Murder Weapon Research Articles

Addressing selective attrition in the enhanced response time‐based concealed information test: A within‐subject replication

SummaryThe response time‐based concealed information test can reveal when a person recognizes a relevant item among other, irrelevant items, based on comparatively slower responding. Thereby, if a person is concealing the knowledge about the relevance of this item (e.g., recognizing it as a murder weapon), this deception can be revealed. A recent study, conducted online and using a between‐subject design, introduced a significantly enhanced version by including additional items in the task. While this modified version outperformed the original version, it also resulted in a much higher rate of participant dropouts (i.e., participants leaving the experiment's website without completing the task). The grave implication is that the perceived enhancement is perhaps merely due to selective attrition. Therefore, the current experiment replicates the original one, but using a within‐subject design. The results show that there is a large enhancement even when selective attrition is prevented.

Child murder in the Early Bronze Age: proteomic sex identification of a cold case from Schleinbach, Austria

The identification of sex-specific peptides in human tooth enamel by nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS) represents a quantum leap for the study of childhood and social relations more generally. Determining sex-related differences in prehistoric child rearing and mortality has been hampered by the insufficient accuracy in determining the biological sex of juveniles. We conducted mass spectrometric analysis to identify sex-specific peptides in the dental enamel of a child from a settlement pit of the Early Bronze Age settlement of Schleinbach, Austria (c. 1950–1850 bc). Four perimortal impression fractures on the skull of a 5–6-year-old child indicate an intentional killing, with a co-buried loom weight as possible murder weapon. Proteomic analysis, conducted for the first time on prehistoric teeth in Austria, determined the child’s sex as male. While we cannot conclusively determine whether the child was the victim of conflicts between village groups or was slain by members of his own community, we suggest that contextual evidence points to the latter. A possible trigger of violence was the follow-on effects of an uncontrolled middle ear infection revealed by an osteological analysis. The boy from Schleinbach highlights the potential for further investigation of gender-biased violence, infanticide and child murder based on the recently developed method of proteomic sex identification.

Remote approach to crime scene investigations and forensic science.

Early this year, our institution (Kean University in New Jersey) transitioned to emergency remote instruction for all programs, including our lab-rich Forensic Science program. As challenging as this was, we tried to turn this into an opportunity to build valuable content that would have covered our learning objectives, but that would have also provided our students with a pleasant, interesting, and engaging experience. One of the classes that I was teaching is called How to Get Away with Murder, and it is a general forensics class focused on the potential consequences of the improper collection and mishandling of evidence during crime scene investigation (CSI) operations and/or during lab analyses, which can result in that evidence being dismissed or misleading, to the point that whoever did commit the crime, gets away with it. In order to maintain the engagement and involvement of the students, we designed online activities that consisted in the presentation of a problematic case where forensic evidence represented a major factor in the investigation and, nonetheless, was collected, preserved, or analyzed improperly. We used official police documents and footage of the crime scene investigation, as well as official reports. Based on that, we discussed how the evidence was obtained and processed, and how it contributed to the resolution of the casas. One of the cases we analyzed was the Amanda Knox case, a case regarding an American girl (Amanda) charged with the homicide of a British girl (Meredith Kercher) while they were both exchange students in Italy. This case received a lot of media attention also for the way the scientific evidence present at the scene was collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Amanda and her then boyfriend were charged and then found guilty on the base of the attitude they had during the investigation and on the base of DNA evidence recovered on the alleged murder weapon and on the victim's clothing. The students were shown videos recorded from the CSI and saw how the scene and the evidence were being handled. They then used a form to record five pieces of evidence of their choosing and for each indicated the respective collection method, number of operators involved, lab analysis, lab results, and interpretation of such results. Once they listed these, they had to state whether or not they agreed with the conclusion, a potential mistake they observed, and the different outcome that could have occurred in the absence of such mistake. An example of a filled-out lab sheet is included. This method allowed the students to actually see the professionals “in action” and witness potential and in-good-faith mistakes that were being made on the scene. It made them aware of the potentiality forensic science and of the effect that a mistake on a crime scene can have on the whole case. This did not replace of course the thrill of being out in the field and partake in those experiences. However, it did give them a great real perspective on CSI operations and protocols and on the importance that forensic science can have on criminal and civil investigations. Appendix S1. Lab Sheet Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

Polisiye Romanlarda Ölüm Nedeni Olarak Zehir ve Yüksek Doz İlaç: Agatha Christie ve Ahmet Ümit Eserlerinin Karşılaştırılması

Amaç: Bu araştırmada Batı ve Türk edebiyatından polisiye eserlerde ölüm nedeni olarak zehir ya da yüksek doz ilaç kullanımının karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmesi amaçlandı.
 Gereç ve Yöntem: Polisiye roman örnekleri olarak Agatha Christie ve Ahmet Ümit’in eserleri incelendi. Cinayet silahı ve ölüm nedeni olarak zehir ya da yüksek doz ilaç kullanımı olup olmadığı, varsa bu ilaç ve maddelerin özellikleri ile zehirlenme bulgularının eser içerisinde veriliş şekli karşılaştırmalı olarak değerlendirildi.
 Bulgular: Agatha Christie romanlarında çeşitli zehir ve ilaçların, kurbanın yemeğine ya da içeceğine karıştırılarak verildiği görülmektedir. Kurbanların ölüm nedenleri “Şampanyadaki Zehir”, “On Küçük Zenci”, “Ve Ayna Kırıldı”da siyanür; “Koltuktaki Ölü”, “Sonunda Ölüm Geldi” romanlarında morfindir. Agatha Christie’nin diğer romanlarında striknin, taksin, talyum, fosfor, arsenik, baldıran otu, yüksük otu, güzel avrat otu ile barbitürik asit içeren bir ilaç cinayet silahı olarak kullanılmıştır.
 Ahmet Ümit romanlarında ise kurbanı öldüren zehir terkipleri yerine bıçak, tabanca gibi cinayet silahları karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Öte yandan Ahmet Ümit’in “İstanbul Hatırası” romanında kurbanların öldürülmeden önce kısa etkili bir anestezik olan propofol ile, “Kırlangıç Çığlığı”nda ise nöromüsküler blokerlerden mivaküryum ile etkisiz hale getirildikleri görülmektedir. “Sultanı Öldürmek” romanında ana tema Fatih Sultan Mehmet’in afyon veya benzeri bir madde ile zehirlenerek öldürülmüş olabileceği iken bu romanda da cinayet silahı bir mektup açacağıdır.
 Sonuçlar: Zehir ve yüksek doz ilacın cinayet silahı olarak kullanımı Agatha Christie eserlerinde dikkat çekici olarak karşımıza çıkmakta iken Ahmet Ümit’in sayılı romanında kısa süreli olarak bazı ilaçların kullanıldığına dair ifadelere rastlanmıştır. Zehirle öldürmek, Osmanlı tarihinde gizemli bir konu olsa da, Türk toplumsal suç anlayışı açısından yabancı bir unsur olarak yorumlanabilir.

"Foul, Strange and Unnatural": Poison as a Murder Weapon in English Renaissance Drama

"Foul, Strange and Unnatural": Poison as a Murder Weapon in English Renaissance Drama

Sharp force trauma with two katana swords: identifying the murder weapon by comparing tool marks on the skull bone

This paper describes the variety of information that a tool mark analysis on human tissue can provide based on a case of multiple sharp violence. The perpetrator attacked the victim with a sharp-edged weapon against the head, leaving several deep wounds on the back of the skull bone. Three of those marks on the skull bone could be used for a forensic tool mark examination. Silicone casts of the marks were compared by light microscopy with casts of test marks of Japanese katana swords found at the crime scene. One of the swords could be identified as the one responsible for the marks. In addition, the marks and the test marks were scanned in 3D and examined in a visual on-screen comparison confirming the results from the light microscopic examination. Furthermore, a mathematical approach in which the signatures of the marks from the skull bone and the test marks from the sword were compared by cross correlation confirms those findings. In addition, the aforementioned results were used to determine the orientation of the sword in relation to the cranial bone at the time of the respective impact.

The possessive investment in guns: towards a material, social, and racial analysis of guns

In the midst of public attention to the question of racial gun violence both at the hands of vigilantes and police, this essay draws from anthropological theory on object–human relationships to reframe our understanding of racial gun violence. Following Appadurai’s (1986, 2015) attention to the “social lives” of objects and the way that objects function as both “median and materiality,” this essay argues that the demand for self-defense has altered the meaning of firearms and produced a system in which racial gun violence is normalized. Formed in three parts, the first develops a theoretical framework for thinking about the role of objects, in this case guns, in the production of social relationships. Doing so, this essay argues, allows us to take objects seriously as actors that work to produce moments of racial gun violence, as well as understand how these patterns of gun violence are the result of the mass production, distribution, and racialized marketing of the gun for the purpose of self-defense. In the second section, I utilize this framework to trace the legal, marketing, and engineering shifts that have resulted in the expansion of concealed carry laws, the development of a highly racialized marketing strategy that ties gun ownership to self-defense, and the production of smaller and more powerful pistols which now dominate the gun market. This new era of guns in American life builds from a longer history in which the gun remains central to the maintenance of the American racial order. Yet, the gun in this sense is not simply a signifier of race, but as this essay maintains, is both a material component shaping the bodily practices and cognitive capacities of gunowners, and a billion-dollar industry that has lobbied successfully to make guns more accessible and to make their use, for whites, less accountable under the law. In the final section, I undertake a rereading of the murder of Trayvon Martin, focusing on George Zimmerman’s murder weapon and the role it played both in the killing of Martin, and in sparing Zimmerman from conviction. By focusing on the role guns play in instances of racial violence and inequality, this essay demonstrates how new materialist scholarship can chart new pathways for understanding this important and timely issue.

Response Time Concealed Information Test on Smartphones

The Response Time-Based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) can reveal when a person recognizes a relevant (probe) item among other, irrelevant items, based on comparatively slower responding to the probe item. Thereby, if a person is concealing the knowledge about the relevance of this item (e.g., recognizing it as a murder weapon), this deception can be revealed. So far, the RT-CIT has been used only on desktop computers. In Experiment 1 (n = 72; within-subject), we compare the probe-irrelevant differences when using the conventional desktop-based CIT to using a smartphone-based CIT, demonstrating practical equivalence. In Experiment 2 (n = 116; within-subject), we demonstrate that using thumbs for responses (while holding the smartphone) leads to equally efficient CIT results as using conventional index finger responses. At the same time, this second experiment also demonstrates how smartphone-based studies may be efficiently run in large groups, using the participants’ own smartphones. Finally, as an interesting addition, here for the first time we also measured keypress durations (i.e., the time durations of holding down the response keys) in the RT-CIT, which we found to be significantly shorter for probe than for irrelevant items.

THE USE BY THE INVESTIGATOR OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE FORENSIC CHARACTERIZATION OF “CONTRACT” MURDERS WHEN INSPECTING THE SCENE

The article analyzes the scientific approaches to the conceptual apparatus of forensic characterization of crimes and suggests that the forensic characterization of “contract” murders be considered as a system of significant forensic information about the signs of the preparation of the organizer (“customer”) to commit a murder, the identity of the perpetrator, the identity of the victim, typical murder methods, the circumstances of its commission, typical traces of a crime, the use of which allows the investigator, taking into account the specific situation determine the inspection tasks of the scene, investigative techniques. The main elements of the forensic characterization of the “ordered” murder are considered. An important element of the forensic characterization is the method of murder, which includes a method of preparing for a crime, a method of committing murder, a method of hiding traces of murder. Knowledge by the investigator of typical methods of murder will contribute to promptness in the search for the murder weapon, the identity of the criminal, traces, physical evidence, the solution of the main tasks of inspecting the scene, and solving the crime in hot pursuit. Forensic knowledge of the investigator on the preparatory actions of the organizer, the stages of the preparation of the “customer” and the executor (killer) of the murder are essential for the investigation of the “ordered” murders. In the process of preparing for the murder, the “executor” plans in advance how to conceal traces of the murder. Identifying and fixing the material traces at the scene of the incident will help the investigator to simulate the “trail picture” of the “contract” murder, to put forward versions of the identity of the perpetrator, the person of the victim. Using the investigator, tactical rules, forensic recommendations when inspecting the scene of the incident will quickly reveal and investigate the “ordered” murder. Key words: forensic characteristic, typical method of killing “by order”, the preparatory action of the “customer”, the typical traces of the murder, a crime scene examination.

Modern Methods of Criminalistics Identification of Biological Traces in Investigation of Crimes

It is often possible to solve complex problems of forensic identification in the investigation of serious crimes on the basis of detection and investigation of traces of blood, semen, saliva, epithelial traces, particles of internal organs on the murder weapon, etc. The article is devoted to advanced methods of expert research of biological traces based on the analysis of human DNA, characterized by high specificity for each individual, significantly exceeding the individuality and specificity of fingerprints. The author points out that uniqueness and genetic constancy of a living organism, increased resistance of the DNA molecule to environmental influences, its individual structural polymorphism and high impact of the methods of it s research make forensic identification of the object of research possible even in cases when it is impossible to use other research methods. In the author’s opinion, in the recent years the methods of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) examination have been also actively developing for the criminalistics purposes. Examination of mitochondrial DNA allows identifying the biological object, even in cases when an expert study provided only separate cells (cells of the epidermis, the samples of buccal epithelium – when scraping with a cotton swab from the inside of the cheeks), and the minimum of the investigated material. In addition, high mutation level of mitochondrial DNA significantly increases identification capabilities of genetic examination.

SELÇUKLULARDA BİR HÂKİMİYET ALÂMETİ OLAN MÜHÜR-YÜZÜK VE KULLANIMI ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Rings have been used since ancient times as jewellery, a symbol of wealth and status, and for engagements, archery, luck, and a murder weapon. However, it is no doubt that the most treasured rings are those that were worn by rulers. Those rings were carved with the seal on the owner and came to symbolize their power and supremacy as a sign of sovereignty. This study focuses on how the seal rings were accepted and used as a sign by Seljuk rulers. It is concluded that the seal rings were used by Seljuk monarchs in authorizing statesmen for certain duties and sealing treaties with other states, the treasury, letters to other monarchs, confiscation, and warranty documents. A seal-ring being taken off a rulers’ finder meant the loss of sovereignty or the incidence of death.

Painting Lady Macbeth as a Female Villain: Don’t Do Her Like That

The crime of premeditated murder is at the heart of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. It is questionable how to speak about this crime and interpret her actions and motives in light of the given information presented in Shakespeare’s text. She seems to have a conscience. Shakespeare leads us to think that she commits suicide because she is so bothered by her heinous actions. Even though Lady Macbeth does not wield the murder weapon herself, she still has blood on her hands. Over the centuries actors have portrayed her as a co-conspirator or a wife who bewitched her husband. If the society at the time wanted to honor male dominance, then Lady Macbeth as an evil wife who is not submissive to King Duncan or her husband is the favored plot path. So echoing the narrative of male-dominance, Lady Macbeth could merely be labeled as an evil character. However, some have added the aspect of humanity behind the label of an evil woman. In various historical times, how Lady Macbeth was interpreted by actors depended on the cultural biases of the era and the kind of personal connection the actor made to the character. This essay looks at the differentiation in interpretation of this female character involved in criminal behavior concerning gender and biased attitudes of the historical time and of a sense of familiarity, or lack of, between the actor and essence of the character.

Bacteria as a Murder Weapon: A Tale from Colonial Calcutta

Bacteria as a Murder Weapon: A Tale from Colonial Calcutta

Tempo(e)rality

Tempo(e)rality

Parasites in Forensic Science: a historic perspective

Parasites show a great potential to Forensic Science. Forensic Science is the application of any science and methodology to the legal system. The forensic scientist collects and analyses the physical evidence and produce a report of the results to the court. A parasite is an organism that lives at the expense of another and they exist in any ecosystem. Parasites are the cause of many important diseases. The forensic scientists can use the parasites to identify a crime scene, to determine the murder weapon or simply identify an individual. The applications for parasites in the Forensic Science can be many and more studies should be made in Forensic Parasitology. The most important parasites in Forensic Science are helminths specifically schistosomes. Through history there are many cases where schistosomes were described in autopsies and it was related to the cause of death. Here we review the applications of parasites in Forensic Science and its importance to the forensic scientist.

Tout ce qu'on ne te dira pas, Mongo by Dany Laferrière

of Ukrainians when the Soviets confiscated their crops; and wholesale murders of Ukrainians by their fellow countrymen who were co-opted by the German-controlled local police force. Khemlin’s story allows us to feel the ways in which these tragedies cast a permanent shadow on the place and reverberate in the psyche of its people. Misha is a midlevel police officer in the town of Chernigov (also Khemlin’s hometown ) investigating the apparent murder of Lilia V., a single woman in her mid-thirties. Lilia’s murder and the later suicide of Misha’s best friend turn out to be linked, and Misha shuttles back and forth between Chernigov and its neighboring villages in search of clues and a cache of gold that seems somehow connected to the murder. All the while a nosy neighbor of Lilia V.’s, Laevskaya, manages to constantly be in Misha’s way and even finds the presumed murder weapon, exposing Misha to her relentless ridicule of his shoddy investigative work. The novel’s irrational tone and twisty plot owe a debt to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karmazov in featuring a cast of high-strung villagers whose absurd actions and exaggerated reactions obfuscate resolution of the murder. Khemlin’s Misha is a memorable character, distasteful in his anti-Semitism, sexism, and misplaced arrogance but playfully drawn to reveal aspects of his humanity and warmth. In fact, the majority of characters in The Investigator are imbued with moral ambiguity not only regarding possible connections to Lilia V.’s murder but also their families’ roles in Ukraine’s recent past, a blurring of the distinctions between perpetrators and victims . Misha gives his account of the murder investigation in a resigned voice punctuated with sardonic wit. It is a sensibility that feels authentically Ukrainian, and we all are poorer for prematurely losing such a fun and gifted storyteller as Khemlin. Lori Feathers Dallas, Texas Dany Laferrière. Tout ce qu’on ne te dira pas, Mongo. Montreal. Mémoire d’encrier. 2015. 299 pages. Tout ce qu’on ne te dira pas, Mongo (Everything they won’t tell you, Mongo) is Dany Laferrière’s first new book since his induction into the Académie Française. An immigrant to Montreal born in Haiti, Laferrière is the only writer in history from either of these countries to have joined the Immortals. In keeping with his now-consecrated place in francophone literature and with the tone of his last two books, Laferrière’s alter-ego narrator in Mongo is no longer the enfant terrible of his earlier works but a jaded sage dispensing advice to the younger generation. Here the narrator (which in classic Laferrière style both is and is not the author himself) bestows his knowledge and experience upon the fictitious Mongo, a recent immigrant to Montreal from Cameroon. Hodgepodge in structure, the first half of Mongo intersperses observations from the narrator’s notebook, transcripts from his Sunday-morning cultural commentary radio program, and scenes from café life in which he chats with Mongo and his Li Ang The Lost Garden Trans. Sylvia Li-chun Lin & Howard Goldblatt Columbia University Press Spanning generations of political struggles in Taiwan, a place that has seen much strife and political uncertainty, The Lost Garden recounts this history as related to one family and the complicated love story between Zhu Yingyong from an old, established family and Lin Xigeng, who has made his own fortune. The lush, descriptive narrative immerses the reader in the humid garden of the title that sits at the core of the novel, standing for history, desire, and family. Jonathan Levi Septimania The Overlook Press Jonathan Levi takes us on a rollicking journey through European and Near Eastern culture with this dizzying story of an organ tuner who discovers an unexpected heritage while searching for his lost love. This novel, Levi’s second in nearly twenty-five years, stretches the boundaries of the possible while never losing its focus on the frailties and triumphs of the human heart. Nota Bene WORLDLITERATURETODAY.ORG 95 white Quebecoise girlfriend. While the café scenes bring Laferrière closer to the fiction he used to write, the majority...

Characterisation of the weapon used in a patricide by SEM/EDS analysis of a microscopic trace from the object.

This article presents a case of patricide. The murder was characterised by multiple blunt traumas and asphyxia. A mass of contused wounds was localised to the head and neck, and included the complete avulsion of the left eye (by an unknown tool), which was recovered near the cadaver. This case is of interest due to the possibility of identifying microscopic traces of the object that was used for the homicide by examining the skin margins around the ocular injury. The analysis was conducted using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDX). Analysis of the skin margins allowed microscopic inorganic traces to be detected, which were identified as ceramic material. This result focused the attention of the investigation on a small fish-shaped statue that had been previously found by the police when examining the crime scene. The use of SEM/EDX was therefore essential in determining a match between the microscopic traces detected on the perilesional skin and the composition of the statue. This led to the suspicion that the statue was the murder weapon.

Who killed the English National Health Service?

The death of the English National Health Service (NHS) has been pronounced many times over the years, but the time and cause of death and the murder weapon remains to be fully established. This article reviews some of these claims, and asks for clearer criteria and evidence to be presented.

An Evidence Based Study of the Different Factors that Influence the Formation of Hammer Transfer Stains in a Crime Scene

Weapon transfer stains in a crime scene are often difficult to interpret. Given the large number of hammer hit events that take place each year, this work is largely aimed at analyzing the different factors that influence and distort regular hammer transfer stains. Different physical mechanisms under identical conditions influence the formation of distinct transfer stain patterns. This is the basic highlight of this study. By experimentation, the authors are of the view that the quantity of blood attached to the surface area of a hammer, the surface area of the hammer exposed to blood, the dimensions of the hammer, the angle of inclination at the time of fall, hardness of the target surface, friction coefficient of the hammer material, texture of the target surface influence the transfer stain formed. Again the velocity of hit, the undulations in the hammer, the depth of blood pool, hammer weight all have significant effect on the transfer stain pattern formed. The significance of the height of fall and the edge that touches the target surface first, cannot be particularly ruled out in analyzing hammer transfer stain patterns. The relevance of the article lies in the fact that analysts having clear idea of how these different factors could affect the formation of different weapon transfer stain patterns, shall be in a better position at understanding the probable mechanism that might have led to the formation of the stain. This knowledge is transferable to the study of other murder weapon transfer stain interpretation and shall aid proper sequencing of segments in a criminal event.

Girls arrested for murder: an empirical analysis of 32 years of U.S. data by offender age groups.

Most studies on juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs) have used small samples and have concentrated on adolescent male offenders. As a result, little is known about the population of female juveniles arrested for murder. This study utilized the Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR) database to investigate age differences between younger (aged 6-12 years) and older (aged 13-17 years) females arrested for murder in the United States from 1976 to 2007. As predicted, six variables used to test seven hypotheses with respect to younger and older female JHOs in single victim incidents were significant (victim age, victim gender, victim offender relationship, murder weapon, offender count, and homicide circumstance). Regression analysis revealed that younger girls were seven times more likely than older girls to kill children aged 0-12 years. Girls aged 6-12 years were five times more likely than their teen counterparts to be involved in conflict-related homicides as opposed to crime-related homicides. Although approximately the same percentages of younger and older girls killed infants under the age of 1, the victims were significantly different for the two offender age groups. This article concludes with a discussion of our findings and directions for future research.