Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: implementation of a fluid dynamic model for position determination of victims

Type of content
Journal Article
Thesis discipline
Degree name
Publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
English
Date
2015
Authors
Laan N
de Bruin KG
Slenter D
Wilhelm J
Jermy M
Bonn D
Abstract

© 2015 Macmillan Publishers Limited. Bloodstain Pattern Analysis is a forensic discipline in which, among others, the position of victims can be determined at crime scenes on which blood has been shed. To determine where the blood source was investigators use a straight-line approximation for the trajectory, ignoring effects of gravity and drag and thus overestimating the height of the source. We determined how accurately the location of the origin can be estimated when including gravity and drag into the trajectory reconstruction. We created eight bloodstain patterns at one meter distance from the wall. The origin's location was determined for each pattern with: the straight-line approximation, our method including gravity, and our method including both gravity and drag. The latter two methods require the volume and impact velocity of each bloodstain, which we are able to determine with a 3D scanner and advanced fluid dynamics, respectively. We conclude that by including gravity and drag in the trajectory calculation, the origin's location can be determined roughly four times more accurately than with the straight-line approximation. Our study enables investigators to determine if the victim was sitting or standing, or it might be possible to connect wounds on the body to specific patterns, which is important for crime scene reconstruction.

Description
Citation
Laan N, de Bruin KG, Slenter D, Wilhelm J, Jermy M, Bonn D (2015). Bloodstain Pattern Analysis: implementation of a fluid dynamic model for position determination of victims. Scientific Reports. 5(1). 11461-.
Keywords
Humans, Desiccation, Models, Theoretical, Blood Stains, Crime Victims, Hydrodynamics
Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Fields of Research::40 - Engineering::4012 - Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering::401299 - Fluid mechanics and thermal engineering not elsewhere classified
Field of Research::02 - Physical Sciences::0203 - Classical Physics::020303 - Fluid Physics
Field of Research::16 - Studies in Human Society::1602 - Criminology
Rights