Crime Scene

Scene: A decaying body was found in a semi-wooded area with one footprint on the victims shoe and another found leaving the scene. All exhibits were outside and were relatively close to the body’s position.

Evidence:

Exhibit 1: A torn up note that read “Please forgive me! I love you all.” The writing style found on this clue matched with the characteristics of Lucas Moore’s due to the loops of his l’s and d’s being tall and think. The amount of pressure applied also seemed normal so it shows that he wasn’t pressured to write it. Because of this note Lucas Moore became a suspect.

Exhibit 2: A possible hair sample from Lucas Moore, or Sandra O’Conner. This is due to them both having similar hair color, but since the hair sample is short and is not curved it indicates that the sample was at one point longer.

Exhibit 3: A fingerprint sample which when analyzed showed to be a plain arch. When looking at all the suspects Lucas Moore was the only suspect to have a plain arch.

Exhibit 4: This was a substance that might have been a possible poison. But when it was tested all the poison tests came back negative. But when a cocaine reagent was added to the substance it came back positive. Because of this we had to start considering suspects that had a history of drug possession or drug use.

Exhibit 5/6: The body was already decaying and was found with maggots. Because of this we were able to conclude that the body was in active decay.

Exhibit 7: Footprint found on victim’s foot. This print was a scanned image so we could not exactly determine if the size of the print is accurate. Because of this we could not classify if this was a male of female.

Exhibit 7: Footprint found walking away. This print’s size was large which lead us to believe that it was a male. Because of this it lead me to think that Jet Trong might have been at the scene at the time of death, due to Jet being convicted of possessing drugs.

Exhibit 8: This was a fingerprint that was found, and when analyzed was found to be an Ulnar Loop.  Because of it being an ulnar loop it matched Sandra O’Conner’s print, this seems logical since she is a drug addict and has been convicted of possessing drugs.

 

Exhibit 9: This fingerprint was a double loop and we discovered that only 2 suspects have a double loop. And since Jet was the only person with the print and already had been convicted of drug possession he seemed to be a more likely suspect.

Exhibit 10: This was a possibly fiber that was a black, synthetic fiber. This fiber was woven like a rope and had transparent edges. The fiber also had frayed ends and was possibly treated fiber. We believed that it could have been either nylon or possibly color treated wool. In the picture it also looked like it could have been a possible match to Jet’s hoodie he was wearing.

Exhibit 11: The syringe could have possibly been used to inject cocaine into the victim’s body.

Persons of Interest:
                      


Story behind the scene:

Due to him suffering from depression Lucas Moore was thinking about committing suicide. In response to that he wrote a note that read "Please forgive me! I love you all." (Exhibit 1) But after some thought he ripped up the note deciding to not go through with it. While walking off his thoughts about suicide he comes across Jet Trong, who is trying to deal out cocaine. When Lucas Moore passes by Jet offers Lucas a try at it, and due to his emotions still running high he accepts the offer. But not wanting to get caught he tells Lucas that they should go into a more sheltered area, which will be the soon to be crime scene.  When they arrive in the area Jet hands Lucas a syringe telling him that it would go great, not bothering to tell him that it was contaminated and previously used by Sandra O’ Conner. Once Lucas injects the cocaine into his bloodstream he had a reaction due to it being his first time using illegal drugs. Another factor to his death could have been the contaminated syringe. Due to the sudden death, a startled Jet quickly leaves the scene not noticing that he left a footprint when he leaves. When forensic scientists examine the crime scene they discover that the body is in active decay, though they were still able to find the fiber from Jet’s hoodie still near Lucas’s body. Because of the fiber it confirmed that Jet had made contact with Lucas previously before his death.

 

Poison Activity Analysis

In this activity we were given six types of poison along with the task of defining what a poison is, common sources of poison and finding the effects of poison on a person.

Research

·         Define a poison:

o   A poison is any substance that can cause harm (sickness, injury or death) when it is introduced into or absorbed by an organism.

·         Common sources of poison:

o   Food poisoning

o   Medication

o   Venom (scorpions, snakes, spiders, etc.)

o   Iodine (This can be a poison for people who may have thyroid problems.)

o   Cyanide

o   Common household chemicals (bleach, etc.)

o   Certain gases (such as chloride, etc.)

o   Pesticides

o   Sugar (For diabetics)

·         Signs of poisoning:

o   Trouble breathing

o   Confusion

o   Nausea

o   Vomiting

o   Abnormal skin color

o   Increased heart rate

·         How do you test for poisoning?

o   KI testing for lead

o   Starch to test for iodine

o   Acid to test for chromate

o   KSCN to test for iron

Experiment results:

Station 1: Metal Poisoning:

When metals are ingested or are dissolved into the bloodstream, it can be fatal.

	KI	KSCN	Acid
1	Positive for Lead	Negative	Negative
2	Negative	Positive for Iron	Negative
3	Negative	Negative	Positive for Cr

Station 2: Sugars

Sugars can be harmful, if it is ingested in large amounts, to diabetics.

	1	2	3
Benedict Solution	Negative	Negative	Negative

Station 3: Household Ammonia

A common household chemical that can cause death when mixed with bleach, but can also cause unconsciousness.

	1	2	3
Odor	Positive	Negative	Negative
pH over 7	11(positive)	11(positive)	4(negative)
PHTH turns purple/pink	Positive	Negative	Negative

Station 4: Aspirin

This medicine can cause harm when taken in large amounts.

	1	2	3
pH under 7	3	7	7
BTB is yellow	Positive	Negative	Negative

Station 5: Cyanide

Station 5: Cyanide
Causes harm to everyone when ingested

	Turns red w/ FE+3
1	Negative
2	Negative
3	Positive

Station 6: Iodine
Causes harm to people with thyroid problems

	Blue w/ Starch
1	Negative
2	Negative
3	Positive

Create A Profile

In this class activity we were given 5 clues, 4 fingerprints, 2 hair/ fiber samples, a torn note, and a red smudge on a piece of paper to analyze. The first clue was the set of fingerprints we concluded that it come from the right hand of a person. The first and third prints were plain whorls, and the second and fourth were tented arches.

With the second clue it was either a hair or fiber and we concluded that it was a sample of colored hair. The third clue was a torn note that had to be reconstructed. When reconstructed it read “You will never find her.”



The fourth clue was another hair or fiber sample and we analyzed it to be a sample of African American hair. Lastly we thought that the fifth sample, the red stain, could have been from lipstick or stain. Because of us not knowing which one we need to get more testing to determine what type of stain it is.

The profile we could build up was that there were two people involved, an African- American and a person who had colored treated hair.





One of the people could have been losing blood due to the red stain, or they could have had lipstick on which would indicate that one of the people is a female.

Drug Analysis

For this part of forensics we analyzed different types of drugs along with looking up things that would indicate its presence.  For the experiment we tested two simulated drugs: LSD and cocaine. We tested these two drugs by mixing a small amount of the drug with some water and then placing a drop of it into a Petri dish. Afterwards we tested the drops with pH paper and the LSD and cocaine reagents.

Research:

Cocaine:

1. Chemical Name: Benzoylmethylacgoine
2. Chemical Formula: C₁₇H₂₁NO₄
3. pH: 4.5
4. Biochemical Tests: With cocaine you can find it in the bloodstream and the urine for five days after someone has taken the drug. Cocaine can also be found in hair for a period up to 90 days which can make it easily detected for three months after someone has ingested the drug. Though if all the hairs that can be used have fallen then the time period for testing cocaine in hair is limited.

LSD

1. Chemical Name: Lysergic acid diethylamide
2. Chemical Formula: C₂₀H₂₅N₃O
3.  pH: 4
4.  Biochemical tests: Urine testing can be used to find LSD Due to it staying in the urine for 24 hours, while it can stay in the blood stream for as long as 4 days.  LSD is unstable and fragile in the heat and light so it must be stored in cool temperatures and dark conditions in order for it to be detected by drug screening procedures.

 Experiment results:

Drug	pH	Cocaine Reagent	LSD Reagent
1	Orange/Yellow   pH6	green negative	red negative
2	Blue pH10	blue positive	pink negative
3	Orange   pH3	yellow negative	yellow positive
4	Green/Yellow pH7	blue positive	red negative
5	Yellow pH7	green negative	red negative
6	Orange pH3	yellow negative	yellow positive