Mummies: A New Method For Analysis

 

After death, some corpses mummify rather than decay. This more likely will happen in very dry environments but can happen in almost any circumstance. If the corpse dessicates (dries out) more quickly than it decays, mummified remains are produced. These corpses are leathery, dark brown, and appear as if the skin has been “shrink wrapped” over the bones. They also can be very difficult to analyze.

For years, rehydrating finger pads with water, glycerin, and some other liquids, has allowed investigators to obtain fingerprints from mummified corpses. Now it seems that Alejandro Hernandez has found a way to do this with an entire mummified corpse. Very interesting.

 

 

Forensic Science and the Microscope

Without the microscope, there would be no forensic science. At least it would look nothing like it does today. When father and son Dutch lens makers Zaccharias and Hans Janssen discovered that lining up several of their spectacle lenses in a hollow tube would magnify any object viewed, they could never have imagined how their discovery would change the world. When Anton van Leeuwenhoek, the Father of Microscopy, perfected this design and incorporated it into his studies of biology and medicine, he too never imagined the invisible world he would enter. Science and medicine would never be the same and the gateway to modern forensic science was opened.

 

 

The forensic science disciplines of blood analysis, firearm comparisons, trace evidence (hair, fiber, paint, etc.) examination, took mark interpretation, and even document examination regularly employ various types of microscopy.  HERE are some examples.

 

Guest Blogger: Philip Donlay: COOL GADGET: THE BLACK BOX

One of the wonderful side effects of writing a novel is I get to do the research that helps me tell my story.  One such learning experience involved creating a plane crash, at night, in the ocean, well out of radar contact.  All communication with the aircraft is lost and the flight never arrives.  Which poses the difficult question for all concerned: Where did it go, what happened, and why?  Search and rescue elements are the first into the fray, floating debris is eventually located, and then accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board step into action.  Their job is to start piecing together the evidence.  In this case, a possible crime scene with hundreds of fatalities stretched out over several miles.  Of course, the fact that the wreckage is 12,000 feet below the surface of the ocean makes the job even more difficult.  The first order of business:  Recover the black boxes.

Black Box: A general term for any magical gadget no one understands. 

Actual names of the devices: Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).  They’re two separate units, and they’re not black, they are in fact painted bright orange for higher visibility in the recovery process.

Every airliner has some type of black box installed, usually near the tail, if that gives you any hint where scientists believe the least amount of damage occurs in a plane crash.

Though I’m convinced they could install these devices in the nose and they’d survive to tell their tale to investigators.

In testing the crash-worthiness of the black boxes, they must be designed to survive the following:

a.) Being shot from an air cannon to create an impact of 3,400Gs.

b.) A 500-pound weight, with a quarter-inch steel pin attached, is dropped from ten feet to test for puncture survivability.

c.) For five minutes, 5,000 pounds per square inch of crush force is applied to all axis points.

d.) For at least thirty minutes, the box is placed in flames that reach 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. (Aluminum, the prime material used in airliner construction, will melt at 1221 degrees Fahrenheit.)

e.) The box must survive in salt water for thirty days.  These sturdy gadgets will also survive an ocean plunge down to 20,000 feet, and automatically begin to ping an acoustic signal for up to thirty days.

After all of these tests, the data stored inside must still be retrievable.  These devices are made to survive because of what they contain.  Stored inside on magnetic tape, or on a memory chip, are all of the essential events leading up to a crash.  The Cockpit Voice Recorder will record sounds in the cockpit.  The pilot’s conversations, the radio transmissions, sound of other voices in the cockpit.  All of the audio is preserved for the investigators.

The Flight Data Recorder is required to monitor at least eighty-eight parameters, such as heading, speed, altitude, aircraft attitude in relation to level flight and so on.  The end result is, once recovered, the accident investigators can create a visual depiction of the aircraft’s final moments.  It’s usually from that data, combined with information from the CVR, that the root cause of the disaster is determined.  It can be as obvious as a bomb, or the crew unwittingly flying into the side of a mountain in weather, to the failure of a turbine blade inside a jet engine.  Using clues from the black boxes, a Boeing 747 that crashed into the ocean off Long Island was eventually salvaged and pieced back together in an empty hangar.  Investigators then determined that defective wiring had caused a fuel tank explosion.

At some point in the future, there won’t be black boxes in airliners.  The flight and voice data will be streamed real-time via satellite and stored until needed.  Which means the only black boxes recording data for accident investigators might be the one in your car.  But, until that day comes, hunting black boxes on the ocean floor remains high adventure.

Philip Donlay is a retired professional pilot, and the author of three high-flying thrillers.  Category Five, Code Black, and the newly released Zero Separation.

 

Wildlife Forensic Science versus Poachers

There was a time when the killing of endangered animals was fairly easy to cover. Elephants were slaughtered in great numbers for their tusks, bears for their gallbladders, and, of course, tigers and other large cats for their fur. These “byproducts of death” entered the market, the poachers returned to the hunt, never having to look over their shoulders, and life–or is it death?–went on.

 

Enter the US Fish and Wildlife Forensic Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon. This one-of-a-kind facility utilizes state-of-the-art forensic science techniques to determine the origin of any animal product. In many cases, this will lead investigators to the animal’s place of origin and then to the poachers themselves. Couldn’t happen to a nicer group.

 

 

Shoeprints on Clothing: A New Forensic Science Technique

Dr. Kevin Farrugia and his fellow scientists at the University of Abertay have developed a new technique for imaging latent (invisible) shoeprints left on clothing. The finding of any shoeprint is dependent on many factors, not the least of which is the substrate on which the print is laid down. Glass and other smooth, firm surfaces are best, and coarse surfaces such as carpets are often an insurmountable problem for crime scene investigators. Dr. Farrugia modified existing technology to develop his new technique, which could prove useful in future criminal investigations.

 

 

A New Small and Fast DNA Analyzer

One question I’m often asked is how long it takes to get a DNA result back from the lab. Currently it can be a few hours though a day or two, at best, is more realistic for most labs. But now it looks like NEC is working on a new suit-case-sized DNA analyzer that uses microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip” technology and can do the job in about an hour. Their goal is to lower that to around 25 minutes.

This microfluidic technology has many medical and research uses and a couple of the gadgets are roaming around Mars on the rover. This new DNA technology bears watching.

Curiosity Rover

 

Maggot DNA Identifies Corpse

Corpse identification is as much art as science. Sometimes no ID is possible and at other times creativity is required. In a recent case, where a badly charred body could not be identified due to the damage, DNA was extracted from the GI tracks of the fly maggots that had populated the corpse. Using the STR technique, DNA from the maggots was compared with DNA from the suspected victim’s father and a paternity-type match was made, proving the ID of the corpse to an accuracy of 99.685% according to the authors of the study.

This is the first time this technique has been used in this manner.

 

 

Q and A: Can My Killer Hack the Victim’s Implanted Defibrillator and Cause His Death?

Q: How could a failing ICD kill someone? My idea is for the victim to be an older individual who has this kind of device implanted in him. The killer hacks the wireless device in a similar manner to this: www.secure-medicine.org/icd-study/icd-study.pdf. According to this paper, the two attacks that seem most dangerous are to turn off therapy or to administer a V-fib shock intended for test purposes during the implantation procedure. How long would these take to kill someone? How healthy would someone be that had a pacemaker? How would this change if the victim had a mechanical cardiac pump?

Adam High, Marysville, CA

A: An AICD (Automatic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) is a fancy pacemaker that has a defibrillator built in to it. It is used in people who have very severe and dangerous cardiac arrhythmias such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation, both of which are typically immediately deadly. These rhythms can occur in anyone. but are very problematic in those with severe coronary artery disease and/or severely damaged heart muscles, which we call a cardiomyopathy. These people are highly prone to death from these dangerous arrhythmias, so these are the types of patients who receive these devices. These are also the types of patients that are candidates for cardiac transplants and artificial hearts, or what are called left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Since people who receive these assist devices have extremely damaged heart muscles and are at a very high risk of dangerous arrhythmias, they will also often receive an AICD at the same time.

 

 

An AICD basically monitors the cardiac rhythm, and when a dangerous rhythm occurs, they fire an electrical impulse which shocks the heart back to a normal rhythm. Sometimes it stops the heart and if so the pacemaker portion of the device will kick in. Some people have these devices implanted as a precautionary measure and never use them, while others have significant problems with arrhythmias and the device discharges more frequently. What this means is that turning off the defibrillator portion of the device will leave the victim a jeopardy but will not in of itself cause death. If he is one of those individuals that never uses the device, or only rarely, then your killer would have to wait a long time, and maybe forever, before the victim had a lethal change in heart rhythm. And since these devices are frequently checked, typically every 1 to 3 months, it would be noted during the check that this portion of the device had been turned off. So that leaves a narrow window for something serendipitously to happen. Most killers want more assurance that their method will work.

 

 

A better method is to trick the device into firing an impulse in the hopes that it would start a dangerous arrhythmia. Again this is not assured. In the cardiac catheterization lab, after the device is implanted, it is tested by inducing one of these arrhythmias. But the heart doesn’t always cooperate. Sometimes the rhythm cannot be induced. That would be the same situation with your victim. That is hacking the device and causing it to deliver a shock that was an appropriate might or might not cause the desired effect––a deadly cardiac arrhythmia.

Neither of these methods are assured of working, but of the two, I would go with hacking the device and delivering an inappropriate jolt of electricity. This would have the greatest probability of causing the result your killer wants. If so, death would be immediate.

 

 

New Murder Cam Can Map a Crime Scene in 10 Minutes

One of the most important tasks investigators must perform at a crime scene is documenting it in an accurate manner. Sketches, notes, voice recordings, photos, and videos have each been employed in this endeavor. Though this is painstaking and time-consuming work, accurate documentation of the scene is critical on many levels. Crime scene documentation helps investigators see and understand the elements of the crime, aids in crime scene reconstruction, and helps support or refute suspect and witness statements, not to mention offers prosecutors useful facts and images to use in the courtroom.

Now it appears that a new “Murder Cam” can scan and create a 360-degree, 3D image of the scene. And do it in only 10 minutes. This could prove to be a very useful new tool.

 

Cambridge News Article

 

 

Guest Blogger: Katherine Ramsland: Crime Beat Becomes Crime Tweet

Crime Beat Becomes Crime Tweet
A Philadelphia cop taps social media for crime control

Using social media doesn’t just mean mundane status lines and community games. Joseph Murray, a Philadelphia-based detective, has devised a unique way to combine Twitter with his neighborhood watch. As a result, he’s made his area a safer place. Hopefully, his idea will go viral. Imagine all these Twitter-communities keeping watch.

Murray is a third-generation police officer and long-time Philadelphia resident. He joined the force when he was just 19. Six years later, he became a detective. He started his online networking efforts with community blogs when he became a member of the Southwest Division. He wanted potential victims to be aware of danger zones – especially those that were presently in progress. Twitter provided a great tool, for both brevity and speed.

Murray opened a Twitter account in 2009 and identified himself as a detective. He’s @TheFuzz9143 (his badge number). He signaled that he would be posting tweets about crime patterns, suspects, and public safety. He asked people to let him know if he could be of assistance. It was an invitation to be involved.

“Everyblock is reporting a stranger rape on the 200block of 47th Friday night,” one Tweeter writes. “Nothing in news. Is this true?”

“Not true,” TheFuzz9143 responds. “Can’t find anything in any computer system we have here.” Followers can see the response and retweet it. If he gets an update, he can send it out at once, and the update quickly spreads.

In another tweet, Murray related a “great job done by a few citizens who called police when they spotted a guy who committed a robbery a few nights ago. Arrest made. Phone returned.”

As of today, he has acquired around 1285 followers, many of whom live in his area. He’s known some followers as long as 5 years, from the earlier message boards.

“I started Twitter,” he says, “because the neighborhood message boards were becoming irrelevant. I wanted to use the popular medium. You have to adapt or you’ll be left behind.”

He’s aware of the limitations of a few cops driving around a neighborhood: they can be in only one place at any given time. Citizens who join the effort to keep their neighborhoods safe offer more eyes and ears. It’s also a way to build trust and cooperation. Even Philadelphia’s mayor has posted tweets on Murray’s feed.

On a daily basis, he tweets where and when crimes are occurring (“just had a gunpoint Robbery on 47th Street”), and responds to queries. For example, they arrested a guy in the process of a car-jacking who couldn’t figure out a stick shift. Murray even tweets to criminals not yet arrested, warning them they’ll be in custody soon.

Murray is a face to which people can relate, a protector who listens. He’ll even comment on mundane things like what he’s eating or the billboard ads he notices. When things are quiet, he offers safety tips or posts a photo he just took. If someone wants to send a tip confidentially, Murray provides his private email address.

To spread the word, reporters have written about Murray’s efforts to lift the veil that often blocks the police from the community they serve. One Philadelphia journalist contacted residents to get their reactions, finding individuals who keep Murray’s Twitter feed on their home pages or who feel like Murray is a friend. This is positive community policing in action. One neighborhood watch group routinely checks Murray’s tweets before they go out on patrol.

Recently, bureaucracy slowed things down, as officials realized that policies must be in place before officers reach out in this medium. “Per a new directive,” Murray tweeted in January, “all personnel wanting to use social media under their official title must get approval from the commissioner.”

The Philadelphia Police Department recognizes the service Murray provides and they’re currently training 12-15 officers to exploit social network opportunities for community relations. It’s important to have consistency. The department itself has a Twitter feed, @Phillypolice.

The concept is simple: train officers to use Twitter, publicize their “beat” locally, and invite followers to provide information about things they observe. Also, provide followers with safety tips and updates (where possible) about local crime. It’s a terrific way to tap the networking power of social media. It’s not a replacement for 911, but it does connect a lot of people. It also makes them feel safer and more involved.

Let’s hope more towns and cities pick up on it. As Murray states, “It’s win-win.”

Dr. Katherine Ramsland is an associate professor of forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University. She teaches undergraduate, graduate, and online courses there, specializing in forensic procedures and issues. She holds master’s degrees in clinical psychology from Duquesne University, criminal justice from DeSales University, and forensic psychology from the esteemed John Jay College of Criminal Justice, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy.

In addition to four graduate degrees, she has a certification in Medical Investigation (CMI-V) from the American College of Forensic Examiners International, and she is on the board of the Cyril Wecht Institute and the International College of Behavioral Science. Her current teaching interests involve forensic science admissibility, psychological investigation procedures, serial killers, and the neuroscience of violence and psychopathy.

Dr. Ramsland has published forty books, including The CSI Effect, The Forensic Science of CSI, The Science of Cold Case Files, The Devil’s Dozen: How Cutting-edge Forensics Took Down Twelve Notorious Serial Killers, Inside the Minds of Serial Killers, Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers, Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers, The Human Predator: A Historical Chronology of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation, The Criminal Mind: A Writers’ Guide to Forensic Psychology, and The Mind of a Murderer: Privileged Access to the Demons that Drive Extreme Violence.

She also wrote biographies of Anne Rice and Dean Koontz, and a trilogy of nonfiction books involving “immersion journalism,” Piercing the Darkness, Ghost, and Cemetery Stories. In this same genre, she penned The Science of Vampires and is at work on Paranormal Forensics.

With Dr. Henry C. Lee and his lab director, Elaine Pagliaro, Dr. Ramsland wrote the course text, The Real Life of a Forensic Scientist. With former FBI profiler Gregg McCrary, she co-authored a book on his cases, The Unknown Darkness: Profiling the Predators Among Us, and with Professor James E. Starrs, A Voice for the Dead, which is a collection of his cases of historical exhumations and forensic investigation. Dr. Ramsland’s work been translated into ten languages and she has published over 1,000 articles on serial killers, criminology, forensic science, and criminal investigation. She was also a research assistant to former FBI profiler, John Douglas, which became The Cases that Haunt Us. She currently writes a regular feature on forensic investigation for The Forensic Examiner (some of which is based on her history of forensic science, Beating the Devil’s Game). Her most recent book is Snap! Seizing Your Aha! Moments.

Dr. Ramsland presents workshops to law enforcement, psychologists, social workers, probation/parole organizations, judges, and attorneys. Her observations on criminality have drawn USA Today, the Daily News, the Newark Star Ledger, and other newspapers for commentary. She has consulted for episodes of CSI and Bones, and has participated on numerous documentaries for CBS, ABC, A&E, ID, the History Channel, E!, WE, and Court TV, as well as programs abroad. For the ID series, “American Occult,” she was the recurring expert.