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Blood Enhancement Techniques
"The shimmering glow hung in the air, above Fausak's knees. It had become so bright that he could see the faces of the forensic men and the chemists."
In A Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder, Peter Maas
The presence of blood at crime scenes, on clothing or other evidence is not always readily apparent. The use of blood enhancement techniques, such a Luminol, can discover this potential evidence, while the absent of a positive reaction indicates the lack of the presence of blood.
Forensic Consulting has over 30 years of experience with Luminol. While this reagent is considered a presumptive test, the results of this exam have been admitted into the courts
Results of the use of Luminol include:
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Footwear impressions at crime scenes. |
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Hand print impressions on carpeting. |
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Designs of mop buckets and other containers. |
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Indications of mopping or cleaning at crime scenes. |
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Presence of blood spattering on previously washed articles. |
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Bare foot prints and their direction of travel. |
Forensic Consulting has also developed the skills required to capture these results photographically for presentation in court.
Case Example
A trained crime scene investigating officer decided that Luminol would be required, but with all the reports and evidence he had to log, he opted to leave this duty to two other officers not trained in the use of the reagent. His instructions to the two officers was "spray this and if it glows it's blood." There were several areas that "glowed" (correct term is "chemilluminescence") and no photographs of the reaction were taken. When the case came to court a Motion to Suppress this evidence was presented by the defense and the lack of training on the part of the two officers was brought out and this evidence was lost.
The use of luminol on potential evidence is best left to those with the expertise and experience in understanding the reaction and its limitations.