Blood Spatter Analysis

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Blood Spatter Analysis |

Research Methods in Criminal Justice |

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Jeff Gill |

7/19/2014 |

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Abstract

I will be discussing the information that was given to me via the Blood Spatter Analysis tutorial provided to me. The evidence that was provided by the Blood Splatter Analysis tutorial was as follows: a lamp, blood spatter on the wall, blood spatter on the floor, a door handle with blood spatter, and bloody sheets and clothes found in a dumpster outside. I will be discussing the gaps in evidence that the tutorial did not include. I will also include that research methodology of source author, as well as what the author’s research is about and how this methodology assists in this blood spatter analysis.

The blood spatter methodology I researched was from Silke Brodbeck. She is a top expert in blood spatter analysis at the Blutspureninstitut in Usingen, Germany. She goes into great detail about the history and origins of blood spatter analysis as well as the modern techniques that are employed in determining how to evaluate this type of evidence.

In this article she addresses a very important question. What is bloodstain pattern analysis and when should this method be used? The article states that “bloodstains are analyzed according to shape, size and distribution. The method seeks to answer the question of how blood travelled through a given space to leave stains on a surface.” (Brodbeck, 2012) Important uses of bloodstain pattern analysis cover a wide area. These areas include reconstruction of the events of a crime or accident, verifying statements, identification of areas that an offender may have moved, prioritizing DNA samples, and differentiating between homicides/suicides as well as accidents in cases where there is doubt as to involvement in a crime. She goes on to talk about how bloodstain pattern analysis is based on principles of physics, which include the mechanics and the physics of fluids, in addition to biological,...