Final Investigation

 The Suspects

Ginger Snap

• Red-haired
• Bartender
• Arrested for Drugs
• Blood-type O+
• Central Pocket loop Fingerprint

 

Candi Stores

• Artificially colored red hair
• Adult Entertainer
• Arrested for Drugs
• Arrested for theft
• Blood-type O+
• Tented Arch Fingerprint

The Clues

1. Red-Haired woman with throat slit on hood of a car, could be Ginger
2. 2 spots of blood, match both ginger and Candi
3. Tented arch fingerprint, matches candi
4. Dark red lipstick (maybe Candi’s) on outside of a plastic cup
5. Clear Plastic cup with a blue liquid on bottom, negative for drugs and poison
6. Cotton fibers, unknown origin
7. Two Notes
1. Note reading “I needed the money” in Candi’s handwriting
2. Note reading “Please help me” in Ginger’s handwriting
8. Long, thick black fiber, possibly from Candi’s dress
9. Artificial gold necklace
10. Central pocket loop fingerprint matching Ginger
11. Anonymous prints on a watch glass.

The Story

Candi and Ginger worked together at a strip club. Ginger worked as a bartender and Candi was the entertainment. Ginger had used drugs before, but had been clean for some time. Candi used drugs frequently and tried to convince Ginger to join her. Candi really wanted Ginger’s money so she could pay for drugs. Ginger refused to give her money or do drugs, but Candi persisted in asking. This led Ginger send a note to one of her friends asking for help, however, she was never able to send the note. Before she could, Candi, after several drinks at a bar, sought out Ginger for money again and this time, when she refused, assaulted her. The fight ended with Candi murdering Ginger. After taking everything of value on Candi’s person, but the necklace (It was fake and worth very little) she wrote a short note to explain, then fled.

Preliminary Practice

Fingerprints

When we first studied Fingerprints we examined both our own fingerprints and those of another. Creating ‘modus operandi’ sheets, we set ourselves up as criminals who had been caught and were being booked by a police department. Along with our fingerprints, we also entered our height, weight and the like, signing it all to an alias. I am 5’6”, a shoe size of women’s  8.5, light brown hair, not dyed, right handed, blood type A and my name is the Cupcake Countess, Dr. Fantabulastic-magnificentacular, or Terry. Pleased to meet you.

We also studied methods for lifting fingerprints off of surfaces. Usually on a dry surface, a powder of some kind is used to make the prints visible if they are not. The powder will cling to the oils transferred from our fingers to the surface and make all the ridges that made contact with the surface visible for collection and cataloging. On darker surfaces, forensic investigators will use a white or similarly colored powder such as cornstarch, but if prints are left on a lightly colored or clear surfaces like a glass, a dark powder, often made of carbon, is used to lift the fingerprint.

Preliminary Practice

Hair and Fibers

For this lab, we analyzed different hairs and fibers under a microscope, recording attributes as we went. Here are the samples and their analysis: 

·      Caucasian hair

o     Heavy railroad tracking

o     Split end

o     Color treated

·      Asian Hair

o     Almost one solid color

o     Minor railroad tracks

o     End cut diagonally

·      African American Hair

o     Scaling pattern

o     Minor railroad tracks

o     Frayed

·      Cat Hair

o     Layered scales

o     Ends in a point

o     No railroad tracks

·      Dog Hair

o     Smooth (no scaling)

o     Small amounts of railroad tracking

o     Tip cut

·      Artificial Hair

o     Solid color

o     Smooth

o     End almost looked melted

·      Cotton

o     Helix shape

o     Frayed

o     Thin and interwoven

·      Wool

o     Dense and thick

o     Frayed

o     Woven together

·      Nylon

o     Smooth and straight

o     Woven in loops

o     Ends fan out

·      Silk

o     Neatly woven

o     Straight fibers, but irregular in width

o     Strung in parallel

Preliminary Practice

Lipstick analysis

A lip-print, perhaps left on the body of a victim or maybe a letter or note, is as distinctive as a fingerprint, and though they are often unrecognized for their significance, can offer very crucial evidence in a case. We analyzed our lip-prints in this activity, then tried to match the prints of another group with the original prints based on parallels in the prints. Our group achieved 100% accuracy in the matching of prints.

In this activity we also attempted chromatography on the various lipsticks in the lab since the type of lipstick is also very useful when attempting to determine who left a lip-print. However, none were soluble in the solution and we were unable to properly analyze the lipstick itself.

Preliminary Practice

Create-a-profile

For this activity, we were given a scene with five clues. We analyzed the clues and from them, established a scenario. My clues were a Caucasian hair, an African American hair, a note stating “You will never find her!”, a fingerprint left on a surface and a splatter of a mysterious red substance. I came up with this scene:

Two people, one Caucasian, one African-American, kidnapped and/or killed a girl or woman. They left a note for any who would come looking and, in the process, one of them or their victim touched a table or other surface. The red substance may have been blood, so perhaps there was a struggle and one of the three was injured. The End.

Preliminary Practice

Footprints

  

In this lab we analyzed footprints. Everyone in the group stepped into a bin of lightly mixed soil and we analyzed the footprint by measuring and recording markers in the print. From the size of the print you can discover shoe size, and thereby, height of the suspect. Here is my shoe information:

Subject: Natalie

Group Members: Natalie, Khyber, Bob

Date: 11/17/11

Time: 10:52 am

Temperature: 73^o

Wind Speed: 19 mph

Wind Direction: SW

Humidity: 78%

Most recent Precipitation: Last night (11/16/11)

Substrate: Wet, sandy soil

Number of track identified: 1

Length of impression: 10 ¾ in.

Width of Impression: 4 in.

Track Direction: North

Characteristics:

·      Diamond pattern on toe/ ball of foot

·      Pattern forms ‘X’ on heel

·      High arch

·      Most of weigh on ball of foot

Preliminary Practice

Witness experiment

 Often in investigations, a witness will have to give testimony as to what a suspect looks like. In this lab we tested our worth as witnesses. With various magazines, my group members and I cut out faces, then cut the faces into individual parts. Those parts were then mixed together, then another group member created a face from the jumbled parts. I had to examine, re-mix and re-assemble the parts into the face he originally created. Although it’s hard to tell from the pictures, I succeeded. So did the rest of my group when making their faces.

First Face

Re-assembled Face