Survival of forensic trace evidence on improvised explosive devices: perspectives on individualisation

Natasja Vanderheyden,Steve Vermeulen,Elke Verhoeven,Bram Bekaert

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69385-1

Abstract

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are weapons of modern times, used by terrorist groups and thereby causing substantial damage to communities. There is a widespread misconception that destructive conditions like heat, water or pressure destroy all forensic evidence. Moreover, the plausibility to detect identifiable fingermarks and DNA on components of IEDs is insufficiently known. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of neutralisation and explosion on latent fingerprints and touch DNA. In a majority of the cases, comparative fingermark- and DNA testing resulted in individualisation. In some cases, despite extremely low amounts of contact DNA detected after deployment of render-safe tools or detonation, full STR profiles could be constituted, even after applying fingerprint development techniques. This research shows that latent fingerprints and touch DNA on improvised explosives can be successfully detected after destructive conditions and possibly be linked to the perpetrators of such crimes. This individualising power offers perspectives to enhance forensic investigations of terrorism-related crimes.

Highlights

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are weapons of modern times, used by terrorist groups and thereby causing substantial damage to communities
IEDs were exposed to water followed by the performance of three techniques (BWP, Small Particle Reagent (SPR) or CA-Basic Yellow 40 (BY40))
Low standard deviations indicate uniformly low amounts of DNA present on the components after explosion, except for a few outliers observed with donors 2, 4 and 5, whereby larger quantities of DNA were retrieved on the mobile phones

Summary

Introduction

Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are weapons of modern times, used by terrorist groups and thereby causing substantial damage to communities. This study investigated the effects of neutralisation and explosion on latent fingerprints and touch DNA. This research shows that latent fingerprints and touch DNA on improvised explosives can be successfully detected after destructive conditions and possibly be linked to the perpetrators of such crimes. This individualising power offers perspectives to enhance forensic investigations of terrorism-related crimes. Dactyloscopy, the study of ridge details in fingermark impressions, can be performed to identify the handlers of an object It is essential for establishing identity in criminal investigations to detect and develop initially invisible marks, called latent fingerprints. Different fingerprint (FP) enhancement techniques are known whereof the choice depends on the initial composition of the fingermarks, the substrate nature and environmental

Methods

Results

Conclusion