Shelby Turner | 6-2-11
http://www.epier.com/product.asp?1746019
Why…

Always interested in Forensics
 I Love:
○ CSI
○ Criminal Minds
○ NCIS
○ Etc.

Narrowed my careers to two
 Chemical Engineer
 Forensic Scientist
office.microsoft.com
What I learned…
What it is like in the “real world” and the
workplace
 How to log new evidence
 The different units in the lab
 What the trace unit analyzes
 What it’s like to work with others

 Not everything revolves around my schedule
office.microsoft.com
What I did…

Worked at the front desk
 Logged evidence

Observed in the trace unit
 Chain of custody

Worked on training guide
 For future interns

Worked on database
 product
My Product

Purpose
 To categorize/organize known evidence
 Easier to make comparisons
 Needed for certification

Intended Audience
 Northville Trace Unit
 Other forensic labs
My Product
Key
1 = Hairs
2 = Fibers
Identifier
Category Description
3 = Paint/ Pigments
1-1
1-2
1-3
Animal
Animal
Animal
Mink - gray phase, guard
Mink - gray phase body
Mink - gray phase , belly
4 = Glass
5 = Feathers
6 = Explosives
7 = Polymers
1-4
1-5
1-6
Animal
Animal
Animal
Mink - brown phase , guard
Mink - brown phase , body
Mink - brown phase , belly
2-119
2-120
2-121
2-122
Natural
Natural
Natural
Natural
2-123
2-124
2-125
2-126
Natural
Natural
8-66
Leather
8-67
8-68
8-69
8-70
Drano
Breast Implant
Breast Implant
Duct Tape
8 = Miscellaneous
9 = Sets
Source
Flax
Tossa
Meshta (or Kenaf)
White Jute
Ramie
(degummed)
Flax - Water Ret Flax
Nylon 501, filament
Kodel - Polyester
Unknown
substance in
murder case
Sets ID
Ludlow Corporation
Ludlow Corporation
Ludlow Corporation
Ludlow Corporation
Ludlow Corporation
Ludlow Corporation
E. I. du Pont de Nemours
Eastman Chemical
9-7-1
Commercial Furs
9-8-2
Commercial Fibers
9-9-2
Synthetic and Manufactured Fibers
9-10
Chemical compounds
Research Question
What is Trace Evidence and why is it
important in criminal investigations?

Why I chose this question:
 Different sources
 Learn more about Practicum
 General question
My Answer

What is trace?
 It is the miscellaneous evidence
○ Footprints
○ Hairs
○ Fibers

How is it important?
 Can provide a solution when blood doesn’t
 Creates connections between
○ Suspect – victim – crime scene
office.microsoft.com
AP Answer

Crime shows are not realistic
 Takes a long time to analyze evidence

Trace unit analyzes what others don’t
 Unknown chemical compounds -> footprints ->
rare animal hairs
1-210
1-211
1-212
1-213
1-214
1-215
1-216
Animal
Animal
Animal
Animal
Animal
Animal
Animal
Hyena - Spotted
Grysbok
Impala
Llama - various natural colors
Eland
Buffalo
Chinchilla
“When we are given hairs...”
(Morden)
CSI – Trace Unit
Trace and Blood analysis
Found a new suspect
(Zuiker)
(Hoyt)
Locard’s Exchange
Principle
He stated:
• There is always proof
• A cross-transfer
• Can’t be removed
•
“It is impossible for a criminal to
act…”
Usually
microscopic
office.microsoft.com
(“Locard’s Exchange Principle”)
Hairs

Trace is most often small
 It is almost impossible to clear away from a
crime scene

(“Trace Evidence”)
The most common type of evidence
analyzed by the trace unit is hairs
(Morden)
 We lose 50-100 daily
(“Hair Loss”)
office.microsoft.com
Fibers
3 types:
•
Natural, Synthetic, Derived
(de Forest, 192)
• Most
common is cotton
• Useful when dyed
(de Forest, 194)
• Connection of rare blue
fibers in a crime
office.microsoft.com
The Tests

Refractive Index:
 Is done using a polarized light microscope
 Measures the amount of refractive light
(Petraco, 77)

Spectroscopy
 Measures the, “absorption, scattering, or
emission of electromagnetic radiation by
atoms or molecules”
(“Spectroscopy”)

Chromatography
 Measures the “stickiness” of compounds
 Allows for multiple source testing
(“Chromatography”)
The Tests
Spectroscopy
http://www.ap.stmarys.ca/~ishort/Astro/
Chromatography
http://www.dnassequencing.com/2011/04/16/chromatography/
Efficiency & Accuracy
Catch the “bad guy” quickly
 All evidence > just fingerprints

 More likely the suspect is guilty
 Imagine a case:
○ Woman is found dead on couch
○ Fingerprints = her friend
○ Friend has no alibi = friend is guilty
○ STOP
○ Gray fibers under fingernails
○ From husband’s gray shirt
○ HUSBAND IS GUILTY
Case of Brandon Mayfield
Case: Train Bombing in Madrid
Suspect: Brandon Mayfield
Evidence: Latent Print
Warrant Granted
Not his Fingerprint
“According to the British standard…”
“However…”
(“crime”)
Detection of
Crime
• Reported by civilian
and police Investigate
Forensic
Investigators
analyze scene
The path of a crime
• Evidence collection and documentation
Suspect is
determined
• Based on witnesses, type of crime,
and motive
Evidence is
used to connect
suspect to crime
• Evidence undergoes
different tests
Suspect is
interrogated
about evidence
found
• Often investigators get
a confession
Case goes to
trial
• Suspect
found
guilty
(“crime”)
Conclusion

Research question:
 What is trace evidence and why is it
important in criminal investigations?

Answer:
 Usually microscopic
 Occurs with contact
 Proves a connection
○ When DNA and blood don’t
 Is efficient and accurate
Conclusion

What I learned:
 That forensic science is not for me
 That SMP helped me:
○ Prepare for future
○ Prepare for workplace

Future goals:




U of M Chemical Engineering
Master’s Degree
Study abroad
Work for a major corporation:
○ Maybe pharmaceuticals
Bibliography
“crime.” Encyclopaedia Britannic.Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2011.Encyclopaedia Britannica
Online.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/142953/crime>.
“Crime Scene Investigation.”World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/crime-scene-investigation>.
De, Forest Peter R., R. E. Gaensslen, and Henry C. Lee. Forensic Science: an
Introduction to Criminalistics. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1983. Print.
“Fibers.”World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Gale
Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/fibers>.
“Forensic Science.”World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth
Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/trace-evidence>
Gardner, Edward. "Using a Reflected Ultraviolet Imaging System to Recover Friction
Ridge Impressions on Post-Blast Material." Journal of Forensic Identification. Vol.
60. International Association for Identification, 2010. 104-18. Print.
Bibliography
"Hair Loss." American Academy of Dermatology.American Academy of Dermatology,
2011.Web. 4 May 2011. <http://www.aad.org/skin-conditions/dermatology-ato-z/hair-loss>.
Houck, Max M. Mute Witnesses: Trace Evidence Analysis. San Diego, Calif: Academic,
2001. Print.
Houck, Max M. Trace Evidence Analysis: More Cases in Mute Witnesses. Amsterdam:
Elsevier Academic, 2004. Print.
Hoyt, Jacqueline. "Death and the Maiden." CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Prod. Jerry
Bruckheimer. Dir. Brad Tanenbaum. CBS. WWJ-TV, 5 Nov. 2009. Youtube.com.
6 Nov. 2009. Web. 17 May 2011.
“Locard’s Exchange Principle.” World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/locard-s-exchange-principle>.
Morden, Charles, Cheryl Lozen, and Heidi Bonta."Adult Partner."Personal interview. 29 Mar.
2011.
Petraco, Nicholas, and Thomas Kubic. Color Atlas and Manual of Microscopy for
Criminalists, Chemists and Conservators. Boca Raton: CRC, 2004. Print.
Bibliography
“Physical Evidence.”World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth
Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/physical-evidence>.
“Spectroscopy.”World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth
Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/spectroscopy>.
“Thin Layer Chromatography.”World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda
Wilmoth Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/trace-evidence>.
“Trace Evidence.”World of Forensic Science.Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth
Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006. eNotes.com. 2006.Web. 29 Apr.
2011.<http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/trace-evidence>.
Zuiker, Anthony E. "If I Had a Hammer." CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Dir. Brad
Tanenbaum. Prod. Jerry Bruckheimer. CBS. WWJ-TV, 23 Apr.
2009. Youtube.com. 28 Apr. 2009. Web. 16 May 2011.