Forensic science
Chapter 3
By Ms. Merehan
Adel
Chapter 3:
Types of Evidence
“You can learn a lot by
just watching.”
—Yogi Berra, former New York
Yankees catcher and sage
Evidence
Students will learn:
The difference between
indirect and direct evidence
That eyewitness accounts
have limitations
What is meant by physical
evidence and give examples
What physical evidence can
and cannot prove in court
The significance of individual
and class evidence
Chapter 2
Types of Evidence
Two general types:
Testimonial—a statement made under oath; also
known as direct evidence or Prima Facie evidence
Physical—any object or material that is relevant in a
crime; also known as indirect evidence. Examples are
hair, fiber, fingerprints, documents, blood, soil, drugs,
tool marks, impressions, glass.
Chapter 2
Reliability of Eyewitness
Factors:
Nature of the offense and the situation in which the
crime is observed
Characteristics of the witness
Manner in which the information is retrieved
Additional factors:
Witness’s prior relationship with the accused
Length of time between the offense and the
identification
Any prior identification or failure to identify the
defendant
Any prior identification of a person other than the
defendant by the eyewitness
Chapter 2
Eyewitness
A police composite may
be developed from the
witness testimony by a
computer program or
forensic artist.
“Perception is reality.”
As a result of the
influences in eyewitness
memory, physical
evidence becomes critical. Faces—a composite program
by InterQuest
Chapter 2
Value of Physical Evidence
Generally more reliable than testimonial
Can prove that a crime has been committed
Can corroborate or refute testimony
Can link a suspect with a victim or with a crime
scene
Can establish the identity of persons associated
with a crime
Can allow reconstruction of events of a crime
Chapter 2
Reconstruction
Physical Evidence is used to answer questions about:
what took place
how the victim was killed
number of people involved
sequence of events
A forensic scientist will compare the questioned or
unknown sample with a sample of known origin.
Chapter 2
Types of Physical Evidence
Transient Evidence—temporary; easily changed or lost;
usually observed by the first officer at the scene
Pattern Evidence—produced by direct contact between a
person and an object or between two objects
Conditional Evidence—produced by a specific event or
action; important in crime scene reconstruction and in
determining the set of circumstances or sequence within a
particular event
Transfer Evidence—produced by contact between person(s)
or object(s), or between person(s) and person(s)
Associative Evidence—items that may associate a victim or
suspect with a scene or each other; ie, personal belongings
Chapter 2
Examples of Transient Evidence
Odor—putrefaction, perfume,
gasoline, urine, burning,
explosives, cigarette or cigar
smoke
Temperature—surroundings,
car hood, coffee, water in a
bathtub, cadaver
Imprints and indentations—
footprints, teeth marks in
perishable foods, tire marks on
certain surfaces
Markings
Chapter 2
Examples of Pattern Evidence
Pattern Evidence—most are in the form of
imprints, indentations, striations, markings,
fractures or deposits.
Blood spatter Clothing or article
Glass fracture distribution
Fire burn pattern Gun powder residue
Furniture position Material damage
Projectile trajectory Body position
Tire marks or skid marks Tool marks
Modus operandi
Chapter 2
Examples of Conditional Evidence
Light—headlight, lighting Vehicles—doors locked or
conditions unlocked, windows opened
Smoke—color, direction of or closed, radio off or on
travel, density, odor (station), odometer mileage
Fire—color and direction of Body—position, types of
the flames, speed of spread, wounds; rigor, livor and algor
temperature and condition of mortis
fire Scene—condition of
Location—of injuries or furniture, doors and
wounds, of bloodstains, of windows, any disturbance or
the victim’s vehicle, of signs of a struggle
weapons or cartridge cases,
of broken glass
Chapter 2
Classification of
Evidence by Nature
Biological—blood, semen, saliva, sweat, tears, hair,
bone, tissues, urine, feces, animal material, insects,
bacterial, fungal, botanical
Chemical—fibers, glass, soil, gunpowder, metal, mineral,
narcotics, drugs, paper, ink, cosmetics, paint, plastic,
lubricants, fertilizer
Physical—fingerprints, footprints, shoe prints,
handwriting, firearms, tire marks, tool marks, typewriting
Miscellaneous—laundry marks, voice analysis,
polygraph, photography, stress evaluation,
psycholinguistic analysis, vehicle identification
Chapter 2
Evidence Characteristics
Class—common to a group of objects or persons
Individual—can be identified with a particular
person or a single source
Fingerprints Blood DNA Typing
Chapter 2
Class vs Individual Evidence
Which examples do
you think could be
individual evidence?
Chapter 2
Forensic Investigations
Include some or all of these seven major activities
1. Recognition—ability to distinguish important
evidence from unrelated material
Pattern recognition
Physical property observation
Information analysis
Field testing
2. Preservation—collection and proper
preservation of evidence
Chapter 2
Investigations
3. Identification—use of scientific testing
Physical properties
Chemical properties
Morphological (structural) properties
Biological properties
Immunological properties
4. Comparison—class characteristics are
measured against those of known standards or
controls; if all measurements are equal, then the
two samples may be considered to have come
from the same source or origin.
Chapter 2
Investigations
5. Individualization—demonstrating that the sample is
unique, even among members of the same class
6. Interpretation—gives meaning to all the
information
7. Reconstruction—reconstructs the events of the
case
Inductive and deductive logic
Statistical data
Pattern analysis
Results of laboratory analysis
Chapter 2
Class vs Individual Evidence
These fibers are class
evidence—there are
millions like them.
The large piece of glass
fits to the bottle—it is
individual evidence
Chapter 2
People in the News
Dr. Henry Lee—Chief Emeritus for Scientific
Services and the former Commissioner of
Public Safety for the state of Connecticut. He
served as that state’s Chief Criminality from
1979 to 2000. Lee was the driving force in
establishing the modern forensic lab in
Connecticut. He has worked with many high
profile cases including O.J. Simpson, Jon
Benet Ramsey, and the “wood chipper” case.
He is also seen on many of the true crime
shows, including his own, “Trace Evidence:
The Case Files of Dr. Henry Lee”. Learn
more at his website:
www.drhenrylee.com/review.shtml
Chapter 2
FBI Investigation
Try a case that was set up by the FBI.
Observe the various units of their lab and
read the section: “How They Do That?”.
www.fbi.gov/kids/6th12th/investigates/investigates.htm
Chapter 2
