From ashes to evidence: A study on the alterations in bloodstain patterns in high heat environments and post- fire scenes
Zack Kowalske, Abdulrahman Oleiwi, Graham Williams
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Abstract
Fire is often used to conceal or destroy evidence of violent crimes, making it essential to understand how fire environments affect forensic evidence, particularly bloodstain patterns. This study investigates the impact of high heat environments and fire on the morphology and analysis of bloodstain patterns. Using controlled fire exposure, bloodstains were analyzed pre- and post- fire exposure on various substrates, including glass, painted drywall, and painted plywood. Measurements of angle of impact (AOI) and area of origin (AOO) were conducted using Faro Zone 3D Expert software. Despite physical alterations due to extreme temperature exposure, certain character istics of the original bloodstains persisted. AOI calculations showed minimal deviation between pre- and post- fire measurements, with standard deviations generally under two degrees. AOO estimations also demonstrated no substantial statistical differences between pre- and post- fire data. The study confirms that bloodstain patterns retain observable traits despite exposure to high heat conditions, supporting the reliability of BPA in fire- affected scenarios. These findings enhance the understanding of bloodstain behavior in fire environments, aiding forensic investigations in accurately analyzing bloodstain patterns in cases involving fire or high- temperature conditions.
Highlights
- Bloodstains can remain resistant to exposure to high temperatures and fire exposure.
- Edge characteristics and original stain parameters can still be measured after fire exposure.
- Morphological characteristics of blood exposed to high temperature can aid in estimating heat source direction.
- Traditional reconstructive formulas in BPA demonstrate reliability in fire- exposed environments
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© 2024 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction, provided the original work is properly cited and not changed in any way.