Forensic Geology
SFS1. Students will recognize and classify various types of
evidence in relation to the definition and scope of Forensic
Science.
b. Distinguish and categorize physical and trace evidence (e.g. soil).
c. Determine the proper techniques to search, isolate, collect, and record
physical and trace evidence.
SFS2. Students will use various scientific techniques to
analyze physical and trace evidence.
b. Analyze the morphology and types of soil.
e. Determine the appropriate uses of chromatography and spectroscopy in
evidence analysis.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
1.
2.
3.
What is the forensic significance of
soil?
How can soils be distinguished
from each other?
How can soils be analyzed to
determine the origin or
composition?
What Is Soil?
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Mixture of organic and inorganic material
May range from 100% inorganic (sand)
to nearly 100% organic (peat)
Inorganic part is minerals
Organic part is decayed plant and animal
material and is sometimes called humus
Composition of a “good” soil
sand
silt
clay
Figure 6.17
The Soil Triangle
Official Soil Series Descriptions

The Official Soil Series Descriptions
(OSD) is a national collection of
more than 20,000 detailed soil series
descriptions, covering the land areas
served by the US Department of
Agriculture—National Resources
Conservation Service
Richmond County OSDs
Bibb and Osier soils – grey, acidic, loamy
 Troup fine sand – brown, acidic, loamy
 Lakeland sand – yellow-brown, acidic, sandy
 Wedowee (Westside HS site) –
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grey-brown, acidic, loamy
Major Land Resource Areas

Major land resource areas (MLRAs)
are geographically associated land
resource units (LRUs). Identification
of these large areas is important in
statewide agricultural planning and
has value in interstate, regional, and
national planning.
Richmond County MLRAs
Southern Piedmont
Carolina and
Georgia Sand Hills
Southern Coastal Plain
Soil Orders
Just as organisms are classified into
orders and families, so are soils.
 There are 12 soil orders in US Soil
Taxonomy system
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There are 31 orders in the UN Food
and Agriculture Resource system
Soil Profile
O
A
Tifton Soil
B
Ultisol
Forensic Significance of Soil

Soil is class evidence - cannot be
individualized to a particular location
There is no uniform classification
system
 Soils can be easily transported
 Soils within a few meters horizontally
or vertically differ

Forensic Analysis of Soils

Soil has a number of properties that
allow for good characterization:
Color
 Grain size distribution
 Mineralogy

Forensic Analysis of Soils
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Bulk analysis
Density gradient
 Particle size distribution (sieving)
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Inorganic components
Color (dissolve in water)
 Petrography - mineral analysis via
x-ray diffraction, nuclear resonance, or
mass spectroscopy

Forensic Analysis of Soils
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Organic components
Liquid chromatography
 Oxygen availability
 Bacterial DNA? - Future possibility

Collection of Samples
Usually only 1 tablespoon of soil is
collected as a sample
 Soil is sampled from around and
beneath the remains
 Soil contaminated items are bagged
intact and allowed to dry (unless
contains biological evidence as well)

Some Interesting Cases Where Geological
Evidence Has Been Important
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Margarethe Filbert (Germany 1908)
The Japanese Balloon Bombs (1945)
Adolph Coors (Colorado 1960)
Enrico Camarena (Mexico 1985)
Becky O’Connell (South Dakota 1990)
Margarethe Filbert
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Filbert was murdered and found in a field
Hairs were found in her hand; turned out to be
her own
Principal suspect was Andre Schlicher, a
factory worker and farmer
Schlicher denied the accusation of murder;
claimed he was tending his own fields
Margarethe Filbert
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A pair of pants, gun, and ammo were found at
an abandoned castle near the crime scene
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Suspect admitted ownership, but that he had
deposited them before the day of the murder
Encrustation of soil was noted on suspect’s
shoes
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Shoes were admittedly his, had been worn on the
day of the murder, and had been cleaned the
previous day
Margarethe Filbert
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Important geological findings:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Suspect’s yard had goose droppings
Suspect’s field had fairly rare minerals
Castle had coal, brick, and cement
Crime scene had red minerals
Examination of the suspect’s shoe found –
A.
B.
C.
Goose droppings stuck to sole
Red minerals adhering to the goose droppings
Mixture of coal, brick, and cement on top
The Japanese Balloon Bombs
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Over 9000 balloon bombs were sent to the
continental US, only ~300 reached shore
Examination of the ballast revealed sand from
2 possible beaches in Japan
Aerial reconnaissance revealed a hydrogen gas
factory, which was bombed
One reached as far as Detroit, but there were
only 6 casualties (Oregon)
Adolph Coors
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Adolph Coors III is kidnapped from his ranch
More than 50 ransom notes are recovered, but
no other contact is made
FBI traces the plates of a suspicious vehicle
that had been “casing” the ranch to Walter
Osborne
Osborne’s fingerprint from his DL was
connected to an escaped prisoner -- Corbett
Adolph Coors
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A few days after Coors disappeared,
Osborne/Corbett left town
That week, police in NJ found a burnt-out car
in a dump, the VIN matching the vehicle tied
to the kidnapping
6 months later, Coors’s body is found in a
dump near Denver
Adolph Coors
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Four depositional strata found:
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4th contained material from around New Jersey
dump where he burned car
3rd contained pink granite near where body was
found
2nd had unique minerals from around ranch
1st had pink granite related to Rocky Mtns
Enrico Camarena
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US DEA Special Agent Camarena disappeared
in Mexico
Body was later discovered in central Mexico
Mexican govt. raised suspicions when they
questions why the lost of one agent was of
major concern
When the FBI requested samples of the soil
found with the remains and the soil where the
body was found, they did not match.
Enrico Camarena
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Soil from the body indicated initial location
was ~100 km north of the final burial
Search was narrowed to a more specific site,
and cadaver dogs were used to pinpoint the
original location of the remains.
Mexican police had made arrangements with
drug traffickers to move the body once US had
pressured them to investigate.
Becky O’Connell
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9-year-old O’Connell was kidnapped from a
convenience store, driven to a secluded
wooded area, raped, and stabbed to death.
Suspicion fell on Donald Eugene Moeller
because of prior sex crime involvement.
State geologist analyzed soil found in wheel
wells of defendant’s pickup truck. Issue was
whether soil came from crime scene south of
Sioux Falls or from a road north of Sioux Falls
where defendant claimed he was at time of
crime
Becky O’Connell
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Geologist testified that soil could have come
from crime scene.
Convicted with death penalty, but appealed.
In appeal, the probative value of the
geologist’s evidence was questioned (too
speculative).
Defense challenged geologist’s “visual
inspection” of evidence – should have used
more advanced techniques
Appeals court upheld conviction