Application of dye analysis in forensic fibre and textile examination: Case examples.

Seven cases and a quality assurance test are presented. In these cases, fibres or textiles submitted for investigation were analysed by HPLC-DAD-MS to identify the dyes present. The cases presented illustrate that it is possible to identify textile dyes in fibre traces recovered for forensic analysis. The results show that a mixture of dyes is present in all textiles investigated, except one sample that was taken from a manufacturer dye shade card. It is concluded that dye analyses improves the evidential value of forensic fibre examinations, as it becomes possible to distinguish textiles that are different in dye chemistry, but have a similar colour. In addition dye analysis makes the examination more robust, as it becomes possible to attribute colour differences between samples to identical dyes (mixed in different ratios) or to chemically different dyes.

On the recovery of fibres by tape lifts, tape scanning, and manual isolation.

The recovery of fibre traces via tape lifting, tape scanning and manual isolation is investigated. The recovery efficiency of taping was determined using different tapes, donor textiles, and receptor textiles. It was determined that tape lifts generally recover over 90% of extraneous fibres that had been transferred by direct contact with a donor textile. The recovery via tape scanning was evaluated by the preparation of a set of 15 tapes that contained a number of target fibres on a background of other fibres. The tapes presented varying difficulty and were investigated by trained fibre examiners. The examiners were asked to locate the target fibres and to provide their opinion on the difficulty of the search. As expected, the efficiency decreases for more difficult searches. It was determined that the efficiency of the search was influenced by the microscopic illumination modes used by the examiner. A final experiment investigated the recovery by manual isolation of fibres from non-textile items. It was determined that all fibres from tie cables and knives were recovered, except in those cases where the recipient item contained many fibres. In addition, the examiners correctly sampled each of three fibre populations present on a sample of duct tape.

Understanding the visibility of blood on dark surfaces: A practical evaluation of visible light, NIR, and SWIR imaging.

Bloodstains on dark surfaces are often difficult to detect due to a lack of contrast. Infrared photography is in many cases a solution as it enhances the contrast between blood and background. Still, on some surfaces bloodstains cannot be visualized. In this study, we investigate why bloodstains on certain surfaces are not detected and how visibility can be improved. Bloodstains on 166 dark fabrics were photographed by four different cameras and for each, the visibility of the bloodstains was scored. The spectral properties of the dark fabrics were examined as well as the properties of the dyes used to colour the textiles. In addition, spreading of the blood within the textile and the roughness of the material were taken into account. In the investigated set of textiles, visibility of blood is mainly determined by the spectral properties of the textile dye. In addition, a high surface roughness of the textile reduces the visibility.