Forensics for Art's Sake

I’m sure nobody becomes a forensic scientist expecting to be thrust into the limelight.  I’ve worked on many high profile cases in my career, but have generally stayed under the radar.  However, I was lucky enough to be asked to examine a signature on a painting, thought to be a missing work by the much-loved English artist J M W Turner.  As a result, I have had my 15 milliseconds of fame, to mis-quote Andy Warhol. 

The painting, entitled ‘Fishing Boats in a Stiff Breeze’ was bought at auction for £3700 ($5980).   It is signed ‘JMW Turner’ in dark brown paint; the year ‘1805’ is written after the signature in the same paint.    

After an initial OMG moment - if the signature was genuine, then the value of the painting was estimated to be of the order of £20 million ($32.4 million) - I realised I should treat this examination the same as any other forensic signature examination, although I would also have to research the handwriting styles of the period. 

My essential requirements were examples of Turner’s signature written around 1805, or within a few years either side; a sample of 10 signatures would be ideal. 

This is when I discovered that Turner only signed his paintings when he either sold them or gave them away as presents.  I had expected to use the large collection of Turner paintings in Tate, London, as my source material.  However, they had been bequeathed to the gallery after his death; not a single painting was signed.

To cut a long story short, I did not get my 10 examples of Turner’s signature, but I did get to handle (with gloves, of course) some of his sketchbooks, which were a good source of comparison material.  When you have been used to reading death threats, ‘poetry’ expressing feelings of violence or sexual depravity and other generally unpleasant things routinely encountered by forensic scientists, it was a real privilege to be involved in a project where the questioned signature was on a beautiful painting and where most of my comparison writings were contained in books of exquisite drawings.

Although I wasn’t able to examine as much reference material as I would have liked, I saw enough to form an opinion about the authorship of the signature and date on the painting. 

In the meantime, a pigment analysis of the painting had been carried out, and the brown paint used to write the signature and date was considered to be contemporary with the rest of the work.  Modern forgery could therefore be ruled out.

My opinion, in summary, was that on the balance of probabilities, it is more likely that Turner did sign and date the painting than that he did not. 

So, along with other experts, I had helped to authenticate a missing Turner painting.  Last week the news hit the press.

 Missing Turner Painting Resurfaces

On Wednesday night, we presented our findings to an invited audience from the art world.  Beforehand, some of us were interviewed for a local BBC news programme.  It was fun – not a word normally associated with forensics. 

Are you planning to give your forensics characters their OMG moment? 

If you walk this way - exploring Forensic Podiatry

The work of a podiatrist involves the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of foot and ankle conditions.  Podiatrists may also treat back, hip and knee pain that is related to the way a person stands or walks.

A number of podiatrists working in clinical practice or university research apply their knowledge to criminal investigations. 

Gait analysis is one of five main practice areas of Forensic Podiatry (the other practice areas are footwear analysis and identification, bare footprint analysis and identification, footprint sequencing and identification of individuals from podiatric records). 

Offenders who conceal their faces from street CCTV cameras in the vicinity of the crime scene have discovered that they can be identified by the way that they walk.

John Rigg’s DNA was found at the scene of a domestic burglary and he was arrested on suspicion of having committed the offence.  However, the police needed corroborative evidence, as a good lawyer could argue away the DNA finding at court (contamination), or at least muddy the waters. 

Detectives began trawling through CCTV footage in the neighbourhood of the burgled house. They noticed a man with a distinctive bow-legged gait walking towards the house, but they couldn’t see his face.  They called in Ian Linane, a Forensic Podiatrist.

Mr Linane compared images of the bow-legged walker from the CCTV footage with images of John Rigg, taken whilst he was walking through the custody area of the police station, after his arrest.

Watch the video here and listen to Ian Linane describing his findings.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7340000/newsid_7343600/7343683.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1

Here is the CCTV footage only.

 

 

John Rigg pleaded guilty to two burglaries and received a two year jail sentence.

Forensic Podiatry is a developing and increasingly useful tool in forensic science.  It is practised most widely (but not extensively) in Canada, the USA and the UK.



The Misinterpretation of Murder

Blood found at a crime scene can provide key information about the events that took place there.  However, the analysis and interpretation of the appearance and distribution of blood is a complex area; inevitably, mistakes will occur.

 

Here is a case from Canada, where the prosecution expert misinterpreted part of the blood spatter evidence in a murder investigation.  Although the man convicted of second degree murder was not exactly innocent, his murder conviction was overturned on appeal.

 

You can read about the case below.  The account is on page 28 of the pdf and contains photos of the body and the relevant blood spatter.

 

www.the-investigator.co.uk/files/December_09_Update_web.pdf

 

Disagreements between forensics experts can be a fruitful area for crime writers, although, of course, both sides of the argument need to be credible.  In this case, the prosecution expert, Mr Julien, does not appear to have done his best work. Why not?  Was he under a major time constraint?  Was he lacking in experience?  At the trial, it appears that the defence did not put up their own expert to challenge the prosecution's findings.  Maybe they appointed an expert who actually agreed with the prosecution expert and who, in consequence, was also at fault for misinterpreting the evidence.  What do you think?

 

The defence expert, Professor MacDonell, had to perform his forensic examinations at court.  As I know from experience, this is not ideal, but as he appears to have been given advance warning that he wasn't going to have access to a forensics laboratory, he came suitably equipped with a stereomicroscope and a camera.  No doubt he carried out his work in the presence of a bored junior prosecution lawyer or police officer, who would be tasked with ensuring that nothing untoward happened to the evidence!

 

The outcome of Professor MacDonell's examinations was that justice was served correctly - a plea of guilty to manslaughter.

 

Do you plan to use forensics fallibility in your writing?  Are you a fan of duelling experts?  I'd be really interested to know.

 

 

Rapid DNA Analysis - a potential plot spoiler?

In a case of murder or rape, a forensics laboratory can, in theory, generate a DNA profile from a crime scene sample in 8 hours.  In practice, though, a backlog of processing may have built up through heavy caseload, staff sickness or equipment problems.  Whilst it is still possible for urgent samples to be processed within 2 or 3 days, any delay is obviously frustrating for investigators.

In the UK, a technique called RapidDNA is being trialled by a number of police forces alongside more established methods.  Its USP is that a DNA profile can be generated in about an hour.  This could mean that a murder suspect is arrested before he has had a chance to get cleaned up or dispose of his weapon.  A burglar may be caught before he has had the chance to sell on his stolen goods.

The equipment is only the size of a piece of aircraft carry-on luggage and is just as portable.  Yet it can analyse up to 4 minute samples of body fluids or cellular material left at a crime scene and deliver a DNA profile that can be searched on the National DNA Database (the UK equivalent of CODIS) within an hour.  Apart from the rapidity of the analysis, there is no time lost in taking the sample to the forensics laboratory, because the equipment can come to the crime scene. 

 

However, the RapiDNA system does have a particular limitation.  Whilst it is useful for intelligence gathering and evidence screening, the DNA profiles generated using this technique are based upon fewer markers than a standard profile. 

Where there is a match between a crime scene RapiDNA profile and a profile on the National DNA Database (NDNAD), the chance of the RapiDNA profile also matching the DNA profile of some unknown and unrelated person is one in a million.  For court purposes, this is not sufficiently discriminating.  A standard DNA profile would have to be generated from the crime scene sample back at the forensics laboratory and another search carried out. 

A match between the crime scene standard profile and a profile on the NDNAD would have a discrimination of the order of one in a billion (i.e. a thousand million).  To put it another way, the probability that the crime scene standard profile also matches the profile of some unknown and unrelated person is of the order of one in a billion.  This statistic would provide compelling evidence in a criminal court.

 

I've seen suggestions that writers using RapiDNA in their storylines will spoil the enjoyment of their readers or viewers because the crime will be resolved too quickly.  In my opinion, this viewpoint is rather dismissive of writers' creativity.  If the technique becomes mainstream, I look forward to the inventive ways in which it will be incorporated into your writing.  What do you think?  Will RapiDNA spoil your plots?

 

Don't forget you can get plot ideas from my free newsletters here:

 

Scenes of Crime June 2012 

 

Scenes of Crime July/August 2012

Welcome to my Forensics Blog

If you are a published or aspiring crime or mystery writer, please make yourself at home.

The crime and mystery genre is enjoying unparalleled success, fuelled in no small measure by the public's unending fascination with forensics.  But what if you feel that your forensics knowledge isn't up to scratch and you're not sure where to go for reliable information?  Well, my blog is here to guide you through the forensics maze. 

I'm going to discuss the established techniques of forensics and also introduce you to some which may be less familiar to you.  At the same time, I'll try to make the technical detail more accessible, so that you will have the confidence to incorporate it into your writing.  Occasionally, I'll highlight research projects that show potential for future forensic applications.  In addition, I'll post comments on cases that I think will interest you and include useful snippets of information to underpin your characters' world.  My aim is to help you give your writing the authenticity that your readers will love.

I've also produced a free newsletter for you called 'Scenes of Crime', which I plan to issue every month.  Download the first two copies here.

Scenes of Crime June 2012

Scenes of Crime July/August 2012

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you'll come back often.  In the meantime, I wish you a successful life of fictional crime.