Howdunit Forensics
D P Lyle
Language: English
Pages: 448
ISBN: 1582974748
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Just because you don't have all the tools and training of a full-time medical examiner doesn't mean you can't learn your way around a crime scene.
In Forensics, award-winning author and TV show consultant D.P. Lyle, M.D., takes each area of forensics—from fingerprint analysis to crime scene reconstruction—and discusses its development, how the science works, how it helps in crime solving, and how you as a writer might use this technique in crafting your plot. This comprehensive reference guide includes:
- Real-life case files and the role forensic evidence played in solving the crimes
- A breakdown of the forensics system from its history and organization to standard evidence classification and collection methods
- Detailed information on what a dead body can reveal—including the cause, mechanism, and manner of death
- The actual steps taken to preserve a crime scene and the evidence that can be gathered there, such as bloodstains, documents, fingerprints, tire impressions, and more
Forensics is the ultimate resource for learning how to accurately imbue your stories with authentic details of untimely demises.
homicide scene, it would suggest that he participated in or was at least present during or after the commission of the crime. He might say he was never at the scene, but his shoeprints in the victim’s blood would say otherwise. The manufacturer, size, and style of the shoe can be determined from the shoeprint. The FBI keeps a database of thousands of footwear sole patterns that a print can easily be checked against. This determination can be used to include or exclude a suspect as the possible
tested by submerging the piece of glass in a liquid, such as silicon oil, that changes its RI according to its temperature. The oil is then slowly heated. At the point where the piece of glass seems to disappear, the RIs of the glass and the oil are equal. Since the RI of the silicon oil at any given temperature is known, measuring the temperature yields the RI of the glass. One problem with matching two pieces of colored glass is that each person sees or perceives color differently. To get
to destroy evidence. LAWFUL ARREST: If a suspect has been lawfully arrested, he and any property in his immediate control, such as a home or vehicle, may be searched for evidence. CONSENTED SEARCH: No warrant is needed if the party in question consents to a search of his person or property. Once the search is done and the evidence is found, what then? The evidence must be protected, collected, and properly preserved. PROTECTING THE EVIDENCE Protecting the crime scene and evidence is of
victim “pull the plug” on the ventilator, they must be absolutely sure the individual has no hope for survival. Otherwise, they could be implicated in the death. And you can bet that prosecutors and defense attorneys would be on opposite sides of any dispute surrounding when to take the victim off life support. The Terri Schiavo case would be an example of such legal jousting. Another controversy would arise if this same brain-dead individual were to be an organ donor. Before the donation, the
the double-stranded DNA into its two component strands. Before each strand can be copied, it must be separated from its mate. This is accomplished by heating the sample to 94ºC to 96ºC. The result looks like this: A-T-C-C-G-C-T-T-A + heat =A-T-C-C-G-C-T-T-A T-A-G-G-C-G-A-A-T T-A-G-G-C-G-A-A-T Annealing is the process of “priming” the copying process. Basically it’s a jump-start. Short primer DNA sequences are added to the DNA sample and it is heated to 55ºC to 72ºC. This initiates, or primes,