"We are waiting for the forensic report!". This might be the first famous sentence we
hear in a crime scene anywhere in the world, as forensic report contributes to proving guilty or
innocence of the accused, it also reveals some points that should be taken into consideration.
But, what makes forensics so important and what are their role in detecting crimes?
Forensic medicine is similar to what Sherlock Holmes was doing to solve crimes.
Detective Sherlock Holmes was able to solve complex cases through logical reasoning,
and the ability to relate events and explore simple unobservable clues.
Forensic medicine does the same one way or the other. But it was a marginal science,
neither reliable in criminal cases, nor its results taken as conclusive evidence.
This science was officially adopted in 1950 in the US, although it was emerging a century and a half
before that year!. The development of forensic medicine during that period significantly made
people rely on it to detect crimes. But the question arises, how could forensic medicine
do that? And what are the methods it uses to uncover ambiguous cases and proving the
existence or non-existence of crimes?. "Determining the time of death".
Determining the time of death is the first and most important part of solving criminal cases,
but how can we specify that time when we were not there when the crime occurred?.
Actually forensic doctors follow 3 methods to determine the time of death.
The first method is to examine the movement of blood as they move the body. Here, the doctor
is up against two conclusions: either the blood moves or it remains stagnant and does not move.
If the blood moves and the fluidity is present, then the crime occurred less than 12 hours ago, as
the blood loses its fluidity after that period. The second method is to check for muscle
stiffness, this method is somewhat more accurate than the first.
Muscles in the human body need energy to relax, and since the dead body does not expend energy,
muscles begin to stiffen two hours after death. If the examination shows that muscles are flat,
it means that the victim died within two hours before the examination.
Measuring body temperature is the third most accurate method for determining the time of death.
Body temperature of a dead person decreases by one and a half degrees Celsius every hour. For
example, and based on the normal human body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, if the
temperature of the dead person was 34 degrees Celsius, then the death occurred two hours ago.
But the temperature of the weather may affect how quickly the body loses temperature.
Therefore, doctors analyze the types of bacteria or worms that appeared on the body
of the deceased, and through them the time of death can be determined. After applying these
methods, the forensic medicine releases the result of the time of death to the public
"Was it a murder or suicide?".
During the phase of determining the time of death, doctors investigate whether the deceased was
murdered or committed suicide. If the deceased committed suicide, this means that there is no
crime and therefore there is no need to search for the culprit. In response, doctors dissect the body
and look for any signs of beating, strangulation, or resistance. They also make sure that the body
is contained or free of drugs, alcohol, toxins, or any increase in drug doses. If they do not
find any of these signs, they examine the place where the crime took place, by searching for any
tool by which the crime was committed, to lead them to the murderer through fingerprints or DNA.
In such case, we see the police fencing the place and putting a yellow tape around it.
After these examinations, the forensic medicine tracks the victim's itinerary,
by watching the footage captured by surveillance cameras surrounding the crime scene. This is
to ensure if someone was following the victim and thus considered them a potential suspect.
"The disappearance of the victim".
In many cases, there are reports reaching the police that someone has disappeared or
has been killed, or that someone has entered their home and has not appeared afterwards.
Thus, forensic medicine has a significant and critical role in detecting the presence
or absence of crime, by examining the house or the place where a crime is suspected.
Aside from examining surveillance cameras and other things related to the police,
forensic medicine is more interested in detecting the presence of blood in the place.
Even if the criminal conceals traces of blood and wipes the tools of the crime, that will not be
difficult for forensic medicine, as they conduct some tests to detect the presence of blood that
has been erased or hidden, by using two chemical compounds: phenolphthalein and hydrogen peroxide.
Doctors puts these two compounds on the crime spot, if their color turns pink, this proves
the presence of blood in the place, as blood hemoglobin is a catalyst for chemical reactivity.
Also, the crime instrument can be detected through the presence of a sharp knife,
for example, with traces of blood, as this helps in the detection of fingerprints.
Giving this, they can also determine the murderer's behavior and psychological state,
by tracking the criminal's series of actions. Determining that helps narrowing search area.
"Forensic mistakes!".
Despite the many branches of forensic medicine and its sciences, it has unforgivable mistakes.
Such a science is supposed to determine the results in a more accurate manner,
as the results of forensic medicine determine the fate of individuals, even entire families.
However, in 2015, the FBI conducted a study of a sample of 268 criminal cases,
in which hair and DNA evidence were used to solve cases and convict suspects.
The disastrous result was that 96% of these cases were incorrectly analyzed!.
One of the forensic doctors explained how a person's hair could be at the crime scene,
even though this person had never been there. For example, when a person sits on a chair in
a certain place and a hair falls on this chair, it may stick to the clothes of the other person
sitting on the chair after the owner of the hair leaves. If this person goes to another
place and commits a crime there, it is likely that the hair will fall out at the crime scene.
Therefore, Dr. Rose says that forensic medicine needs a qualitative leap, and an evolution in
machines and tools to make them more accurate. And before asking to whom a piece of hair belongs, the
current technology is not yet conclusive to prove when the hair was found in a place and how!.
Let us know in a comment below if you ever had an experience with forensic medicine.