Author Forensic Question: DNA and Donated Blood

September 30, 2015July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Today, I’m posting a forensic medical question I had for Amryn Cross.

Jordyn Asks:

Can you tell if blood from a crime scene is from a donated pint of blood? If so, how?

Amryn Says:

You can actually tell the difference. A donated pint of blood will only have red blood cells and not the other components of blood (white blood cells, platelets, etc.). When the DNA from the donated blood is tested, the scientist would probably think it odd that they got little to no DNA yield (red blood cells don’t have nuclear DNA). They might chalk it up to degraded blood, or they might look at it under the microscope and find only RBC, which should make them suspicious. But probably the first indicator is that the blood at the crime scene would not clot if it were from a donated unit. The investigator may or may not pick up on that, but a crime scene tech probably would.

Jordyn Asks:

What about a pint of whole blood? Would it still be the same? Would small amounts of dry blood give DNA?

Amryn Says:

Whole blood would give DNA results but wouldn’t clot, so that would be something they would have to pick up on at the crime scene. If it was suspected and they wanted it verified, tests could be done for the preservatives in the bag.

Yes, if they were just droplets, they would still dry over time. And as long as it’s whole blood, it will give lots of DNA.

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Amryn Cross is a full-time forensic scientist and author of romantic suspense novels. Her first novel, Learning to Die, will be released in September. In her spare time, she enjoys college football, reading, watching movies, and researching her next novel. You can connect with Amryn via her website, Twitter andFacebook.

Forensic Question: Solving Cold Cases

January 22, 2015July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

My question is about cold cases. Are you able to test for DNA from blood on a knife or clothes from 30-40 years old? Also, if the remains of a body were found in a mine shaft, could you tell the manner of death from that same time or even older, say, 150 years old? How would you do this and how long would it take? Thanks so much for your help!

Amryn Says:

Cold case investigations have come a long way with the use of DNA technology. Answers that would have been impossible 20 years ago are now commonplace. The problem with cold cases is often in the handling of the evidence. On the knife or clothes that you mentioned, when they were first collected from a crime scene 30-40 years ago, the investigator may not have worn gloves. That seems shocking given what we know now, but it wasn’t all that routine a few decades ago.

What that might mean for your DNA results is that you get a mixture—say, the victim’s blood and another unknown profile. Now, does that profile belong to the killer or just the detective or crime scene tech that handled the evidence without gloves? Without something to compare back to, you won’t be able to say.

Let’s assume best case scenario, though. If the bloody evidence was stored and handled properly, it is definitely possible to get a DNA profile from the blood present on a knife or on clothes. This can usually be done with routine DNA testing, which generally takes 2-3 weeks. Of course, for the purposes of fiction, the DNA could be “rushed” and then results would possibly be available as soon as 48 hours. This testing will probably be done at the police department’s or state’s crime lab.

As far as a body in a mine shaft, unless the body is frozen, it’s likely to be not much more than a skeleton by the time it’s found 30-40 years later, and certainly 150 years. However, if the manner of death was some sort of trauma (i.e. broken neck from a fall or stab wound where the knife grazes the bone), a lot can still be determined from bones.

In most cases, a forensic anthropologist would be the person to make that determination. Some states have one on staff while others call in an expert like Dr. Bass (founder of the Body Farm) when they are needed. I would say the time frame for that sort of determination is at least a couple weeks, though I’m sure there are cases where it could be done faster. And I should also mention, many forensic anthropologists like to be present when the team is recovering the bones to make sure none are missed and to make observations based on the position of the bones.

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Amryn Cross is a full-time forensic scientist and author of romantic suspense and mystery novels. Her first novel, Learning to Die, is available on Amazon. The first book in her latest series, loosely based on an updated Sherlock Holmes, is available for pre-order onAmazon. Look for Warzonein January 2015. You can connect with Amryn via her website, Twitter and Facebook.

Forensic Question: Differentiating Twin Murder Suspects

September 4, 2014July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Sarah asks:

If you have identical twins who are both suspects in a murder, how could you tell them apart?

Amryn says:

Identical twins are a hot topic in forensic DNA. Up until now, it’s been thought that identical twins have identical DNA and therefore are the perfect twist to a murder mystery. We’re finding out now that’s not necessarily true.

Strictly from a DNA perspective, research is showing that even twins have small minute differences in their DNA called SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms.) These aren’t routinely tested for in forensics because they’re pretty cutting edge, but such testing could be done (likely by a private lab) if the need arose.

Another option would be generating an antibody profile. When we’re born, we have an antibody profile like our mother. But beginning at birth and until the age of two, our antibody profile is evolving. It’s pretty much set in stone by the age of two and (as far as we know) doesn’t change throughout life. These antibodies are slightly different than the ones you make to fight off disease, but the important part is that they’re unique. Even identical twins will have different antibody profiles. This testing is new and is beginning to be used in conjunction with DNA testing.

Of course, this all depends on what type of evidence is found at a crime scene. Antibody profiling might be useful if some type of body fluid is found (i.e. blood, saliva, tears, sweat, etc.) but not so much with skin cells or hair. And, of course, even identical twins should have different fingerprints, so in a case such as this, DNA evidence might not be as strong as some other possible links.

If you’re interested in learning a bit more about antibody profiling, check out this article: http://www.americanlawyeracademy.com/antibody-profiling-forensic-evidence

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Amryn Cross: How to Research Your CSI or Detective

May 13, 2014July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few years, you’ve probably seen an episode of the dozens of forensic type shows on television—all the varieties of CSI, NCIS, SVU, etc. They make the job look gritty and glamorous but hardly ever real. It makes for great entertainment, but not a lot of truth. This can be troublesome when you try to base your latest crime novel off something you’ve seen on television.

Any writer writing outside their field of expertise knows some research is going to be involved, but in a field like forensics, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the amount of information out there. I’ve compiled a short list of questions to get you on track when researching your CSI or detective character.

1. Where does your story take place?

This is big one. If you’re going for authenticity, it’s better to narrow down your search to the area you’re looking at. For instance, New York City isn’t going to have the same structure to their police force or crime lab that a small town in the Midwest might have. If you’ve got a fictional setting, the good news is you can take bits and pieces from several places and make your own rules. Especially larger cities will have a website for the law enforcement agencies that might post job opportunities or a list of departments with descriptions. Utilize those.

2. When does your story take place?

This may go without saying, but if your story is set in the 1980’s or 1990’s, having your detective catch the bad guy with DNA is not very believable. Technology and tests are always changing in forensics.

3. What’s your character’s job title?

As cool as it looks on CSI, I can’t think of a place where the same person collects the evidence at a crime scene, determines the cause of death, runs the test on the evidence, interrogates the suspect, goes on stakeouts/undercover ops, and make the arrest. There are different jobs for each of these, and overlap will vary from place to place. In a small town, a detective might collect the evidence, interrogate the suspect, and make the arrest, but he or she won’t be determining the cause of death (that’s the medical examiner or coroner) or running the tests on the evidence (if it’s a small town, the evidence will probably be sent to the nearest crime lab.) At the same time, your CSI may collect evidence and nothing else if they work in a large city. Other places, the same people collect the evidence and test it.

4. What agency does your character work for?

Research that specific agency and know what they specialize in. Most law enforcement agencies will work a variety of crimes, but many people are surprised to know that the FBI doesn’t typically get involved in murder cases or witness protection even though they’re often depicted doing just that. Find out how people within that agency are titled. Are they detectives, agents, inspectors, officers? Who carries a gun within that agency? You might be surprised. In some states, even the lab personnel are considered commissioned officers and carry a weapon.

5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

There are lots of experts out there who are willing to answer questions about their experiences (myself included.) Most law enforcement agencies have a public relations person or department that can answer some questions for your specific region. One of my favorite online sources is the Crime Scene Writer’s group. This is a pool of people from all sections of law enforcement who are willing to answer writer’s questions. Make sure you search the messages first because there’s a lot to be gleaned from past questions.

Researching your law enforcement character doesn’t have to be scary. When in doubt, ask.

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Forensic Author Question: Fetal Bones

April 17, 2014July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

This month, Amryn has another great author question to answer.

Gloria F. asks: At what fetal age would bones show up with mom’s if mom was killed & stuffed in locker for 15 yrs? The body has been above ground in a disused bldg for that length of time.

Amryn says:

It’s important to understand that there are always exceptions to every case, so the answers I give are generalized unless otherwise stated. That being said, there are a couple factors at play here.

First of all, the process of skeletonization will vary with temperature and humidity. In this case, 15 years would be sufficient time for both the mother and the fetus to be skeletonized. This process can actually take as little as a few weeks in a hot humid environment. This is the sort of research done at the Body Farm (see my previous post for more info.)

A fetus will begin to develop its skeletal system around 12 weeks. From that point forward, the bones will grow harder and more dense. Theoretically, you could find fetal bones as early as approximately 15 weeks of gestation. The problem with this is, the bones are not fully articulated and would be very easy to scatter. Also, if you consider the average size of a fetus at 15 weeks, it only measures about 6 inches long. Those are some very tiny bones!

That’s not to say they couldn’t be detected by an anthropologist or medical examiner, but I would guess it’s more likely to find them if they suspect the woman may have been pregnant. Obviously the larger the bones, the easier they’ll be to see.

Another thing to consider is the idea of coffin birth or postmortem fetal extrusion. Basically, as the woman began to decompose, gases would build up in her body and could force the baby from her uterus… almost as if she was actively giving birth. This articleexplains it well. It’s something to consider as the fetal bones may not be found “inside” the woman when her remains are discovered.

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The Body Farm

January 7, 2014July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Forensic specialist Amryn Cross is here for her monthly post on that elusive Body Farm.

Welcome back, Amryn!

Today I’m answering a question from an author who wished to remain anonymous.

I’d like to for my character to visit the Body Farm as part of their investigation. What is it really like?

First, let me preface this by saying that I haven’t actually been inside the Body Farm (technically known as The Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee), but I can offer some insight on the facility. There are several good websites (http://fac.utk.edu/) and even a documentary out there, so I won’t try to cover the topic extensively.

The Body Farm is a little over 1 acre situated behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The collection of skeletons (nearly 1000) is one of the largest in the world, and is housed under Neyland Stadium and in the Forensic Center below UT hospital. Once the bodies placed on the Body Farm are skeletonized and have reached the extent of their usefulness, many of them are transferred to the collection for further study.

When your character approaches the Body Farm, they’ll notice it’s located in the back of the UT hospital employee parking lot. It’s surrounded by wooden and chain length fences with barbed wire around the top. The area beyond this is hilly and covered with trees.

Beyond this point, human bodies in various stages of decomposition are placed around the campus. Some exposed to the elements, others inside a car or concrete structure. Few are buried at various depths. All this is to allow the staff to study and measure the markers of decomposition. During the summer, the smell of death is ripe, even outside the fence. I had the dubious honor of parking in front of the Body Farm during my year of clinicals at UT hospital. Definitely an interesting experience.

The Body Farm is also used to educate law enforcement personnel as it is an integral part of the National Forensics Academy. The NFA hosts law enforcement agencies from all over the country to teach them proper techniques in forensic death investigation. This includes a crime scene with an actual body donated to the facility.

Though the facility at UT was the first of its kind, there are now four facilities in the US—University of Tennessee, Western Carolina University, Texas State University, and Sam Houston State University.

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How Much Evidence?

October 22, 2013July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

I’m so excited to host forensic specialist Amryn Cross as a new guest blogger to Redwood’s Medical Edge. To welcome her properly I asked my Facebook peeps what forensic questions they might have.

This was the first one:

How much forensic evidence does the court need to declare a missing person dead without a body?

Welcome, Amryn!!

Great question. The short answer is, it depends.

Any question involving the court itself has the potential to be highly variable. Different states have different laws, and some judges may allow things that others would not. That being said, I’ll answer this based on the most common occurrences in the U.S.

In most states, common law indicates a missing person may be declared dead after seven years with no evidence to indicate they may be alive. That means if a missing person’s bank account still gets regular deposits and withdrawals, if their name shows up on a deed in another state, or if they contact anyone this would be sufficient evidence that the person is alive (or their identity has been stolen, in which case this would be investigated).

If, after seven consecutive years of absence and a diligent but unsuccessful search for this person, there may be a court order issued to the registrar, instructing them to issue a death certificate.

As far as forensic evidence goes, a person may be declared dead sooner than seven years based on “sufficient evidence”. What constitutes sufficient evidence may be up to a judge in that jurisdiction.

One example includes finding a large pool of the victim’s blood provided it is a volume large enough that a person couldn’t have survived a loss that significant.

The other caveat is a person may be presumed dead because they were in imminent peril. This happens following plane crashes or mass disasters or even war. The passengers of the Titanic who did not arrive aboard the Carpathia in New York were declared dead in a matter of days and weeks. A similar thing happened after September 11.

Courts don’t automatically grant the order for a death certificate, even after the seven years. If a petition is made for a death certificate, the following criteria may be considered as reasons to deny the petition:

· the absent person was a fugitive from justice

· the absent person had a bad relationship

· the absent person was having money troubles

· the absent person had no family ties or connection to the community

Again, this is highly dependent on individual courts/judges. It always pays to check the laws in your particular jurisdiction.

Here’s a good article on the basics of declaring death and what happens when that person turns out to be very much alive.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2253/what-happens-when-someone-legally-dead-shows-up-alive

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Forensic Friday: What Happened to Kenny? Part 2

March 22, 2013July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

In the first part of this series on an actual death investigation, Kenny, a male corpse in various stages of decomposition, was discovered dumped in a wooded area near a Canadian west coast city on a hot summer day.

There was no immediate identification, no apparent time of death, no location where he might have died, and certainly no obvious cause of death. Even without these basics, the corpse and the scene still crawled with information. On the surface, thousands of things were going to help in narrowing down the length of time that Kenny had been there.

Insects.

Entomology is a long accepted forensic science in determining the progression of nature’s recycling program. It relies on the study of the insect life cycle; egg, larva, pupa, adult, and back to egg. Each species has a specific time frame and a collection of specimens from the scene is critical. By determining which insects were present and what stages of development they were in, you can simply count the days of production. Fortunately, two factors were in favor this day.

One is that the conditions were perfect for insect proliferation; early summer, hot and dry weather, being in a semi-shaded rural area, and having a huge supply of rotting flesh. The second was having a world renowned lady entomologist residing a phone call away at the University of British Columbia – the ‘Bug Bitch’ as she’s affectionately known in the forensic world.

The scene was held until the entomologist arrived and took samples of the insect life and surrounding vegetation. A forensic pathologist was consulted by phone but declined to attend. Contrary to popular police shows, pathologists rarely examine a body on site as there’s little they can do that the coroner and police forensic officers can’t. A common misconception is that time of death can be readily determined by a pathologist taking rectal temperature or pulling some rabbit from their hat. Absolutely not so.

A must-do was a manual search of the corpse for any identifiers; wallet with ID, jewelry, pocket contents – anything – and in Kenny’s case nothing was found. There were some apparent things for follow-up. His mummified left arm showed numerous tattoos and his teeth, very visible in the skeletonized skull, showed a large gap between the top incisors. Without a doubt, in life, Kenny would have been very recognizable when he smiled.

A scene search had been methodically conducted by a small army of police officers and two service dogs. This was done in a strict grid pattern and anything of interest was recorded on a GPS data point, then collected, catalogued as evidence, and mapped out in a computerized reconstruction. This sounds easy, but the thick woods and step terrain made the search a logistical hassle.

Compounding the challenge was that the site had been used as an unauthorized waste dump. For years, careless people had chucked stuff over this bank and it was strewn with plastics and papers, tires and tools, boards and bags and boxes. Determining what was current, what was historic, and what was relevant, was a judgment call however something of interest could be seen trapped under the body.

Remains removal is usually a matter of physically lifting the corpse and placing it in a body bag, then carrying it to a van and transporting to the morgue. In Kenny’s case – not so easy. His state of decomp was to the point of disarticulation; in other words coming apart at the joints. Now this is not the first time a rotting corpse had been transferred and a trick of the trade is to use large, plastic snow scrapers to effectively ‘team shovel’ the cadaver in one piece into a bag. Again, sounds simple, till you consider this was on an incline and the first disturbance caused a swarm flies and a reek of gassing off.

With Kenny now on his way to the morgue, a better look was taken at what had been underneath him. A white plastic bag was recovered which contained the usual garbage; 7-11 wrappers, Big Gulp cups, napkins, pop cans… and a receipt with a time and date.

This obviously had been down the bank before Kenny landed on top of it, but did it come with him? It’d eventually proved corroborative in determining Kenny’s time of death, but who was he? How’d he get here? And what or who the hell killed him?

There was a lot of science ahead. And some good ‘ol detective work.

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Garry Rodgers has lived the life that he writes about. Now retired as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police homicide detective and forensic coroner, Garry also served as a sniper with British SAS–trained Emergency Response Teams and is a recognized expert-witness in firearms. A believer in ‘What Goes Around, Comes Around’ Garry provides free services in helping writers throughhis crime and forensic expertise. Garry’s new supernatural thriller No Witnesses To Nothing is based on a true crime story where many believe that paranormal intervention occurred. An Amazon Top 10 Bestseller, it’s available on Kindle and print on demand. You can connect with Garry via his Website: www.dyingwords.net

Forensic Friday: What Happened to Kenny? Part 1

March 15, 2013July 21, 2016 / Jordyn Redwood / Leave a comment

Welcome to the first of a series on an actual death which I investigated; probably the most interesting of my career. What makes this case so intriguing is the wide variety of forensic and investigative methods that were used and the incredible challenge in mandating the Coroner’s duty of establishing:

Who was the deceased?

When did they die?

Where did they die?

What was the cause of death?

By what means did they die?

In Kenny’s case I had none of these answers… to start with. Let me set the scene.

One hot summer morning, on beautiful Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, a cyclist was coasting downhill through a curved, thick, wooded stretch on a rural road when she caught the overpowering whiff of decaying organic matter. Stopping to investigate, she peered over a steep bank, seeing a blackened mass crawling with insects one hundred feet below. Thinking it was a deer that’d been hit by a car, she was about to leave when it occurred that deer don’t wear running shoes.

She punched her cell and, in fifteen minutes, the place was swarming with cops.

I arrived within the hour to examine the corpse. The police had the scene secured, photographed, GPS’d, and were doing perimeter grid searches with a service dog. As required by law, no one had interfered with the position nor condition of the body. The first thing that struck me was the cadaver’s bizarre condition.

Post mortem mechanisms of body breakdown are fairly predictable and uniform. There is a long recognized scientific process of ‘Mortis’ or changes in composition. It starts with ‘Palor Mortis’ which is a color difference once oxygenated blood stops flowing. ‘Algor Mortis’ comes next – the cooling of temperature which heads towards an equilibrium of the surroundings. ‘Rigor Mortis’ occurs within a few hours. It’s the stiffening of muscle tissue caused by an enzyme change. ‘Livor Mortis’, or lividity, is the gravitational settling of blood which creates a distinctive pattern on the lower sections and pressure points. ‘Putrefaction’ is the breaking down of tissue and the gassing off which creates the horrible smell associated with rotting meat. ‘Decompositon’ is lengthier and leads to the finality of ‘Skeletonization’ or ‘Mummification’.

In Kenny’s case, everything was going on here. He was supine, or lying on his back, with his left arm folded across his chest and his right positioned under his torso. Both legs were outstretched with his buttocks lodged against a large stump, preventing him from descending further down the hillside. Kenny’s face was gone, exposing a grotesque sneer like something from Pirates Of The Carribean, but the back of his scalp was intact holding a long mess of light brown hair. His only clothes were a baggy T-shirt, athletic shorts, and a pair of brand-new, unlaced Nike runners.

Kenny was The Body-Farm’s poster boy. His skull was a combination of skeletonization and putrefaction. His anterior (front) torso was in decomposition, but his posterior (rear) still showed lividity with minor rigor present in the neck and shoulders. Algor was at scene temperature and palor was all over the place. Curiously, his left arm and hand had mummified, right ones were decomposing, his exposed legs – from thighs to ankles – were only bones, but his feet were perfectly preserved inside the rubber shoes. To compound matters, Kenney was a mess of maggots and a swirl of flies.

There was one clear culprit at work. Heat.

But a variance in heat.

Kenny was lying on a north downslope, positioned parallel to the summer sun’s high east-to-west path. There were rows of evergreens between Kenny and the openness of the upper road which created a picket-fence effect, letting direct sun exposure at different times on different body parts. Full sun had been most prevalent on his center which mummified the arm/hand, but the shield of his shirt trapped in torso moisture, allowing a normal decomposition. His pelvis had been semi-shaded, though his legs had full sun, resulting in skeletonized bone. Kenny’s face was also obliterated by sun exposure and the quicker breakdown of the sun-beaten areas was exacerbated by insects who found the softer tissue easier to feed on.

So all I had was an apparent male found deceased in a very suspicious manner, as if killed somewhere else and dumped off this roadside. But who was he? When did he die? Where did he die? What caused his death? What were the means? Was the classification a homicide? An accident? Suicide? Natural cause? It was also apparent he’d been there for a considerable time. How long?

Time would tell.

This was the start of a long, complex investigation before I found out what happened to Kenny.

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