Kowalske Zack, Oleiwi Abdulrahman, Williams Graham
School of Health, Education, Policing and Sciences, University of Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
Roswell Police Department, Crime Scene Investigations Unit, Roswell, Georgia, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2025 Mar;70(2):742-750. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.15689. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
Fire is often used to conceal or destroy evidence of violent crimes, making it essential to understand how fire environments affect forensic evidence, particularly bloodstain patterns. This study investigates the impact of high heat environments and fire on the morphology and analysis of bloodstain patterns. Using controlled fire exposure, bloodstains were analyzed pre- and post-fire exposure on various substrates, including glass, painted drywall, and painted plywood. Measurements of angle of impact (AOI) and area of origin (AOO) were conducted using Faro Zone 3D Expert software. Despite physical alterations due to extreme temperature exposure, certain characteristics of the original bloodstains persisted. AOI calculations showed minimal deviation between pre- and post-fire measurements, with standard deviations generally under two degrees. AOO estimations also demonstrated no substantial statistical differences between pre- and post-fire data. The study confirms that bloodstain patterns retain observable traits despite exposure to high heat conditions, supporting the reliability of BPA in fire-affected scenarios. These findings enhance the understanding of bloodstain behavior in fire environments, aiding forensic investigations in accurately analyzing bloodstain patterns in cases involving fire or high-temperature conditions.
火灾常被用于掩盖或销毁暴力犯罪的证据，因此了解火灾环境如何影响法医证据，尤其是血迹形态至关重要。本研究调查了高温环境和火灾对血迹形态及其分析的影响。通过控制火灾暴露，对玻璃、涂漆干墙和涂漆胶合板等各种基材上的血迹在火灾暴露前后进行了分析。使用法如Zone 3D Expert软件测量撞击角度（AOI）和起源面积（AOO）。尽管由于极端温度暴露导致了物理变化，但原始血迹的某些特征仍然存在。AOI计算显示火灾前后测量值之间的偏差最小，标准差一般在两度以下。AOO估计也表明火灾前后数据之间没有显著的统计差异。该研究证实，尽管暴露于高温条件下，血迹形态仍保留可观察到的特征，这支持了在受火灾影响的场景中血迹形态分析（BPA）的可靠性。这些发现增进了对火灾环境中血迹行为的理解，有助于法医调查在涉及火灾或高温条件的案件中准确分析血迹形态。
