AP NATS - 1575 Forensic Report

pdf

School

York University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

1575

Subject

Computer Science

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

pdf

Pages

Uploaded by DrRoseOryx36

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 1 York University Forensics Report Forensic Files - Season 4, Episode 1 - Invisible Intruder Sarah Khan AP NATS 1575 - Forensic Science Dr. Iyer October 3rd, 2023

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 2 Rationale: I have chosen the case of the invisible intruder. This piqued my interest because of the title; "The invisible intruder". Many women relate to Darlie in multiple ways. Firstly, we relate to her because she consistently stays at home alone by cause of her husband is usually absent, so the possibility of an intruder breaking into the house seemed more likely, before the forensic reveals. For women being in an empty house as a woman can be scary, especially if we live on a main road, safety is one of our biggest concerns when being alone in our house. I chose this topic because I find the connections made between the science methods and the case fascinating. I already enjoy law with the sole purpose of rules and regulations or principles to abide by, but with the addition of the scientific proof it really interested me. For example, when they found scientific evidence she was the killer through fibreglass rods left on the knife. This case is specifically unique because of its complexity, precedent-setting and it’s legal implications. The case has multiple complex forensic challenges including blood spatter analysis, fibreglass rods, voice analysis and sound analysis. Important cases like this one can set precedents that impact how forensic science is used in future cases or how evidence can be shown in future court cases. In the perspective of forensic science, cases that have major legal repercussions, such as modifications to laws or legal processes, can be deemed notable. In lectures, we discussed 2 topics that relate to this case, crime scenes and physical evidence. This case relates to the crime scene chapter because if you look at the crime scene, it gives you a holistic look of what has happened. In other words all the different pieces of evidence come together like a puzzle to tell a story. Then when we look at the physical evidence which is also present in this case, where things were, for example in this scenario, blood spatter, fibres and impressions, all of the above give us a detailed look into the story like how the murder happened, was Darlie running or walking etc. To conclude,

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 3 those 2 chapters all tie into this case and play a significant role in our understanding of what happened at the crime scene. Science and Method: Firstly, the blood spatter patterns were recorded to see if Darlie’s version of events were accurate with what the crime scene revealed. There was blood all over the floor, Darlie said when she was chasing the intruder through the kitchen, she dropped a glass and vacuum cleaner, however, the broken glass and vacuum was on top of the blood which does not match her story. Secondly, on the vacuum, there was also a blood stain on the handle, the blood dripped on the handle at an eighty degree angle as if Darlie was leaning over the vacuum cleaner. In result, the pattern is not consistent with Darlie running past the vacuum. In addition to that, the wheel made an impression in the blood, this could not have been true if we believe Darlie who said she ran past it. Thirdly, the blood drops on the floor were circular in shape meaning they were deposited by someone standing still or walking slowly. Darlie said she ran through the kitchen after being stabbed on the couch but running would have produced blood drops more elliptical in shape, usually with a tail indicating the path and direction of the person running. Fourthly, on Darlie’s night shirt blood analysts found cast-off blood spatter on the back-right shoulder area which revealed the blood of her two sons, blood spatter was pointed upwards which is consistent with the movement of a bloody knife in Darlie’s right hand. According to Chapter 3 in Criminalistics , “As the number of different objects linking an individual to a crime scene increases, so does the likelihood of that individual’s involvement with the crime” (1998). This indicates that, because of how much evidence there was supporting the fact that Darlie was simply the culprit, she was the murderer.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 4 Secondly, while investigators spoke to Darlie, she held a towel to her neck which made investigators think she may have cleaned up some blood beforehand. To test this theory, investigators used luminol. According to Caroline Knowledge Centre, “Luminol is a chemical that produces a beautiful blue fluorescence when oxidized by hydrogen peroxide. In addition to providing one of the best-known examples of chemiluminescence, it is also a valuable crime scene investigation tool whose blue glow reveals the presence of blood” (2022). The investigators applied the luminol to the kitchen floor, the cabinet and beneath the sink. When applied they found footprints in front of the sink (that had been cleaned) which belonged to Darlie and by the cabinet there was a significant amount of blood (which had also been cleaned) which indicated to them that someone stood there for a long period of time bleeding ( suggesting Darlie cutting her self to stage the scene). Thirdly, blood spatter has a complex character that offers forensic investigators useful information. In this case, we see some key aspects of the nature of blood spatter including: characteristics, patterns, impact angle and velocity. Firstly, if we look at the murder weapon which is a 10 inch, white handled, kitchen knife, Darlie clearly says the knife was dropped on the kitchen floor but in the Forensic Files episode, Tom Bevel, a blood spatter analyst, says “we were unable to find anything that would be consistent with that. If it had as much blood on it as it was found, which it would have to, then it should produced an outline of a knife or evidence of the knife dropping on the floor” (FilmRise True Crime, 2022). Although, the investigators found the knife on the family room carpet where there was an unusual blood impression, which we call a transfer stain, there was heavy blood near the tip of the blade, which told the forensic experts the knife was in the hand of a person bleeding, that being said the person with the knife held it in a downwards position hence causing blood to drip from the wound in their arm onto the knife. To identify whose blood was on the knife forensic scientists had to conduct a DNA

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 5 test. Deoxyribonucleic acid, also known as DNA, is the molecule that contains the genetic material necessary for an organism to develop and operate. According to the National Library of Medicine, “ This has become an advantage for forensic investigators who use DNA to draw conclusions in identification of victims and accused in crime scenes” (Bukyya, 2021). Investigators identified the blood on the knife to be Damon and Darlie’s blood. Secondly, let’s consider the physical evidence of fibreglass left at the crime scene. On a bread knife found in the kitchen, Charles, who is a scientist at Dallas County Institute of Forensic, discovered a single fibreglass rod and some rubber dust on the knife. The cut window screen in the garage was made of polyvinyl chloride bundles, the interior core of that bundle was composed of fibreglass rods, those very fibreglass rods were the same found on the bread knife, indicating that the bread knife was used to cut the window screen to stage an intruder invasion. Thirdly, Barry, a forensic audio expert, investigated the phone call Darlie had made to the police. When he eliminated the background noise and isolated Darlie’s voice he noticed that she was moving fast through 3 different rooms. When looking at the sound analysis, it seems like Darlie was moving fast between rooms to set the scene of the crime. The sound of Darlie moving around in the rooms is different vs the sound of her moving outside or in her garage due to the different sounds of steps the floor makes. According to Trent Spikin, an architect, “Walking on a concrete floor versus a timber floor, you don't hear the same clomp clomp clomp that you do with timber” (Simpkin, 2023). This proves that you would in fact notice the difference between someone walking on a concrete floor rather than a wooden floor.

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 6 Societal Impacts: In this case it’s important to look at the culprit’s mental state, especially considering the deranged crime that was committed. From what we know, clearly Darlie’s children seemed to be in the way of her lifestyle and ambitions. For the reasoning behind her acts, I think she had postpartum psychosis. Her baby was eight months, if we consider Darlie’s mental health was poor then it’s safe to assume she was depressed, which led to psychosis because she felt lonely and alone, especially considering her husband did not participate in caring for her children, including the fact that at that point not only did she have an eight month old baby, but also two other children. In the case of Andrea Yates, a Texas jury convicted Andrea Yates of drowning her five children five years ago after concluding that she was ill at the time because of postpartum psychosis. According to Phillip J. Resnick, “Debbie Holmes (Andrea’s best friend) said that Andrea lost her own identity after her marriage…In spite of contrary advice from her treating psychiatrist about the high rate of recurrence of postpartum depression, Mrs. Yates and her husband decided to have another baby” (2007). This quotation from the law journal indicates that the pressure from her husband to have another child and her postpartum depression did in fact cause her to commit the homicides. Similarly, in the invisible intruder case, if Darlie was checked for mental illness, she would have been diagnosed with something similar and would not have been put on death row or given the death penalty. Instead she would have got psychological help. Legal Ramifications: For Darlie’s murders she was sentenced to death penalty, which she rightfully deserved because she was deemed to have willfully murdered her children. She was given the death penalty based on the Greg decision which collectively constituted 3 main cases. The Gregg ruling is the result of the cases cases of Regg v. Georgia (428 U.S. 153), Jurek v. Texas

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 7 (428 U.S. 262), and Proffitt v. Florida (428 U.S. 242). This significant ruling upheld the constitutionality of the new death penalty laws in Florida, Georgia, and Texas, reinstating the death sentence in those states (N.D.), this resulting in the decision to give Darlie the death penalty.

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 8 Bibliopgraphy: Bukyya, J. L., Tejasvi, M. L. A., Avinash, A., P, C. H., Talwade, P., Afroz, M. M., Pokala, A., Neela, P. K., Shyamilee, T. K., & Srisha, V. (2021, May 31). DNA profiling in forensic science: A Review . Global medical genetics. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8635824/ Constitutionality of the death penalty in America . Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.). https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/history-of-the-death-penalty/constituti onality-of-the-death-penalty-in-america FilmRise True Crime. 2022. Forensic Files - Season 4, Episode 1 - Invisible Intruder - Full Episode. [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsAs5Zd5fKc How to make Luminol Glow: Glowing reaction activity . Carolina Knowledge Center. (2022, October 7). https://knowledge.carolina.com/discipline/physical-science/how-to-make-luminol-glo w-glowing-reaction-activity/#:~:text=Luminol%20is%20a%20chemical%20that,revea ls%20the%20presence%20of%20blood. Resnick, P. J. (2007). The Andrea Yates case: Insanity on trial. Cleveland State University. https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?httpsredir=1&article=117 4&context=clevstlrev Saferstein, Richard. 1941-2017. (1998). Criminalistics. Upper Saddle River. Pearson. Simpkin, T. (2023, September 14). Concrete floor or timber floor - which you should use and why . Arcline.

Forensic Report - Invisible Intruder 9 https://arcline.co.nz/concrete-floor-or-timber-floor/#:~:text=Walking%20on%20a%20 concrete%20floor,to%20timber%20underneath%20the%20carpet.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

AP NATS - 1575 Forensic Report

Related Documents