CRJ 311: Forensic Science

Lecture 4 - Trace Evidence

1. Introduction to Trace Evidence
a. Trace evidence:

b. Common examples:

2. Introduction to Hair Evidence

a. Human Hair:

b. Hair can also determine:

3. James Charles Kopp

a. Who was he?
b. What group was a part of?
c. What evidence was collected at the crime scene?

4. Morphology of Hair
a. Hair:

5. The Hair Shaft

a. The hair shaft is composed of:
i. Cuticle:
ii. Cortex:
iii. Medulla:

6. The Hair Shaft “Cuticle”

a. The cuticle is the outer layer covered with scales
i. Where do the scales point?
ii. Do they differ between species?
b. The three basic patterns are:

7. Hair Shape
a. Hair can be what types of shapes?
b. What is hair important?

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 8. The Root
a. Hair roots may reveal what?
b. Do they look different if they fell out or were pulled out?
c. What shape is an animal root?

9. DNA from Hair

a. Nuclear DNA:

i. Where is it found?
ii. If pulled out, what would be attached?
b. Mitochondrial DNA:

i. Where is it found?
ii. Can it be typed?
iii. Is it easy and cheap?

10. Collection of Hair Evidence

a. Hair evidence is easy to collect and store
b. Does CSI need to collect control hairs?
c. From where and how many?

11. A Case for Hair Evidence

a. Napoleon died in exile in 1821.
b. What did hair analysis suggest?
c. What did skeptics believe?
d. Modern day forensic analysis allows these types of examination and insights to history.

12. SUMMARY: What Can Hair Tell Us?

a. Can the body area from which a hair originated be determined?
b. Can the racial origin of hair be determined?
c. Can the age and sex of an individual be determined from a hair sample?
d. Is it possible to determine if hair was forcibly removed from the body?
e. Are efforts being made to individualize human hair?
f. Can DNA individualize a human hair?

13. Fiber Evidence

a. Fiber:

i. What types are there?

14. Types of Fibers

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 a. Natural:
b. Artificial:

15. Identification of Fiber Evidence

a. Microscopic observation
i. What methods do they use?

16. Collection of Fiber Evidence

a. Clothing:
b. Why shouldn’t you put different items on the same surface before bagging?
c. Tape lifts:
d. Removed fibers:

17. Fiber Evidence in Court

a. Used in many court cases.
b. Who was Wayne Williams?
c. What was the crucial piece of evidence?

18. Paint Chip Evidence

a. Automobile accidents and break-ins mostly.
b. How many paints must a criminalist compare?
c. Auto paints usually consist of what 4 layers:

19. Paint Chip Analysis

a. Layer structure is most important in analysis.
b. Most paint does not have a layer structure of sufficient complexity to identify a single
source.
c. Stereoscopic microscope:
d. Pyrolosis Gas Chromatography:

20. Collection of Paint Evidence

a. Where is it collected from?
b. Why are tweezers used?
c. Paint smears:

21. Glass Evidence

a. Glass:
b. Two Types
i. Tempered:
ii. Laminated:
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 c. Comparing fragments:

22. Glass Fracture Evidence

a. Bullets produce cracks when penetrating glass:
i. Radial:
ii. Concentric:
b. Analysis determines direction of impact using 3R Rule:

23. Which Bullet Hole Came First?

a. Cracks radiating out from the hold will stop when they encounter another crack.
b. What do basic principles of physical science allow?

24. Collection of Glass Evidence

a. Should glass be collected from scenes?
b. Often found where?
c. Should be placed in what?

25. Soil Evidence

a. Soil is easily transferred to suspects making it valuable evidence.
i. How do soils differentiate?
ii. How is a visual comparison made?
iii. What do crime labs use?

26. Collection and Preservation of Soil

a. Standard/reference soil samples should be collected at various intervals in a 100 yard
radius from the crime scene.
i. Should soil be removed from evidence?
ii. What is it wrapped in?