A time period study on the efficiency of luminol in the detection of bloodstains concealed by paint on different surfaces

Abstract

Forensic Science is the application of science to the criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system. It is a science which relies on physical evidence; one of the important physical evidences being blood. The purpose of this research was to determine the efficacy of luminol reagent in detecting bloodstains on different surfaces, concealed by multiple layers of paint, over a period of time and also to compare the intensities of chemiluminescence exhibited by them. In this study, dry wall, wooden planks and metal surfaces were identified as commonly encountered surfaces at crime scenes and hence 25 of each surface were simulated and blood was spattered, which were then concealed by progressive layers of paint specific to each surface. Thereafter, each surface was critically observed for the intensity of chemiluminescence, following the application of luminol and the results were documented as photographs. The research was conducted for duration of 50 days, in order to study the effect of ageing of concealment upon detection of bloodstains using luminol. Varying intensities of chemiluminescence were displayed by all the three simulated surfaces deposited with paint over bloodstains up to three layers of concealment, depending on the nature of the surface which were captured using photography. The highest intensity of chemiluminescence was shown by concealed bloodstains on dry wall and metal surfaces, despite the number of layers of concealment. However, an increase in the number of layers of concealment produced a significant decrease in the intensity of chemiluminescenece displayed by the bloodstains concealed by paint upon reacting with luminol on metal sheets, which was not found to be uniform and consistent on the other surfaces. These findings highlight the fact that bloodstains concealed by paint could be effectively detected by luminol reagent, despite the nature and ageing of concealment and thereby provide a lead to the investigation.