Uncovered :: Forgeries

Handwriting can be forged very easily if the forger is trained and well informed. But if the forger is not very talented (Forrest), then the forge could be easily identified as a fake. Here is an example. The top sample is my personal handwriting. The next one down was Forrest's freehand impersonation of my sample. The third one down was done by being held up to a window and traced onto a separate paper. He failed pretty miserably, but he did give a valiant effort.

Below is a ripped up check written to Isaac Bear by an anonymous class member. We were to put the check back together, a task I found very difficult, and then identify the writer of the check. After a painstaking process of piecing together the check, I correctly identified the author as Hamp.

Revealed :: The History of Hair and Fiber

The earliest use of hair analysis in forensics was when forensic scientist Francios Goron realized that the victim of a murder dyed his hair before the crime took place. This little piece of evidence was used to track down the criminal and eventually charge him for murder.

In the video we watched in class, there was a man who died from thallium poisoning. At first, the court ruled the death accidental, as there was thallium at the lab he was currently working at. But through analysis of his hair, investigators found out that the man had been given large amounts of thallium at different intervals through the entire time he was sick. This led to the discovery that the man's wife had been putting thallium in his thermos before he went to work. She was tried and charged for murder of her own husband.

Today, hair and fiber analysis in actual crime cases can get very complicated. We used regular microscope, but I'm sure the FBI uses some complex identification method that nobody else knows about.

Revealed :: Hair and Fiber Identification Techniques

Hair and fiber can be identified through different lengths, colors, and patters found under a microscope. For example, a black male's hair will be black and slightly curved while a dog hair will look bumpy and bubbly with a varying color.

All types of hair have different patterns, lengths and colors, and can be easily identified toward race. But when it comes to age, recent history, cause of death, etc, the process gets more complex. A piece of hair works somewhat like a tree. The rings inside the tree can identify the age of the tree and when it got certain diseases. Hair can also be used this way, as it too has rings that can be used to identify age and health.

Revealed :: Hair and Fiber Analysis Lab

We conducted two labs using a microscope to analyze different types of hair and fiber.

*NOTE: PICTURES ARE COURTESY OF LENA. NO USING WITHOUT HER PERMISSION!

First, the hair lab.

Black Male: Solid black. No color changes apparent. Slight curve.

White Male: Dark on the outside, lighter on the inside with a slight line in the middle. Straight.

Synthetic: Dark on the outside, light on the inside with the exception of a dark middle line. Fairly straight.

Asian Hair: Solid black. Straight.

Color Treated: Blonde with a little bit of a browner tint on the sides. Straight.

Dog: Light-ish colored with green-ish traces. Wavy-ish, not straight.

Cat: Black with white patches. Shingly.

Unknown: Dark outside, light inside with a middle line. Straight. Identified as white male.

Now the fiber lab.

Sample 1: White. Fluffy. Identified as cotton.

Sample 2: Brown. Stretchy. Identified as rubber.

Sample 3: Black. Stringy. Unidentified.

Sample 4: Red. Stringy. Unidentified.

Sample 5: White/Black. Fluffy/stringy. Unidentified.

Sample 6: Clear-ish. Stringy. Unidentified.

Identified :: Blood Types

There are 4 major types of blood, A, B, AB, and O. Each blood type has a different amount of inherited antigenic substances on the red blood cell, whether proteins, carbohydrates, glysolipids, or glycoproteins.

Each blood type can be split up into two different types of its own, negative or positive. When you have positive blood, you have the antigen of RH present inside your plasma. Negative is the lack of the RH antigen. Although transfusions between different blood types can be fatal, the transfusion between the same blood type but a positive and negative RH is harmless.

A+: Blood type A+ is the second most common type of blood in the world. It can receive blood from O-, O+, A-, and A+. It can donate blood to A+ and AB+.

A-: Blood type A- is the sixth most common blood type in the world. It can receive blood from O- and A-. It can donate blood to A-, A+, AB-, and AB+.

B+: Blood type B+ is the third most common blood type in the world. It can receive blood from O-, O+, B-, and B+. It can donate blood to B+ and AB+.

B-: Blood type B- is the seventh most common blood type in the world. It can receive blood from O- and B-. It can donate blood to B-, B+, AB-, and AB+.

AB+: Blood type AB+ is the fourth most common blood type in the world. It can receive blood from AB+, AB-, O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, and B-. However, it cannot donate blood to anyone but AB+.

AB-: Blood type AB- is the eighth and least common blood type in the world. It can receive blood from O-, A-, B-, and AB-. It can donate blood to AB- and AB+.

O+: Blood type O+ is the most common blood type in the world. It can receive blood from O- and O+. It can donate blood to O+, A+, B+, and AB+.

O-: Blood type O- is the fifth most common blood type in the world. It can receive blood from only O-. However, it can donate blood to all blood types, AB+, AB-, O+, O-, A+, A-, B+, and B-.

Identified :: Blood Transfusions

If blood between two humans is mixed improperly, it could very well end up fatal. Because all types of blood are different, as explained in the last section, they hold different amounts of proteins, carbs, and other substances that keep the body running. The mixing of blood gone wrong could end up in a deadly clot, or it could severely mess up red blood cells, which would stop the flow of oxygen through the body. Both of these could easily end up with death.

Another problem with transfusions is that the donor could be giving away deadly diseases through their blood, such as AIDS. There was a movie I saw once, called "The Cure", about a kid who had a blood transfusion done to him. Through that transfusion he was given AIDS. Him and his friend went on a quest to find a cure for AIDS, and it obviously came up unsuccessful. But this is a prime example of how blood transfusions could go wrong.

CSI :: Wilmington

The following is the story of a simulated crime scene that took place in Isaac Bear's room 112.

Evidence:

Various hair samples.

Cotton ball.

Gold chain.

Two blood samples.

Expo marker.

Footprint.

Unknown fiber.

Various hair samples: Further analyzed as possible Asian, possible artificially colored, and possible gelled or greased hair.

Cotton ball: Scented with a shampoo or perfume. I personally would have used a flame test to further analyze the scent, but I lacked the equipment needed to do so.

Gold chain: After a microscope analysis, the gold chain was ruled fake.

Two blood samples: Types A and B.

Expo marker: Orange with a flattened tip. No apparent fingerprints.

Footprint: Approximately size 8. Possible tennis shoe shape.

Unknown fiber: Remains unknown, but possible cotton or wool.

Possible Suspects:

Mike Kelly. 41. Teacher.

Kevin Popadines. 30. Teacher.

Kooladria Jones. 26. Hairstylist.

Ralph Johnson. 46. Teacher.

Jenny Cho. 29. Chemical Engineer.

Sam Tillson. 44. Unemployed. Former Construction Worker.

Possible Scenarios:

1. Jenny Cho was wondering around K-Mart when she spotted a tall man, Kevin Popadines, sleeping in a car with the door open. She noticed a gold chain around the Kevin's neck and decided it might look good on her. She walked over and got into the passenger's side of the car. Kevin was still asleep, so she tried to gently take the necklace off from around his neck. She got it off, but dropped ((Gold chain accounted for)) it when Kevin suddenly woke up, surprised to see a woman beside him in the car. Acting quickly, he snatched an orange expo marker ((Expo marker is accounted for)) out of his right pocket and threw it at Jenny ((Type A blood is accounted for)), leaving a sizable cut above her eye. She counter attacked by pulling her pepper spray from her purse, only to realize it was really a small bottle of perfume ((Perfume smelling cotton ball accounted for)) also hanging from the purse. She put the perfume back into her purse and instead repeatedly kicked Kevin in the chest. She missed one kick ((Footprint accounted for)) and hit the dashboard instead. He was lest wish a couple of fair gashes in his face and chest ((Type B blood accounted for)), leaving blood everywhere. They kept ripping at each other, tearing hair ((Asian hair samples accounted for)) and fibers ((Unknown fiber accounted for)) from the clothes. Eventually, Jenny hopped out the side of the car and made a run for it, while kevin followed closely behind. He never returned to his car, and both haven't been seen since. ((Left unaccounted for: Gelled hair sample. Artificially colored hair sample. Could possibly be from people previously in Kevin Popadine's car.))

2. The same scenario could have happened with Sam Tillson and Jenny Cho, which would explain the gelled and artificially colored hair (Sam's Hair). But it would leave the expo marker unaccounted for.