Forensics For Dummies 2nd Edition

429 Pages·2016·4.18 MB·English

by  Lyle

Forensics For Dummies®, 2nd Edition
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Copyright © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2016930373
ISBN 978-1-119-18165-1 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-18168-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-
1-119-18166-8 (ebk)
Forensics For Dummies®
Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/forensics to view
this book's cheat sheet.
Table of Contents
Cover
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Cracking Open the Case
Chapter 1: Understanding the World of Forensic
Science
Defining Forensics: The Science of Catching Criminals
Getting the Big Picture: Forensic Science in Action
Investigating the Crime Lab
Peeking Inside the Criminalist’s Toolbox
The Cornerstone of Forensic Science: Locard’s Exchange
Principle
Chapter 2: Getting to Know the Forensics Team
Gathering the Evidence: The Criminalist at Work
From Analyzing Blood to Identifying Bugs: Forensic Science
Specialists
Forensic Investigation’s Head Honcho: The Medical Examiner
Dealing with the Dead: The Coroner’s Technician
Testifying as an Expert
Chapter 3: Collecting and Protecting the Evidence
Assessing the Scene of the Crime
Classifying the Evidence
Locating the Evidence
Collecting and Preserving the Evidence
Locating a Missing Corpse
Chapter 4: Delving into the Criminal Mind
Defining the Role of the Forensic Psychiatric Professional
Assessing the Brain
Dealing with Deception
Assessing Competence and Sanity
Tracking Serial Offenders
Profiling the Perpetrator
Linking Criminals and Crime Scenes
Part II: Analyzing the Evidence
Chapter 5: Fingerprints: Your Personal Signature
Getting a Grip on Fingerprints
Making Matching Easier: Classifying Prints
Locating Those Sneaky Prints
Chapter 6: Painting A Gruesome Picture:
Bloodstain Analysis
Understanding Blood’s Character
Analyzing Bloodstain Patterns
Putting It All Together: A Hypothetical Case
Chapter 7: Leaving Impressive Impressions:
Shoes, Tires, and Tools
Stepping Out: Shoeprints as Evidence
Tracking Down Tires
Prying Clues from Tool Marks
Finding Facts in Fabrics
Chapter 8: Burning Down the House: Is It Arson?
Striking the Match: Looking into Fire-Starters
Determining Where and How the Fire Started
Heating Things Up: Accelerants
Investigating Homicidal Fires
Evaluating Explosive Situations
Part III: Examining the Body
Chapter 9: Determining the Cause and Manner of
Death: Forensic Autopsies
Defining Death and Declaring It as Such
Shadowing the Forensic Pathologist
Performing an Autopsy
Filing the Official Autopsy Report
Chapter 10: Identifying Unknown Victims
Identifying the Body
Using DNA To Make the ID
Dem Bones, Dem Bones: Working with Skeletons
Reconstructing Faces
Comparing Photographs
Chapter 11: Estimating the Time of Death
Defining Time of Death
Examining the Body to Estimate Time of Death
Gathering Other Clues
Chapter 12: Ouch! That Hurts: Traumatic Injuries
and Deaths
Unleashing the Power of Guns and Gun Evidence
Slicing, Dicing, and Stabbing
Taking the Hit: Blunt-Force Trauma
A Shocking Situation: Electrocution
The R Word: Dealing with Rape
Chapter 13: Gasping for Air: Asphyxia
Understanding Asphyxia
Gasping for Oxygen: Suffocation
Grasping Strangulation
Inhaling Deadly Air: Toxic Gases
Drowning: Water, Water Everywhere
Part IV: Utilizing the Crime Lab
Chapter 14: Analyzing Blood and Other Bodily
Fluids: Serology
Blood: Life’s Most Precious Fluid
Identifying a Bloodstain’s Source
Testing for Paternity
Looking at Other Bodily Fluids
Chapter 15: Looking Deep Inside: DNA Analysis
Opening an Instruction Manual for Your Cells
Fingering Criminals Using DNA Fingerprints
Understanding the DNA Fingerprinting Process
Using DNA to Determine Lineage
Chapter 16: Testing for Drugs and Poisons: The
Toxicology Lab
Understanding Poisons
Defining Toxicology
Seeking Toxins
Examining the Testing Procedures
Looking at Common Drugs
Checking Out Familiar Poisons
Chapter 17: Picking Apart Trace Evidence
Defining Trace Evidence
Understanding Analytical Instruments
Splitting Hairs: Linking Crime to Coiffure
Fiddling with Fibers
Cracking the Mysteries of Glass
Puttering with Paints
Getting Down and Dirty: Soils and Plants
Chapter 18: Bang! Bang!: Analyzing Firearms
Evidence
Figuring Out Firearms
Extracting Info from Ammo
Getting Groovy: Comparing Rifling Patterns
The Proof’s in the Powder: Gunshot Residues
Chapter 19: Questioning the Validity of Documents
Analyzing Handwriting
Exposing Alterations
Looking for Indentions
Examining Papers and Inks
Dissecting Typewriters and Photocopiers
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 20: Ten Famous Forensic Cases
Using a Homemade Ladder: The Lindbergh Kidnapping
Sacco and Vanzetti and Sacco’s Gun
Ted Bundy’s Bite Marks
Stella Nickell’s Trail of Fingerprints
Finding Fibers on Jeffrey MacDonald
Georgi Markov and the Lethal Umbrella
The Hendricks Family’s Last Meal
Picturing John List
Being Anastasia Romanov
Faking Hitler’s Diaries
Chapter 21: Ten Ways Hollywood Gets It Wrong
The Quick Death
The Pretty Death
The Bleeding Corpse
The Exact Time of Death
The One-Punch Knockout
The Disappearing Black Eye
The Fast-Acting Poison
The Untraceable Poison
The Instant Athlete
The High-Tech Lab
Chapter 22: Ten Great Forensic Careers
Criminalist
Crime Scene Investigator
Forensic Investigator
Forensic Pathologist
Forensic Pathology Technician