Latent fingerprints are left with trace sweats and oils from unique patterns, providing the first great forensic human identifier about a century ago.
One of the few problems, however: the fingermarks can dehydrate over long periods of time. Cold cases may thus be a challenge.
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A man who was convicted of the murder of a bar owner and two nightclub dancers in 1994 spent 16 years on death row. Appeals, crowdfunding and intense public interest from Europe all paved the way for a third trial for Pablo Ibar earlier this year.
Ibar was found guilty in January, and was recently sentenced to life in the Florida prison system, despite the defense’s contention that surveillance camera footage and the DNA evidence were not conclusive.
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The modern mugshot, with a frontal and profile image apiece, was devised by the famous French criminalist Alphonse Bertillon in the late 19th century. For more than a century, it has provided law enforcement with a way to catalog and keep track of repeat offenders and suspects.
The problem: it is inherently two-dimensional, and doesn’t readily allow for comparison with images that may be important to an investigation, such as surveillance camera footage from a high angle at a crime scene.
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Digital forensics, much like DNA, can be the key to unlocking unbiased truth. It offers its own patterns and ""codes"" that the examiner can link directly to a person. We have heard the rumblings. Our ubiquitous digital devices are ""today’s DNA.""
Just as DNA evidence revolutionized investigations in the 1990s, digital forensics is now becoming the best science, the leading tool, and our most powerful weapon for use in the ever-evolving criminal landscape.
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The “arms race” of mobile forensics – ever-tougher encryption and the breakneck operations to crack it – has become more of a public tug-of-war than ever before.
Cellebrite, the largest player in the mobile-forensics industry, unveiled its UFED Premium last Friday. Along with the announcement came the bombshell: that it can now get into any Apple iOS device, and many of the high-end Android devices.
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Pinpointing time of death of a corpse can be an uncertain science. Many factors, including weather conditions and location of body storage, can confound traditional time of death analysis techniques. More accurate methods for identifying time of death could go a long way in connecting a name to unidentified remains or establishing the truthfulness of an alibi in a murder trial.
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With today’s technology, forensic science is undergoing a transformation by using new techniques, such as DNA phenotyping and virtual autopsies. Read on to find out how these new methodologies are being used to solve crimes that may have previously gone unsolved.
Simply stated, forensic science is the application of science to law (both civil and criminal). Because of popular television shows, most people are familiar with forensic science as it applies to solving crimes, as it can be the difference between proving guilt or innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. Some accepted forensic science techniques include fingerprint analysis, toxicology, ballistics, DNA, and blood splatter analysis.
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The University of Toledo recently received a research grant from the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Pet Partners for a new study, “Implementation of Canine-Assisted Forensic interviews with Children.” The study will measure whether a therapy dog can influence the quantity and quality of children's event reports.
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Small, clingy and nearly impossible to clean up. The attributes of glitter that drive moms, dads and teachers mad are the same characteristics investigators and forensic scientists hail. As far as trace evidence goes, glitter is one of the hardest for perpetrators to eliminate at a crime scene.
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The analysis of hair has been a “hairy” situation for forensic science over the years. Traditionally, scientists examined hair under a microscope and then testified that it either matched or did not match hair found at a crime scene. However, this type of analysis is no longer considered scientifically valid and has been put to rest as part of a forensic science overhaul that began in 2009 with the now-famous National Academy of Sciences report.
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Inhaling dust that contains fly ash particles from coal combustion has been linked to lung and heart disease, cancer, nervous system disorders and other ill effects. But tracking the presence of coal ash in dust has been a challenge for scientists. Until now.
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First responders, doctors, and hospital staff do everything they can to save the lives of gunshot wound (GSW) victims. At times, they succeed, resulting in about 70,000 survivors of firearm injuries annually in the United States. But once survivors walk out the hospital doors and away from attentive eyes, it’s a different story. A new study from researchers at Penn Medicine reveals survivors of GSWs have negative physical, mental and emotional outcomes for years after injury.
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Moqi has officially releasing its new Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) at the Milipol Conference in Paris. According to the company, this new AFIS system, called FingerID, leverages the newest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
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Fentanyl overdoses cluster geographically more than non-fentanyl overdoses, according to a study just released by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The findings suggest that fentanyl-involved overdoses are concentrated in resource deprived neighborhoods over and above what data show for opioid and polydrug overdoses.
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Barnacles are encrusting arthropods that attach to all kinds of surfaces, including rocks, boats, and even human remains. In 2002, police discovered a highly decomposed human body in the water on the southwest coast of Italy. The forensic pathologist on the case didn’t have a lot to go on to determine how long the body had been in the water. The only clue found was barnacles on the victim’s pants and shoes.
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