The potential for geochemical discrimination of single- and mixed-source soil samples from close proximity urban parkland locations

Cheshire, Keyne; Morgan, Ruth M.; Holmes, J. W.

doi:10.1080/00450618.2016.1144789

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Diatom abundance increases could also be attributed to secondary diatom transfers from subsequent environments visited during wear. The complexity of pre-and post-crime scene transfers has previously been demonstrated in relation to soil evidence [16,34,35]. One study highlighted the succession of soil quartz grains on the soles of footwear during wear, generating mixed-provenance forensic samples requiring careful analysis and exclusionary interpretation [16].…”

Section: Variable Intermediate Decay (4-48 H)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshwater diatom persistence on clothing I: A quantitative assessment of trace evidence dynamics over time

Scott

Jones

Cameron

et al. 2021

Forensic Science International

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Freshwater diatoms offer valuable circumstantial forensic indicators, with a growing empirical research base aiming to identify and understand some of the spatial and temporal factors affecting their validity as trace evidence. Previous studies demonstrated that recipient surface characteristics, environmental variability, and individual species traits influence the initial transfer of freshwater diatoms to clothing. However, no previous research has sought to consider the impact of these and other variables on the persistence of transferred diatoms over investigative timescales. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and explore diatom retention dynamics on clothing following wear over time (hours to weeks). A series of experiments were designed to examine the impact of clothing material, seasonality, and time since wear (persistence interval) on the total number and species-richness of diatoms recovered and their relative retention (%) over time. Nine clothing swatches were immersed in a freshwater environment and then worn for one month in the spring. Subsamples were retrieved at regular intervals (e.g. 30 mins, 1 h, 8 h, 24 h) up to one month, diatoms were extracted using a H 2 O 2 method, and examined microscopically. Three clothing materials were subject to the same experiment in the winter to generate a seasonal comparison. The results broadly identified three stages of diatom persistence on clothing -rapid initial loss, variable intermediate decay, and sustained long-term presence. Clothing material significantly impacted the number of diatoms recovered and retention dynamics over time, with complex interactions identified with seasonality. Although fewer diatoms were recovered in the winter, overall retention trends were consistent at the different times of year. The findings demonstrate that diatoms can be recovered from clothing, even weeks or months after an initial transfer, yielding a useful environmental trace indicator for forensic reconstructions over investigative timescales. The impact of clothing material and seasonality on persistence identified cotton, acrylic, and viscose clothing as the most reliable temporal repository of diatom trace evidence, with a more abundant forensic assemblage available for forensic comparisons in the spring.

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Section: Variable Intermediate Decay (4-48 H)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshwater diatom persistence on clothing I: A quantitative assessment of trace evidence dynamics over time

Scott

Jones

Cameron

et al. 2021

Forensic Science International

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“…Apesar de ser uma técnica de análise destrutiva, pesquisas realizadas com ICP demonstraram elevada capacidade de discriminação de amostras com proveniência até então desconhecida. Algumas, referem-se ao estudo de vestígios de solo (Reidy et al, 2013;Cheshire et al, 2017;Madureira-Carvalho et al, 2018;Kim et al, 2019). A análise forense do solo utiliza informações extensas sobre esta matriz para testar hipóteses e responder a questões legais.…”

Section: Análise De Microvestígiosunclassified

The hidden face of crime scenes: a review on microtrace

Testoni¹,

Ortiz²,

Camargo³

et al. 2023

RevSALUS

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Introduction: Microtrace consists of materials of different nature that can be found in crime scenes, being difficult to see with the naked eye, due to their submillimetre, submicroscopic or microscopic dimensions. Objectives: This work aimed to address the characteristics of the main types of microtrace found in crime scenes. Material and Methods: As a research methodology, publications exclusively in the format of scientific articles were sought, indexed in the Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases, using the terms microtrace and trace evidence. Results: Microtrace are classified according to their organic origin (fingerprints, diesel and biodiesel, hair, wood, microscopic plant origin and natural fibres), natural inorganic (microfossils, minerals and soils) and anthropic inorganic (bricks, paints, glass, plastics, synthetic fibres, gunshot residue and paper), and can reveal crucial information at crime scenes, depending on the technique used to process it (e.g., inductively coupled plasma, infrared spectroscopy, gas and liquid chromatography, micro Raman spectroscopy). In this way, laboratories must meet specific requirements, regardless of the analytical technique to be used, to extract reliable information from microtrace. These requirements consist of: 1) Accuracy, 2) Sensitivity, 3) Uniqueness, 4) Association, 5) Speed and simplicity, 6) Versatility, 7) Reliability and reproducibility, 8) Traceability, 9) Accessibility, and 10) Availability of data. Conclusions: This work highlighted the diversity and importance of microtrace, since extracting information from them can give them great potential as material evidence in criminal investigations, depending on the applied collection methods and the techniques used in their laboratory examination.

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“…Being able to compare a mixed source sample (for example from an item of footwear) to a single source sample (for example from the crime scene) and reduce the risk of false negatives is a valuable attribute (as outlined by Morgan & Bull, ). To date, attempts to apply analytical techniques that require the homogenization of a sample of trace material prior to analysis, in order to distinguish between different sources of material present in a single sample, have only served to demonstrate the complexity of the task (for example for mixed source DNA samples (Butler, Kline, & Coble, ) and in the elemental (chemical) discrimination of soil samples (Cheshire, Morgan, & Holmes, )). This remains a significant challenge for these analytical methods.…”

Section: Understanding Trace Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crime reconstruction and the role of trace materials from crime scene to court

Morgan

Meakin

French

et al. 2019

WIREs Forensic Science

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Crime reconstruction takes place in a complex ecosystem and needs to be responsive to the context of each case. For accurate, reproducible and transparent crime reconstructions to take place, a holistic approach is needed that considers the different stakeholders, different types of trace material, integral human decision-making and interconnected nature of the forensic science process. For robust reconstruction, there needs to be a consideration of both the distinctive types of trace material that can contribute to the reconstruction, and an understanding of the interplay of human decision-making within reconstruction approaches. In addition, it is also necessary to consider source attribution of a trace material in addition to the activities that led to the generation, identification, transfer, and persistence of the trace. This requires explicit and tacit forms of knowledge, and an incorporation of the inherent uncertainty and risk in the reconstruction approach. The communication of conclusions reached in a crime reconstruction that address what the evidence means is also an important consideration given the different requirements of intelligence and evidence. Therefore, undertaking a crime reconstruction within a holistic framework that seeks to incorporate the complexity of the forensic science ecosystem is valuable for achieving a problem solving approach that offers reproducible, transparent reconstructions with a clear articulation of risk and uncertainty that can be of value to investigators and the courts.

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The potential for geochemical discrimination of single- and mixed-source soil samples from close proximity urban parkland locations

Cited by 14 publications

References 31 publications

Freshwater diatom persistence on clothing I: A quantitative assessment of trace evidence dynamics over time

Freshwater diatom persistence on clothing I: A quantitative assessment of trace evidence dynamics over time

The hidden face of crime scenes: a review on microtrace

Crime reconstruction and the role of trace materials from crime scene to court

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