammad’s rifles to 11 of the 14 shootings by a series of ballistic tests. First the bullets were recovered from the victims. When the rifle was found they were able to match them up by the markings or rifling impressions pattern on the fired ammunition by the barrel of the rifle. The rifling pattern in the barrel that fired a particular bullet can be determined by counting the number of groove or land impressions around the circumference of the bullet.