Potential Evidence Locked Away in Hospital Storage for Years
May 23, 2013
Children from all over the state come to receive the best health care Arkansas offers at the Arkansas Children's Hospital. Healing is in their nature, but for some children, that healing may have never come.
Murder Trial Turns to 5 Bullets' Paths
May 23, 2013
The 9 mm bullets appeared in little baggies, in full or in fragments, with their cartridges, lined up in two rows of nine baggies taped against a white board. Fourteen months ago, the bullets had traveled through and into Dana Mulhall, killing him.
Scientists Speed Up DNA Extraction with New Device
May 23, 2013
At the University of Washington Engineering Discovery Days in April, UW mechanical engineering professor Jae-Hyun Chung introduced his new handheld DNA extraction device to middle school and high school students.
Man Shot by FBI Had Ties to Boston Bombing Suspect
May 23, 2013
A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.
London Attackers British, of Nigerian Origin
May 23, 2013
British authorities believe that two men accused of hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim countries are British of Nigerian descent, a source close to the investigation has said.
Six Hundred Police Photos of Tucson Rampage Scene Released
May 22, 2013
In the chaotic moments after a gunman wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, investigators quickly turned a patrol car into a makeshift whiteboard, using markers to scrawl relevant information about the investigation. Photos of the car were among 600 images that were taken by investigators in the aftermath of the January 2011 attack and were made public by the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
Tracking Down Criminals with Family DNA Testing
May 22, 2013
Philadelphia law enforcement is leading the charge to make tracking down wanted criminals using family DNA a reality. The director of the Philadelphia Police Department's Forensic Science Bureau is trying to take the resource to the next level to solve crime by using kinship testing.
Pills and Particles: Toxicology and Linking Trace Evidence
May 22, 2013
This Live Forensic Research Seminar Series will include presentations by experts within the Forensic community.
Law Enforcement Backs NC Attorney General on SBI
May 22, 2013
The North Carolina Senate budget calls for splitting up the State Bureau of Investigation and leaving its Crime Lab and a small public integrity section under control of the attorney general.
CMU Professor Takes DNA Testing To New Levels
May 22, 2013
He’s not your typical Sherlock Holmes, but this Carnegie Mellon Universtity professor is in demand by police around the world. He’s putting bad guys in jail with a DNA analysis technology he invented called True Allele.
Senate Panel OKs Plan to Fingerprint People Leaving US
May 21, 2013
All foreigners departing from the nation's 10 busiest airports will have to have their fingerprints scanned within two years, according to a plan adopted by a Senate panel.
The Low-tech Way Guns Get Traced
May 21, 2013
Opponents of expanding background checks for gun sales often raise the fear that it would allow the government to create a national gun registry — a database of gun transactions. In fact, federal law already bans the creation of such a registry. And the reality of how gun sales records are accessed turns out to be surprisingly low-tech.
Forensics Utilized in Animal Abuse Crackdown
May 21, 2013
Adam Leath deals with the ugliness of animal abuse daily, operating out of a closet-sized office as the Gainesville-based southeast regional director of investigations and response for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) since late 2011.
Regional Crime Lab Taking Shape
May 21, 2013
As top law enforcement officials and state lawmakers in North Carolina mull over ways to bring a crime lab to the southeast, a de facto one of sorts has already begun taking shape in Wilmington.
Closed System DNA Purification for Degraded, Compromised Evidence in Microfluidic Devices
May 21, 2013
The aims of this grant were to develop a volume reduction solid phase extraction (vrSPE) microchip capable of accommodating large volumes. The device was then to be applied to degraded and compromised samples as well as the purification of mitochondrial DNA.
Police Retain DNA from Thousands of Children
May 21, 2013
The DNA of thousands of innocent children is being taken by police and stored on the national database in England, campaigners say, citing new figures. Police have taken the DNA of 120,000 children in the last two years, according to figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform.
Split-second Choice Ended with NY Student Dead
May 20, 2013
The college student was being held in a headlock by a masked intruder with a loaded gun to her head, police said. Then the gunman took aim at an officer. A moment later both Hofstra University junior Andrea Rebello and the intruder were dead — killed after a split-second decision that is perhaps the most harrowing in law enforcement: when to pull the trigger.
Forensics Mastermind Who Identifies Victims around the World
May 20, 2013
Forensics mastermind David Whittaker has lifted the lid on a life spent investigating murder, assault and natural disaster.
Role of Forensics in Justice System being Studied
May 20, 2013
A University of Canterbury researcher is investigating forensics and its developing role in the justice system. Historian Dr. Heather Wolffram is investigating the psychology of juries and what problems the psychological impact of expert forensic evidence on juries means for the integrity of the New Zealand justice system.
When Bad 'Fire Science' Burns Innocent Defendants
May 20, 2013
In the U.S., fire-safety science dates back only to about 1970. Prior to that time, fire technology existed, but not what would today be understood as fire science.
Big Difference in New Orleans Crime Lab Since Katrina
May 20, 2013
Gunfire is commonplace at the New Orleans Police Crime Lab. Sometimes an automatic weapon, sometimes an old pistol, is test fired to recover the bullets for analysis. The prime focus is on firearms because of the violent crimes in this city.
Evaluating the Use of DNA and RNA Degradation for Estimating the Post-mortem Interval
May 20, 2013
Estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) is difficult due to the many factors that influence the decomposition process. Tissues such as nails, teeth and bones are more resilient to environmental factors.
NY Man Pleads Not Guilty in '94 Vermont Death of Wife
May 17, 2013
A suburban New York man released from a life sentence after DNA tests casts doubt on his original conviction for killing his wife in Vermont pleaded not guilty to a new aggravated murder charge in the same case.
Loss of RCMP Firearm Labs Could Hurt Police
May 17, 2013
Critics fear that police could lose timely access to a key technology used to investigate shootings as the RCMP shutters several regional forensic laboratories.
Overview on Trace Evidence for Legal Professionals
May 17, 2013
This webinar will provide an overview of the various forms of trace evidence most commonly encountered in forensic casework, such as hair and fibers, gunshot residue, glass, paint and fire debris.
