Analyzing Blood Splatter

• Blood spatter patterns can vary from a few drops on a bed to pools on the floor or sprays across the wall.

Properties of Blood Volume• On average, blood accounts for 8 % of total body weight• 5 to 6 liters of blood for males 4 to 5 liters of blood for

females• A 40 percent blood volume loss, internally or/and externally,

is required to produce irreversible shock (death).• A blood loss of 1.5 liters, internally or externally, is required

to cause incapacitation.

Properties of Blood

• Why does a drop of blood have a curved surface when it lands on a flat surface instead of spreading out flat?

• Why doesn’t it separate in the air before it hits the ground?

Gravity, cohesion, adhesion, surface tension

Properties of Blood• Gravity: pulls it to ground

– Droplet becomes longer than wide• Cohesion: blood mixture is attracted to similar

blood mixtures and sticks together, not separates, as it falls– Causes droplet to stay together

• Adhesion: attractive forces of two different objects– starts as teardrop because of adhesion

• Surface Tension: the elastic like property of the surface of the liquid that makes it tend to contract, caused by the forces of attraction between the molecules of the liquid.– Formation of a sphere

DensityDensity is defined as mass per unit volume.

The density of water is 1000 kg/m3.

The density of blood is proportional to the total protein concentration orcellular component of blood and is influenced only to a minor extent by other ions, gases etc. that are dissolved in the plasma.

The density of blood plasma is approximately 1025 kg/m3 and the density of blood cells circulating in the blood is approximately 11 25 kg/m3. The average density of whole blood for a human is about 1060kg/m3.

Surface tension is important in bloodstain pattern analysis

• the gravitational force must overcome

• the surface tension of blood before

• a drop of blood can fall, and• drops of blood remain intact

as they move• through the air due to

surface tension.

Dropping Blood

Blood Droplets• Flat surface – edge of blood drop

appears smooth and circular– Glass, marble

• Porous surface – edge of drop of blood may form small spikes (extensions) or satellites– Spikes – attached to make droplet– Satellites – not attached to main

droplet

Six Patterns Blood can be classified:

1. Passive Fall - Blood falling directly to floor at 90-degree angle will produce circular drops, with secondary satellites being more produced if surface hits is textured

Six Patterns Blood can be classified:

2. Arterial spurts or gushes – typically found on walls or ceilings caused by pumping action of the heart

3. Splashes – shaped like exclamation points. – Shape and position of spatter pattern can help

locate the position of the victim at the time of the attack

Six Patterns Blood can be classified:

Six Patterns Blood can be classified:

4. Smears – left by bleeding victim depositing blood as he or she touches or brushes against a wall or furniture– transfers

Six Patterns Blood can be classified:

5. Trails – can be left by bleeding victim depositing blood as he or she moves from one location to another.– Can be round, smeared, appear as spurts

Six Patterns Blood can be classified:

6. Pools – form around victim who is bleeding heavily and remains in one place. – If victim is moved to another location, there

may be droplets or smearing connecting the first location with a second

Spatter Patterns and Type of Wound

• High Velocity Impact (100 ft/sec) – fine-mist spatter patter

• Size of Droplets – less than 1 mm– Ex. Gunshot wound

Spatter Patterns and Type of Wound

• Medium-Velocity Impact (25 ft/sec) – Size – 1-4 mm– Ex. – beating, stabbing

Spatter Patterns and Type of Wound

• Low-Velocity Impact (5 ft/sec)– Size – 4 to 6 mm– Ex – blunt object impact (hammer, flashlight, etc)

• When blood is present at a crime scene, investigators will examine it and ultimately confirm that it is human blood by testing it in the laboratory. A test strip is used at the scene and a positive result will turn it green.

• In some cases, the offender will have cleaned up the crime scene and removed all visible traces of blood. This is commonly done by washing the area, using bleach or removing stained furnishings.

Luminol• Crime scene investigators may search

the area using a high-powered light that reveals tiny specks of blood or they may use luminol.

• Luminol is a reagent that reacts with the iron found in hemoglobin to cause luminescence. It is sprayed across the crime scene and will show up the finest traces of blood.

Basic facts about blood spatter patterns:• Medium velocity spatter is caused by fist fights, boots and

baseball bats• Medium velocity droplets are caused by knives• High velocity spatter is caused by bullets

When a blood spot falls straight down to the floor, it will be circularA blood spot falling at an angle will be more elongated like an exclamation mark

Examination of Directionality of Blood

• Shape provides clues to direction from which blood originated– Circular drop (width = length) – fell straight down

• Typical of dripping wound (passive)– Elongated drop (width < length) – possible to determine

direction blood was traveling• When blood comes into contact with another surface, it

adheres or sticks to it– Point of impact may appear darker and wider than rest of

drop of blood spatter

Examination of Directionality of Blood

• Momentum – keeps blood moving in direction it was traveling– As droplet moves away from source, it elongates

and may produce a thinner, tail-like appearance• Tail points in direction of blood’s movement• Satellites or secondary drops may appear in front of

moving droplet of blood

Blood Spatter and Angle of Impact

ANGLE of IMPACT - the acute angle formed between the direction of the blood drop and the plane of the surface it strikes.

• When a blood spot falls straight down to the floor, it will be circular A blood spot falling at an angle will be more elongated like an exclamation mark The tail of the exclamation mark will always point in the direction of travel

• Arterial bleeding causes spurts of blood caused by the contractions of the heart. This can cause a curtain-like patterns on walls

• Cast-off patterns are created when blood is flicked off a moving object such as a baseball bat

A skilled investigator can analyze a crime scene and enter facts and figures into a computer program to determine things such as the height of the killer and the type of bleeding. Here are some of the facts that can be revealed through careful investigation:• Whether the victim was sitting, lying or standing during the

attack• The type of weapon used and the type of injury caused• Where in the room the victim was attacked and if he was

moved afterwards• The track of the blood curve can reveal if the assailant was

right or left-handed• The amount and pattern of blood can reveal if the attack

was short and quick or long and frenzied

Whatever calculation is used the steps are the same

• Identify stains that have a common area of convergence.

• Draw lines through the central long axis of the stain away from the direction of travel.

• Identify the area of convergence.• Measure the distance (cm) from the back edge of

the stain to the area of convergence.• Calculate the angle of impact of each of the

stains (measure width and length of stains in mm and apply the formula).

• Use a minimum of 3 stains.

Angle of ImpactThe angle of impact can be calculated using the formula:angle of impact = arcsin (opposite side/hypotenuse)

The investigator has to do the following to obtain the data:• 1.Measure the length and width of the splatter.• 2.Divide the width of the splatter by its length.• 3.Determine the arcsin of that number, typically

using a calculator with an arcsin function.

Identifying Blood Trail Motion• Droplets dripping from a moving object or

person do not• drop straight down. As they are in motion

themselves, they• fall to the ground at an angle.

Direction of Travel

Point of Convergence• The point of convergence of all the blood

spatters can be located by drawing an extended line and locate the point of intersection of all the lines.

• A string can be pinned on each blood spot and raise it following its angle of impact.

• A three-dimensional model can be created and the point of convergence can be shown

Area of Convergence

When multiple angles are analyzed

Once you have determined the area of convergence, you will measure the distance from the area of convergence to the edge of the drop of blood when it first impacted a surface. The distance is indicated by the dotted line.

Next determine the angle of impact for each droplet of blood.

a. Select one of the blood droplets and determine the angle of impact for that drop of blood. b. To calculate the angle of impact, you will need to use the Law of Sines. c. Remember, when you measure the length of the blood droplet, do not include the thin extension of the leading edge (tail).

Point of Origin

The base of each stain’s present position, the point in two dimensional space where the paths converge (c), and their point of

origin (o), define another right angle

Using the Law of Tangents to solve for height.

a. Going back to the right triangle and adding the angle of impact, we can determine the height from where the blood originated. b. The height of the source of blood is the side opposite the angle of impact. c. To solve for the height (or side opposite the angle of impact), we apply the Law of Tangents.

Tangent of angle of impact = opposite / adjacent = height / distance

Height = tangent of angle distance

Computer Programs Used