BloodSpatterIntroduction

Usethe
linkhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/bloodstainpatternanalysis.htm
tofindthe
informationbelow:

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1.Thereareonly21trainedbloodspatterprofessionalscertifiedintheUnitedStatesHow
doesonebecomeabloodstainanalysisexpert?
Onemusthaveanindepthknowledgeofmath,physics,biology,andchemistry.One
mustalsohaveadegreeinforensicscienceorcriminaljustice,alongwiththeexperienceof
manyseminarsandworkshopsinthefield.

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2.Explainthepropertiesofbloodthatallowittobeakeypieceofevidence.
Thepatternsthatbloodmakescanbeanalyzedtoprovidemanycluessuchas:thetime
andplaceofacrime,informationaboutthewound,themovementsofthevictimandmuch
more.

3.Whatcomponentsofbloodcanbeexamined?
Theamountofblood,thesizeofthedrops,theangleofimpact,andmore.

4.Whatcandriedbloodtellanexpert?
Driedbloodcantellanexperthowlongacrimewentonfor,detectwhetherithappened
allatonceorinstages,andnaildownpossiblecrimescenecontamination.

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5.Whattypeofweapon(andexplainwhy)isconsistentwith
a.lowvelocityspatter
Lowvelocityspatternormallyconsistsofjustblooddrop,thesecancomefroma
bleedingnoseoranopenwound.
b.mediumvelocityspatter
Mediumvelocityspatternormallyhappenswhenabluntweaponisinvolved,thiskindof
velocityleavesblooddropletswithatailandarentverylarge.
c.highvelocityspatter
Gunsandweaponslikebombsnormallyproducelittleblooddroplets,thesearesmall
becausethebloodgoesatahighspeedandthesurfacetensionisntstrongenoughtostopit
fromseparating.
d.transferofblood
Theoutlineoftheweaponcreatedbytheblood.
6.Explainstipplingandinternalmuzzlestaining.
Muzzlestainingcanbeusefulbecauseonecanseehowfarawaytheshooterwas.
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7.Whatdoesananalysthavetomeasuretodeterminetheangleofbloodspatterandthe
positionofthevictim?
Angleofimpact=arcsin(with/length)
8.Whatdoes"stringing"methodtellananalyst?
Analystscanusetrigonometrytoanalyzetheangleofimpact,eventuallyleadingthemto
an
areaofconvergence
.
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9.Note3keydatesinbloodspatterhistoryandwhatthosedatesmeantoevidencetoday.
1895:"ConcerningtheOrigin,Shape,DirectionandDistributionoftheBloodstains
FollowingHeadWoundsCausedbyBlows,"publishedbyDr.EduardPiotrowski,was
Thefirstmethodicalstudyofbloodspatters.
1971:"FlightCharacteristicsofHumanBloodandStainPatterns,"waspublishedby
forensicscientistHerbertMacDonellwhichvastlyextendedthefield.
1983:ThefirstAdvancedBloodstainInstitutefoundedtheInternationalAssociationof
BloodstainPatternAnalysts(IABPA).Sincethen,thefieldofbloodstainanalysishas
continuedtogrow.

10.Whyarebloodspatterspecialistsusuallycalledtothescene?
Bloodspatterspecialistsareusuallycalledtoascenewhenthereisbloodspatterthat
needstobeanalyzed.

11.Whatdoesthisdotothecaseagainstsomeone?
Itprovidesevidencetouseinsomeformoranother.

BLOODSPATTERTUTORIAL
(justtogiveyouaheadsupthiswebsitecontainspicturesof
actualcrimesceneswithblood)
Goto:
http://www.bloodspatter.com/bloodstaintutorial

Whatuseifbloodspatteranalysistoaforensicanalystprocessingacrimescene?
Theinformationgatheredfromstudyingbloodspattercanbeusedtogetagood
understandingofexactlywhathappenedduringacrimescene.

Howcanyoutelltheseverityofaninjuryfrombloodpresentatascene?Howmuchblood
wouldindicatealikelyfatalinjury?
A40%bloodvolumeloss,internallyand/orexternallyisrequiredtoproduceirreversible
shock(death).Abloodlossof1.5litersinternally/externallyisrequiredtocauseincapacitation.

Howdoesthetargetsurfacetextureaffectbloodspatter?
Thetargetsurfacetextureaffectstheamountofresultantstaindistortionandsatellite
(secondary)bloodspatter.

WhatarethethethreedifferentcategoriesofSWIGSTAINsandwhattypeofeventsfallinto
eachcategory?

1AlteredStain:Abloodstainwithcharacteristicsthatindicateaphysicalchangehasoccurred.

2AreaofConvergence:Theareacontainingtheintersectionsgeneratedbylinesdrawn
throughthelongaxesofindividualstainsthatindicatesintwodimensionsthelocationofthe
bloodsource.

3AreaofOrigin:Thethreedimensionallocationfromwhichspatteroriginated.

Howcantheangleofimpactbedeterminedfrombloodspatter?
AngleofImpact=ArcSin(StainWidth/StainLength)
[Withtheuseoftrigonometry]

Whydowecareabouttheangleofimpactofbloodspatter?Whatcanwelearnfromit?
Theangleofimpactwillleadustotheareaofconvergence,tellingustheoriginofthe
bloodsource.

CASESTUDY:
Goto:

http://www.bloodspatter.com/analyzeacase

Directions:Examinethepicturestakenbylawenforcementafterreceivingacallfromconcerned
neighborswhofirstdiscoveredthisbloodyscene.Waittoclickonthe
Thecaseanalysisand
conclusionisavailablehere
untilAFTERyouhavecompletedallfourquestions.

1. Isthisacrimescene?Whyorwhynot?
Basedoffoftheimages,itlooksalotlikesomeonewastryingtogetawayfrom
someoneaswecanseebloodsmudgesonalotofthewallsandsupportrailings.
Thiswasapparentlytheaftermathofaneardeadlyexperiencewithapissedoff
crackheadandametalpipe.

2. Whatdoyounoticeaboutthepatternsyouseeofbloodspatter?Pleasetellmewhatyou
noticeabouteachpicture:
Alotoftheimagesshowacombinationofbothsplashesofblood,alongwithsmudges
everywhere.
Page1picturesfromtopofpagetobottomofpage
Picture1(staircase):

Picture2(staircase):

Picture3(hallway):

Picture4(hallway):

Picture5(hallway):

Picture6(hallway):

Page2picturesfromtopofpagetobottomofpage
Picture1(kitchen/doorway):

Picture2(wallwithlightswitch):

Picture3(kitchen):

3.Whatisyourhypothesisaboutwhathappened?
Ifitwasntaprank,someonemusthavebeentryingtogetawayfromsomesortof
assault.Theperpetratormusthavebeenchasingitsvictimdownthehallwaysbeatinghimto
neardeath.

4.Whattypeofinstrument/eventcouldhavecausedthebloodstains?
Itwasmostlikelyanybluntobject.Somethinglikeagunwouldhavelikelycausednot
onlybulletholes,butamistofblood.