Defining Patterns and Behaviours of Forward Spatter Gunshot Misting

Eugene Liscio,Bianca Ledo

doi:10.3390/forensicsci1020009

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study forward-spatter misting patterns by shooting a firearm through a chamber of blood encased in ballistic gel to determine if there is a relationship between bloodstain pattern size as a function of distance and orientation. There is a lack of research on forward spatter, blood travelling in the direction of a bullet, as most studies focus on back spatter, blood travelling in the opposite direction of a bullet. A bullet was fired through ballistic gel containing a blood chamber, depositing bloodstains onto a large sheet of butcher paper as the target surface. In total, there were 34 trials. The distances observed were 10, 20, 40, and 80 cm, the angles tested were 30°, 60°, and 90°. The orientation between the ballistic gel and paper target varied. A criterion was established to observe the overall area and symmetry of the bloodstain patterns. Statistical analyses indicated a negative linear relation relationship between the bloodstain pattern size and the paper’s angle and distance (R2 = 0.78) and the vertical symmetry of the bloodstain (R2 = 0.87). The orientation between the ballistic gel and paper target can impact the bloodstain pattern’s symmetry and size.

Highlights

Gunshot misting is commonly described as a bloodstain pattern created at a velocity greater than 35 m per second and is produced by a high amount of kinetic energy upon impacting the target [1]
Back spatter examines blood travelling in the opposite direction of the bullet, and forward spatter focuses on blood travelling in the same direction of the bullet [2]
This study was used as an aid to develop the methodology to observe forward spatter as it implied the importance of using ballistic gel as a substitute for human tissue

Summary

Introduction

Gunshot misting is commonly described as a bloodstain pattern created at a velocity greater than 35 m per second and is produced by a high amount of kinetic energy upon impacting the target [1]. Bloodstains are usually less than 1 mm in diameter from a high-energy impact misting pattern [1]. There are two types of misting patterns when considering gunshots through the body, back spatter and forward spatter. Back spatter examines blood travelling in the opposite direction of the bullet, and forward spatter focuses on blood travelling in the same direction of the bullet [2]. When an object travels through an individual’s body, the object’s velocity creates an intensive amount of shear on the blood, creating a small spatter misting pattern [5]

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