Preliminary Considerations for Crime Scene Analysis in Cases of Animals Affected by Homemade Ammonium Nitrate and Aluminum Powder Anti-Personnel Landmines in Colombia: Characteristics and Effects.

During the armed conflict in Colombia, homemade improvised antipersonnel landmines were used to neutralize the adversary. Many active artifacts remain buried, causing damage to biodiversity by exploding. The extensive literature describes the effects and injuries caused to humans by conventional landmines. However, there is considerably less information on the behavior and effects of homemade antipersonnel landmines on fauna and good field investigation practices. Our objectives were to describe the characteristics of a controlled explosion of a homemade antipersonnel landmine (using ammonium nitrate as an explosive substance), to compare the effectiveness of some evidence search patterns used in forensic investigation, and to determine the effects on a piece of an animal carcass. The explosion generated a shock wave and an exothermic reaction, generating physical effects on the ground and surrounding structures near the point of explosion. The amputation of the foot in direct contact with the device during the explosion and multiple fractures were the main effects on the animal carcass. Finally, it was determined that finding evidence was more effective in a smaller search area. Many factors can influence the results, which must be weighed when interpreting the results, as discussed in this manuscript.

Profile of explosives's use in ATMs/cash safes robberies in Brazil.

This retrospective study reports data obtained by the Federal Police's National Institute of Criminalistics (INC-PF) relating to chemical analysis aimed at identifying explosives used in Automated teller machines (ATMs)/cash safes robberies between 2014 and 2020 in Brazil. 93 Real cases were studied and, based on the analysis carried out on the materials related to these cases, focusing on the type of explosive used, the following distribution profile was obtained: I) explosive mixtures based on chlorates and/or perchlorates (53%); explosive emulsion (22%); black gunpowder (13%); negative/inconclusive (11%) and organic - pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) (1%). These results can contribute to investigations related to diversion/loss of explosives for criminal purposes, indicating, for example, through relationships between prevalence in the use of a certain type of explosive with a certain location, its possible origin (mining industry, explosive industries, fireworks factories, among others). The profile observed in the results can guide the selection of explosives to be studied in future research, as the possibilities are vast. Furthermore, despite the expressive number of occurrences in Brazil in the period of interest of this study, only a small fraction of samples was sent to the forensic chemistry laboratory to identify the explosive involved, which suggests that expanding chemical analysis should be encouraged in this field. In combination with an increase in professional training and collaboration trials between the laboratories, these activities can improve the chemical explosive's profile in Brazil, enabling the search for correlations between occurrences and contributing to the growth and development of this area.

Hypothermia Deaths in Van Province, Turkey

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate autopsy findings in hypothermia-related deaths in Van Province, Turkey, a city near the Turkey-Iran border. Methods: Autopsy reports on 43 hypothermia fatalities were retrospectively reviewed. Data regarding age, gender, nationality of the cases, seasonality of the deaths, crime scene findings, autopsy findings, manner of deaths, risk factors for hypothermia, other traumatic lesions, and toxicology were obtained from autopsy records and scene investigation records. Results: There were 36 males and 7 females. The mean age was 20.5 years. More than half of the cases died or were found dead in the spring months. All but one of the cases was found dead outdoors. There were common red-coloured livor mortis in 33 cases (76.7%), antemortem traumas in 16 cases (37.2%), cold erythema in 26 cases (60.5%), myxedema in 1 case, bloody discolouration in the synovial fluid in 11 (84.6%) cases, and Wischnewski spots in 32 cases (74.4%). Conclusion: The study showed that illegal refugees are an important social problem in Turkey. Hypothermia should be considered as a cause of death for refugees when they are found, especially in the cold provinces. In the diagnosis of hypothermia, bloody discolouration of the synovial fluid is confirmed to be a valuable finding. Wischnewski spots remain valuable for positive identification.

Rastro conductual del asaltante sexual serial desde la perfilación criminal inductiva / Behavioral trace of the serial sexual assailant from the inductive criminal profiling

Resumen La perfilación criminal ha despertado interés tanto en el contexto académico como en la cotidianidad, debido a la multiplicidad de casos aberrantes que se presentan día a día en el mundo. Es por eso que el objetivo de este artículo fue identificar a la luz del enfoque estadístico por facetas, desde la perfilación criminal de tipo inductiva, patrones conductuales inferidos de la información que se dispone de la escena del crimen de los casos de caso de Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillo, alias "La Bestia" quien violentó y asesinó a más de 172 niños y el de Javier Velasco Valenzuela quien asesino, violó y torturó, bajo la modalidad de empalamiento, a Rosa Elvira Cely.

Abstract Criminal profiling has sparked interest both in the academic context and in daily life, due to the multiplicity of aberrant cases that occur day by day in the world. That is why the objective of this article was to identify the light of the statistical approach by facets, from inductive criminal profiling, behavioral patterns inferred from the information available at the crime scene of the cases of Luis Alfredo Garavito's case. Cubillo, alias "La Bestia", who rapes and murdered more than 172 children and Javier Velasco Valenzuela, who murdered, raped and tortured Rosa Elvira Cely in the form of impalement.

Redox titration on foldable paper-based analytical devices for the visual determination of alcohol content in whiskey samples.

This report describes the development of foldable paper-based analytical devices (PADs) to perform redox titrations. Paper devices were designed to contain three spot tests, which were wax printed and folded to create a three-layer structured platform and to promote the sample transport based on vertical flow. The proposed devices were explored for the visual determination of the alcoholic content in whiskey samples. For this purpose, a classical permanganometry reaction was employed to allow the indirect determination of ethanol based on the required amount of oxalic acid to react with the excess of permanganate in acidic medium. The endpoint of the redox titrations performed in different alcoholic concentrations was measured and revealed a good linear behavior for the ethanol concentration range between 0% and 50% (R2 = 0.992), achieving a limit of detection equal to 2.1%. The alcoholic content was determined in a total of 44 whiskey samples seized by the Brazilian Federal Police. When compared to genuine samples and using an established cut-off limit, 73% of the seized samples were correctly classified as whiskeys containing adulterated alcoholic content. The proposed method was compared to a reference protocol and no difference was observed at the confidence level of 95%. The instrumental simplicity, the low cost, the sample volume requirement, the short analysis time and mainly the inherent portability make these devices quite attractive for on-site forensic applications.

Rapid separation of post-blast explosive residues on glass electrophoresis microchips.

This study describes the development of an analytical methodology based on the use of microchip electrophoresis (ME) devices integrated with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (C4 D) for the separation and detection of inorganic anions in post-blast explosive residues. The best separation condition was achieved using a running buffer composed of 35 mmol/L lactic acid, 10 mmol/L histidine and 0.070 mmol/L cetyl(trimethyl ammonium) bromide. For C4 D measurements, the highest sensitivity was obtained applying a 700 kHz sinusoidal wave with excitation voltage of 20 Vpp . The separation of Cl- , NO3- , NO2- , SO42- , ClO4- and ClO3- was performed within ca. 150 s with baseline resolution and efficiencies between 4.4 × 104 and 1.7 × 105 plates/m. The found limits of detection ranged between 2.5 and 9.5 µmol/L. Last, real samples of post-blast explosive residues were analyzed on the ME-C4 D devices obtaining successfully the determination of Cl- , NO3- and SO42- . The achieved concentration values varied between 12.8-72.5 mg/L for Cl- , 1.7-293.1 mg/L for NO3- and 1.3-201.3 mg/L for SO42- . The data obtained using ME-C4 D devices were in good agreement with the concentrations found by ion chromatography. The approach reported herein has provided short analysis time, instrumental simplicity, good analytical performance and low cost. Furthermore, the ME-C4 D devices emerge as a powerful and portable analytical platform for on-site analysis demonstrating to be a promising tool for the crime scene investigation.

Portable analytical platforms for forensic chemistry: A review.

This current review article focuses on recent contributions to on-site forensic investigations. Portable and potentially portable methods are presented and critically discussed about (bio)chemical trace analysis and studies performed outside the controlled laboratory environment to rapidly help in crime scene inquiries or forensic intelligence purposes. A wide range of approaches including electrochemical sensors, microchip electrophoresis, ambient ionization on portable mass spectrometers, handheld Raman and NIR instruments as well as and point-of-need devices, like paper-based platforms, for in-field analysis of latent evidences, controlled substances, drug screening, hazards, and others to assist in law enforcements and solving crime more efficiently are highlighted. The covered examples have successfully demonstrated the huge potential of portable devices for on-site applications. Future investigations should consider analytical validation to compete equality and even replace current gold standard methods.

La participación del médico forense en la escena del crimen / The participation of the forensic physician in the crime scene

Resumen El análisis científico de la escena del crimen es de trascendental importancia en la investigación judicial. Es función de un equipo, del cual el médico forense es parte obligatoria. El conocimiento de las circunstancias y antecedentes del hecho investigado, junto con el estudio del lugar y del cadáver, constituyen elementos indispensables para el correcto abordaje del cuerpo en la necropsia; de esta manera, se cumplirá con el objetivo primordial del trabajo pericial médico forense: contribuir al esclarecimiento de la comisión de un hecho delictivo con resultado de muerte. En este artículo se ofrece una actualización del tema de la participación del médico forense en la escena del crimen, considerando la realidad de la práctica pericial médico legal en Panamá.

Abstract The scientific analysis of the crime scene is of transcendental importance in the judicial investigation. It is a function of a team, of which the forensic physician is an indispensable part. Knowledge of the circumstances and background of the researched fact, together with the study of the place and the corpse, constitute essential elements for the correct approach to the body at postmortem examination; in this way, the primary objective of the forensic medical expert work: contribute to the elucidation of the commission of a criminal act resulting in death, will be accomplished. This article offers an update of the theme of the participation of the forensic physician at the scene of the crime, considering the reality of the medicolegal practice in Panamá.

Evidencias físicas y perfilación criminológica perspectiva médico legal / Physical evidence and criminological profiling legal medical perspective

ResumenLa perfilación criminológica es una polémica técnica de investigación que utiliza, entre otros elementos, las evidencias físicas y psicológicas para descifrar crímenes en los que se desconoce el autor. Tales evidencias son aportadas por los peritos científicos de los servicios médico-forenses y de Criminalística.Los peritajes representan parte del fundamento científico de la novedosa técnica y es por eso que deben practicarse de acuerdo a protocolos y estándares de buenas prácticas, avalados internacionalmente.Para la correcta interpretación y valoración de los resultados de los análisis de las pruebas científicas, al equipo encargado de elaborar el perfil criminológico deben integrarse, entre otros, médicos forenses, psicólogos y psiquiatras forenses.

AbstractCriminological profiling is a controversial technique that uses, among other elements, physical and psychological evidences for unsolved crimes investigation. Such evidences are contributed by the scientific experts of forensic services. The forensic results represent a fundamental part of the scientific basis of profiling and they should be done according to protocols and standards of good practices, endorsed internationally. For the correct interpretation and assessment of the results coming from scientific evidence, in the team responsible for developing criminological profile should be integrated, among others, medical examiners, psychologists and forensic psychiatrists.

Use of an Alternate Light Source to Detect Tooth and Bone

Resumo O objetivo desse trabalho foi identificar a combinação do comprimento de onda e filtro que melhor detecta dente e osso e verificar qual material biológico (esmalte, raiz dental ou osso) possui maior fluorescência quando exposto a uma fonte de luz alternativa (ALS). Amostras de dente e osso foram iluminadas com uma ALS e fotografadas. Os programas Adobe Photoshop™ e ImageJ™ foram usados para análise das imagens. Os dados obtidos das medidas dos pixels das fotografias foram submetidos a análise de variância. Os valores com efeitos significativos tiveram suas médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey. Em todos os testes, o nível de significância adotado foi p≤0,05 e os valores calculados pelo sistema SAS. Os resultados mostraram que a melhor combinação para detectar dente e osso é o comprimento de onda 455 nm com o filtro laranja. A fluorescência da raiz é maior que a do esmalte que é maior do que o osso. O material biológico teve maior fluorescência que o material inerte. Esse conhecimento pode auxiliar o perito a triar e detectar esses materiais biológicos, por exemplo em situações em que dentes e pequenos ossos estiverem fragmentados, tanto na cena do crime quanto no laboratório.

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify the combination of wavelength and filter that best detects tooth and bone, and to determine which biological materials (enamel, dental root or bone) have highest fluorescence intensity when exposed to an alternate light source (ALS). Tooth and bone samples were lighted with ALS and photographed. Adobe Photoshop™ and ImageJ™ softwares were used for image analysis. Data obtained by measuring the photograph pixels were subjected to analysis of variance. The mean values of significant effects were compared by the Tukey test. In all tests, the significance level was set at p≤0.05 and the values calculated by the SAS system. The results showed that the best combination for detecting tooth and bone is an illumination wavelength of 455 nm with an orange filter. The fluorescence of dental root is greater than that of enamel, which in turn is greater than that of bone. The biological material had markedly higher fluorescence than the inert material. This knowledge can help the forensic expert to screen and detect biological materials, for example in situations where there are fragmented teeth and small bones, both at the scene and in the laboratory.

Analysis of the procedures used to evaluate suicide crime scenes in Brazil: a statistical approach to interpret reports.

This study uses statistical techniques to evaluate reports on suicide scenes; it utilizes 80 reports from different locations in Brazil, randomly collected from both federal and state jurisdictions. We aimed to assess a heterogeneous group of cases in order to obtain an overall perspective of the problem. We evaluated variables regarding the characteristics of the crime scene, such as the detected traces (blood, instruments and clothes) that were found and we addressed the methodology employed by the experts. A qualitative approach using basic statistics revealed a wide distribution as to how the issue was addressed in the documents. We examined a quantitative approach involving an empirical equation and we used multivariate procedures to validate the quantitative methodology proposed for this empirical equation. The methodology successfully identified the main differences in the information presented in the reports, showing that there is no standardized method of analyzing evidences.