Hailey Redding

Crime Scene : #2
Evidence Being Examined : Fingerprints
Forensic Science Used : Superglue Fuming
Summary of the Science :
Locards Exchange Principle states that every contact will both leave and take trace evidence.
This is very true for fingerprints, everytime you touch something with your hands a fingerprint is
left behind (with few exceptions). Every persons individual fingerprint is different from anyone
elses and therefore is very helpful in forensics. By combining a crime scene with the fine art of
fingerprinting the perpetrator can often be found out. Fingerprints are considered associative
evidence, evidence that connects to separate entities, because they can link an individual with
the crime scene. Due to technological advancement, such as digital records of fingerprints,
many previously unsolved cases can finally be put to justice. In 1978, 61 year old Carroll
Bonnet was stabbed to death in his apartment and his car was afterwards stolen. The car was
later found in Illinois. Latent fingerprints were collected from both the car and the crime scene
and checked against local and state fingerprint files but no matches were found and the case
soon went cold. In late 2008 the Omaha Police Department received an inquiry about the case
and it was soon reopened. Fingerprints found at the crime scene were carefully compared to
those in the database and a suspect was soon identified, Jerry Watson. He was serving time in
prison at this time for burglary charges and DNA was collected from him matching evidence
found at the scene. On October 17th, 33 years from the day Carrolls body was found, his killer
was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
There are many different types of fingerprint traces found at crime scenes, latent, impression,
and visible prints. Visible prints are also known as patent prints, they are left in some medium
such as blood that reveals the print to the naked eye. This type of print can be created when a
finger with blood, dirt, ink, or grease comes into contact with a smooth surface and leaves a
friction ridge impression visible without any form of development. Impression prints otherwise
known as plastic prints are also visible without development. These prints are created when an
indentation is left in soft pliable surfaces like clay, wax, paint, or other impressionable surfaces.
Unlike these types of fingerprint traces latent prints are not visible with the naked eye. This type
of print is created by sweat on the body or water, salt, amino acids, and oils contained in sweat.
The sweat and fluids create prints that have to be developed before they can be seen or
photographed. They can be made visible with dusting, fuming, or with chemical reagents. Other
characteristics of fingerprints are loops, whorls, and arches, these help distinguish one print
from another. Loops (60-65% of the population) have one or more ridges entering from one side
of the print, curving and exiting from the same side of the print. Whorls (30-35% of the
population) must have at least one ridge that makes a complete circuit neither entering or
exiting the side of the print. Arches (only 5% of the population) have ridges that typically enter
from one side of the print and exit out of the other with a wave pattern or a sharp spike in the
center of the arch. Lastly another element of fingerprints is minutiae, miniscule imperfections
that are completely unique to the individual. There are many different defined types of minutiae

that are known as points of interest in forensics and are the final piece to a completely individual
fingerprint.
The cyanoacrylate fuming method or superglue fuming method is often used in forensics to
develop latent fingerprints the the point that they are visible to the naked eye. This method was
first used by the Criminal Identification Division of the Japanese National Police Agency in 1978
and was soon after adopted in the United States. Since then superglue fuming has grown the be
one of the most commonly used methods of developing prints. Most superglues are based with
methylcyanoacrylate or ethylcyanoacrylate, these bases react with the traces of amino acids,
fatty acids, and proteins in fingerprints as well as moisture in the air, making them visible. To
enable this reaction to take place the cyanoacrylate must be in its gaseous form. The surfaces
that are to be checked for latent fingerprints are put into an airtight tank along with a small
heater. A few drops of liquid super glue are then placed into a tiny, open container, and the
container is placed on top of the heater inside of the tank. The tank is then carefully sealed, and
the heater is turned on. According to Lee and Gaensslen, the boiling point for most super glue
varies between roughly one-hundred twenty to one-hundred fifty degrees fahrenheit depending
upon its chemical composition. Once the super glue in the container reaches its boiling point, it
will begin to boil away into the surrounding atmosphere, creating a concentration of gaseous
cyanoacrylate. If any latent fingerprints exist anywhere inside the tank, they will eventually be
exposed to the gaseous cyanoacrylate.Thus, once everything has been set up, the investigator
just waits for the reaction to occur. The whole reaction can take over two hours, with the exact
time determined by the size of the tank, the concentration of the gaseous cyanoacrylate in the
air, the humidity of the air, and numerous other factors. Since it is very difficult to calculate the
amount of time in advance, the reaction must be monitored to insure that it is not allowed to
continue for too long. If it runs unchecked, the latent fingerprints can overdevelop; the chemical
images of the ridges will slowly grow wider until they overlap, obscuring vital detail.
After collecting evidence from the crime scene we singled out a pocket knife found near the
remains. Using superglue fuming we were able to make latent fingerprints on the handle visible.
Comparing the fingerprints taken from our suspects and running them against the fingerprints
taken from the crime scene we were able to determine that the fingerprints being examined did
not match those found on the pocket knife.