Basic Analysis of Bloodstain Patterns

Instructors:
Todd Crosby, BS and Brian Hargrove, BS
Course length: 40 hours

Outline
Day 1

Pretest
- What is BPA? What can it do for you?
  - Case Presentation
- Composition of Blood
  - Human vs. nonhuman
  - Unknown effects of drugs and alcohol
- Physics of Blood
  - Surface tension
  - Oscillation
  - Drop Formation
  - Viscosity
  - Gravity
  - Terminal Velocity
  - Flight Paths
- Description of Bloodstains
  - Size
  - Shape
  - Distribution
  - Appearance
  - Other
Drip Stains and Drip Trails
- Slow speed videos
- Size, shape, appearance, distribution
- Blood Borne Pathogens
- Appropriate PPE
Experiments:
- Drips as a function of volume and distance fallen
- Drips as a function of angle
- Drips as a function of surface textures
- Drip stains off of weapons vs. stain size
Transfer, Swipe, and Wipe
- Slow speed video
- Size, shape, appearance, distribution
Experiments:
- Transfer patterns
- Swipe patterns
- Wipe patterns
- Drip stains as a function of motion and distance
Projected, Splash, Drip
- Slow speed video
- Size, shape, appearance, distribution
Experiments:
- Projected Patterns
  - Vertical
  - Horizontal
- Splash Patterns
- Drip Patterns

Day 2

Impact Patterns
- High speed video
- Size, shape, distribution, appearance
Forward spatter and Back spatter
Cast Off Patterns
- High speed video
- Size, shape, distribution, appearance
Experiments:
- Impact patterns as a function of force and distance
- Impact patterns as a function of volume of blood
- Impact patterns as a function of weapon used
- Cast Off patterns as a function of direction of travel and weapon used
- Impact patterns – Gun shot
Mathematics
- Metric vs. Imperial
- Calculator
- Measuring Devices
- Trig Formulas
- Sine Method
- Forensic software programs
Angle of Impact
- Balthazard
Practical Exercises:
- Measure angle boards
Area of Convergence
Area of Origin
- Piatrowski
Practical Exercises:
- Find A of C and A of O

Day 3

Preservation and Evaluation of Scene
- Is there a need for BPA?
- Have presumptive tests been performed?
- History of the scene
- Origin of evidence
- Post-event intervention?
Preservation
- Environmental factors
- Scene Integrity
- Presumptives and Chemical Testing
- Hemastix
- LCV
- Pheno
- Bluestar/Luminol
Clothing and other surfaces
- Absorbancy
- History
- Porosity
- Texture
Environmental Factors
- Clotting time
- Drying time
- Airflow
- Humidity
- Temp
- Weather
Post Incident Activity
- Animal Activity
- Fire Effects
- Fire Suppression
- First Responders
- Insect activity
- Medical Intervention
- Members of the public
- Movement of the injured
- Staging of the scene
Practical Exercises:
- Pattern Recognition

Day 4

Documentation
- Note taking
- Photography (procedures, scales, lighting)
- Diagrams
- Sketches
Collection and Packaging of Evidence
- Documentation of specific stains and evidence to be collected
- Collection methods
- Contamination issues
- Packaging
- Evidence storage
- Preservation during transportation
- Evidence submission
- Special Considerations for collection of bloodstained clothing
- Changes due to improper item handling, packaging, storage, and transportation
Practical Exercise:
- CRIME SCENE

Day 5

Scientific Method
- Ethics, Context Bias, Limitations
- Examples of case specific experimentation
Report Writing
- Event reconstruction
- Medical reports
- Autopsy reports
- Lab reports
- Crime scene reports
- Interpretation of data
- Sequence of Events
- Interpretations
- Opinions
- Conclusions
- Tech Review
- Courtroom Testimony
History
- Kirk
- MacDonell
- IABPA
- IAI
- SWGSTAIN
Crime Scene Presentations
IABPA/ACSR Application Endorsements
Course Evaluations
Final Test

Todd Crosby, BS

A graduate of Georgia College and State University and the University of Tennessee National Forensic Academy. He is a recipient of the Dr. William Bass Award for Outstanding Achievements in Forensic Investigations.

Crosby has served as a law enforcement officer for over 30 years. He has spent 20 years as a special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, where he served as a Crime Scene Specialist and Homicide Investigator.

Brian Hargrove, BS

A graduate of Georgia College & State University and the National Forensic Academy, Session 31. He has been qualified, and testified as a subject matter expert in areas of crime scene analysis, bloodstain pattern analysis, and shooting incident reconstruction.

Prior to his time as a GBI agent, Brian served as a detective for the Baldwin County Sheriff’s office. Brian was a GBI crime scene specialist for 10 years. The last two years in the crime scene program, Brian served as a technical leader, responsible for providing training and quality control within the program. Brian has worked over 500 crime scenes related cases, with the majority of these cases being homicides, officer use of force, and sexual assault investigations.

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