investigation
Whodunnit, and why? All about criminal investigations and the forensic methods used to search for clues and collect evidence to get to the bottom of the crime.
Old School Fingerprints Just Don't Cut It Anymore
Fingerprints may seem old school to people today. After all, we've been using them in this country to catch the bad guys for over 100 years. Now there is an all-you-can-read smorgasbord of new and exciting discoveries in fingerprinting that will amaze you! It is no longer a world of loops, whirls, and arches, but one of chemistry, nanoparticles, and physics.
By Monica Bennett6 years ago in Criminal
The McStay Family
On February 4, 2010, a family of four vanished from their home. Joseph Mcstay was 40 at the time he went missing and his wife Summer was 43. They had two kids; Gianni was 4 and Joseph Jr. was 3. The family's home was searched after they disappeared and there was a carton of eggs left on the counter and two bowls of popcorn left on the sofa. It was obvious that the family left in a hurry. Were they running from something, someone?
By Faith McCune6 years ago in Criminal
New Data on DNA
DNA Methylation You do not need a degree in biochemistry to get the gist of forensic DNA. Everyone gets the fact that DNA is unique to each human being, and can be used to connect a perpetrator to a crime. The first crime solved by the analysis of DNA was in 1988 in England when Colin Pitchfork was convicted of murder, thanks to the efforts of Alec Jeffreys. We've come a long way, baby. New developments in DNA forensics are both remarkable and frightening. We'll start with what is remarkable.
By Monica Bennett6 years ago in Criminal
Basic Ballistics
Ballistics is a science that encompasses more than you think it does. There are several disciplines including internal ballistics which deals with the actual propulsion of a bullet through a gun, while external ballistics is the analyzing of the bullet's path through the air. There are several things that can influence a bullet's flight path, such as wind, weather, and air drag. Impact of a bullet is categorized as terminal ballistics. This leads to analyzing the angle and depth of wounds and impacts into walls or ceilings and various objects which have been struck. In April of 1925, Calvin Goddard established the Bureau of Forensic Ballistics in New York City with C. E. Waite, Philip O. Gravelle, and John H. Fisher. The biggest advance in ballistics was the invention, by Gravelle, of the comparison microscope. This device enabled scientists to see a crime scene bullet at the same time as a bullet test-fired from a suspect's gun.
By Monica Bennett6 years ago in Criminal
Bloodstain Patterns
Blood is a substance with characteristics you probably don't think about. Tap a blood drop and it's sticky, walk through a blood stain and it's slippery. It is a non-Newtonian fluid and behaves much like ketchup. During a violent encounter, blood will stick to surfaces in patterns called blood spatter. The correct term is spatter, not splatter. These patterns can be read by someone who has been trained to do so, and they may discern the story of a violent crime as easily as you read this. Blood spatter occurs when blood is impacted by a violent attack. Droplets fly through the air and deposit on surfaces. The shape of a droplet changes depending on the type of surface it hits. Drops on glass will be very different from drops that land on wood. The angle of impact changes the shape of blood drops as do the velocity and distance traveled. Stains will either be round or elliptical depending on the angle of impact. If you measure the width and length of a droplet, you can determine the angle of impact. From this information, the location of the victim and perpetrator during the attack may be determined.
By Monica Bennett6 years ago in Criminal
The Stranger Next Door (Pt. 3)
It was the morning after the night before and I felt like death. I could hear the voices of my friends downstairs as I struggled to enter the waking world. How they had the energy to still be giggling like children, I will never know. I could hear the kettle boiling, no doubt somebody was making tea and coffee for the sore heads in my living room. The thought of caffeine helped me lift my heavy head from the pillow and drag myself downstairs.
By Sophia Merici6 years ago in Criminal
Puzzled Mysteries Part 7
Chapter 13 They both went to their own desks and got to work right away. When Adams sat down in his chair, he went right onto the computer to go onto the internet to see if he could find anything on there about any shootings that have happened in the last couple of days, while Norris sat in his chair reading the puzzle.
By Mathew Kentner6 years ago in Criminal
The Disappearance of Jennifer Kesse
Jennifer Kesse was born in New Jersey on May 20, 1981. She attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando and graduated with a degree in finance in 2003. Shortly after graduating she bought a condo in Orlando and started work as a finance manager at Central Florida Investments Timeshare Company. She had just returned from a holiday to The Virgin Islands with her boyfriend, Rob, and they were looking forward to taking the next step in their relationship. Then, on January 23/24 of 2006, she disappeared.
By Molly Kent6 years ago in Criminal
10 Worst Investigation Mistakes in Serial Murder Cases
These are the most mind-boggling mistakes that law enforcement has made during serial killer cases throughout history. You would be shocked by the number of times a serial killer has been under the power of the police, just to be effortlessly released to kill again.
By Kelsey Lange6 years ago in Criminal
The Deadly Secret
On Investigation Discovery, the show Vanity Fair Confidential revealed the story of how the governor of Delaware's secretary named Anne Marie Fahey disappeared. She was a beautiful woman, but also a troubled soul who vanished without a trace.
By Darryl C. Richie6 years ago in Criminal
Child Exploitation in London: Why Are the Met Failing?
It's nearing Christmas and I'm sat in a lecture room at University being given my next assignment. I have to investigate something and write a feature about what I find. I decided to investigate child exploitation in London, and along the way I found out that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is in special measures for the failings they have made in this area. I cannot show my submitted coursework, but here is a report on the issue that I feel needs to be known about:
By Skylar Rose Pridgeon6 years ago in Criminal