Forensic Medicine & Toxicology

Trace Evidences Semen, Saliva, Hair & Fibers

Keshant Samaroo
Orson Simon

Types of Trace Evidences

1 Blood
2 Bloodstains
3 Semen
4 Saliva
5 Hair
6 Fibers

Trace Evidence

Any small evidence collected at a crime scene

Used to link victims, suspects, objects, and

crime scenes

Collected by detectives

Evidence places a suspect and/or victim at the

crime scene

Difficult to detect

Collection of Trace Evidence

Collected:

Done by:

at the crime scene

from the deceased at PM

scraping the fingernails

checking clothing for fibers & blood stains
checking footwear for soil samples

Look for signs of a struggle:

discovery of skin particles

blood flecks
hairs or fibers being transferred by contact from the
perpetrator to the victim

Semen

In a single ejaculate of semen there are on

average a quarter of a 250 million sperm cells
ideal for DNA profiling

Sex crimes the victim should be taken to the

hospital immediately and the examination
started as soon as possible

UV light causes semen to fluoresce, indicating

its location

Semen

Photographs should be taken to document any

injuries of the victim

Oral, vaginal, and/or anal swabs should be

taken from the victim and air dried for one
hour in a moving air source

Collected as soon as possible because the

body begins breaking down various
components in seminal fluid through enzyme
activity and pH

Semen

Seminal stains on undergarments, clothing,

bedsheets, pillows and other movable objects
should be collected as is

If the stain is on:

Large object that can be cut then the stained

area should be cut using a scalpel or scissors

Immovable, nonabsorbent surfaces then the

stain should be scrapped using a clean scalpel
onto clean paper, and fold the paper into a
druggist fold container

Semen

Package items separately in a clean paper

container

Ensure proper seals and labels

Packaged items should be refrigerated if

possible

Submit to the laboratory

Tests Used
Acid Phosphatase Test
Common method used to detect the presence of
semen, due to the high levels
Presumptive test
Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA/p30)
Glycoprotein produced in the prostate gland
Useful in detecting the presence of semen
Presumptive test as PSA is also found in urine
Microscopic Detection of Sperm
Confirmatory method of discovery
Possible to view the sperm cells, proving their presence
The older a biological sample is, the further
decomposition may have progressed, fresh sample
preferred

Saliva

Ideal for DNA profiling

Can also be analyzed to detect the presence

of drugs and toxins as it contains the same
proteins as blood and urine

Most common method of collection

Saliva

A cotton swab is rubbed along the inside of

the suspects cheek, collecting a sample of
saliva and epithelial cells

Of great significance if found at crime scenes,

such as on:

the victim of a sexual assault

on the cigarette end
around the rim of a glass or bottle

Saliva

High levels of amylase testing for this enzyme is a

presumptive test for saliva

Amylase is also found in lower levels in other bodily

fluids

Chromatography and spectroscopy methods are

frequently used in the extensive analysis of such
samples

Fluid may be difficult to see with the naked eye

alternative light sources can often visualize latent
evidence, particularly traces of biological fluids

Hair

An average sample ranges from 24 to 50

pieces

Different hairs on the same victim can show

many variations

The larger the sample for analysis, the better

Significance of Hair Evidence

Cannot provide information such as age and

gender without a nuclear DNA analysis on its
follicular tag

Can provide important investigative leads in many

cases by determining the racial and somatic origin,
as well as comparisons with known standards

Most important evidence in cases involving

identical twins (who cannot be distinguished by
DNA analysis)

Hair

If the hair has been pulled out, it should

include the follicle

Age and Sex

Age of an individual cannot be determined definitively

Hairs of infants are generally finer and less distinctive in

microscopic appearance
As individuals age, hair can undergo pigment loss and
changes in the configuration of the hair shaft to become
much finer and more variable in diameter

Sex is difficult to determine

Longer, treated hairs are more frequently encountered in

female
Sex can be determined from a forcibly removed hair (with
tissue)
Can be accomplished through the staining of sex chromatin
in the cells found in the follicular tissue

Stained sex chromatin in the

nuclei of human cells showing
the female-indicative Barr body
(bright spot, top) and the maleindicative Y body (bright spot,
bottom)

Racial Characteristics
Caucasian
Exhibit moderate shaft diameter with very little variation
Light to moderate in pigment density with fairly even
distribution
Cross-section may be oval in shape
Mongoloid

Exhibit coarse shaft diameter

Streaky pigments with heavy density
Thick cuticles
Round cross-section

Negroid
Exhibit fine to moderate shaft diameter with prominent
twists and curls
Heavy pigment density with aggregate clumping
Flat cross -section

Racial Origin

Somatic Origin
Head

Pubic

Limb

Facial
Very
coarse
with
irregular or
triangular
crosssections

Typically
longer
than other
hairs of
the body

Coarse in
diameter,
with wide
variations

Tend to be
fine and
arc-like

Generally
soft, and
are the
most likely
to have
artificial
treatments

Buckling is
a special
characteris
tic

Their tips
are usually
tapered or
abraded

Their
medullae
may be
very
broad,
even

Main differences between Human and

Animal hairs
Differences

Human

Animal

Pigments

Remain consistent in
their color and
pigmentation throughout
the length of the hair
shaft

Often exhibit rapid and

radical color
changes

Medulla

Thin and take up no

more than1/3 of the hair
shaft diameter
They appear
amorphous

Very wide and take up

almost the entire shaft
diameter
They appear very
regular and well-defined,
with different patterns
indicating different
species

Scale Structures

Overlapping imbricate
scales with narrow
margins

Imbricate scales,
coronal
(crown-shaped) scales,
or spinous (petal-shaped)
scales

Fibers

Fibers are not unique

Cannot pinpoint an offender in any definitive

manner

Other factors must be involved, such as:

evidence that the fibers can corroborate

something unique to the fibers that set them apart

Fibers

Gathered with tweezers, tape, or a vacuum

Generally come from clothing, drapery, wigs,

carpeting, furniture, and blankets

In analysis, fibers must first determined to be:

Natural
Manufactured
Mix of both

Fibers

Natural fibers come from:

Plants cotton
Animals wool

Manufactured fibers are made from long

chains of molecules called polymers and are
synthetics like:

Rayon
Acetate
Polyester

Fibers

To determine the shape and color of fibers

from any of these fabrics, a microscopic
examination is made

Only a limited number of fibers to work with

Compare crime scene fibers against fibers

from a suspect source, such as a car or home

The fibers are laid side by side for visual

inspection through a microscope

References

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science
-communications/fsc/july2000/deedric1.htm

http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forens
ics/trace/5.html

http://crimeandclues.com/2013/04/05/trace-evide
nce-hair/

https://www.abacusdiagnostics.com/Modern_Metho
ds_of_Collection.pdf

http://forensicsciencecentral.co.uk/biology.shtml