Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology

(ChapterHouse Publishing Incorporated series in Forensic Sciences)

First Edition
Philippine Copyright, 2014
By: ChapterHouse Publishing Incorporated
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CONTENTS

Acknowledgment..............................................................................XI
Acknowledgment..............................................................................XIII

UNIT 1 Forensic Chemistry and the Forensic Chemist.....1

Chapter 1 Introduction to Forensic Chemistry.................................3
Importance of Forensic Chemistry........................................6
Forensic Laboratories in the Philippines...............................7
The Forensic Chemist...........................................................8
Functions of a Forensic Chemist...........................................9
Golden Rules in the Practice of Forensic Chemistry..............11
Chapter 2 Physical Evidence...........................................................13
Value of Physical Evidence...................................................15
Collection of Physical Evidence.............................................16
Trace Evidence.....................................................................16
Chapter 3 Chain of Custody............................................................19
Proper Tagging and Labeling of Evidence..............................21
The Evidence Custodian.......................................................22
The Evidence Room..............................................................22
Chapter 4 Dangerous Drugs............................................................25
Stimulants...........................................................................26
Depressants.........................................................................29
Hallucinogens.......................................................................32
Narcotics..............................................................................38
Designer Drugs....................................................................42
Inhalants..............................................................................42
Laws Against Abused Drugs.................................................45

UNIT 2 CHEMISTRY CASES............................................................55

Chapter 5 Forensic Drug Analysis...................................................57
Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Drug Specimens.....58
Steps in Conducting Qualitative Analysis..............................58
Physiology of Drugs..............................................................62
Drug Test.............................................................................62
Forms of Specimen Tampering..............................................64
Parameters for Validity Tests................................................64
Initial Validity Test and Confirmatory Validity Test...............64
Chapter 6 Explosives......................................................................69
What are Explosives?............................................................70
Kinds of Explosives...............................................................71
Characteristics of Explosives................................................77
Types of Explosion................................................................79
Effects of Explosion..............................................................80
Explosives Analysis..............................................................80
Chapter 7 Paraffin Test and Gun Powder Residue...........................83
What is a Paraffin Test?........................................................84
Gunpowder..........................................................................85
Test for Gunpowder Nitrates.................................................85
Guidelines for Estimating Target Distances...........................86
Gun Shot Residue (GSR).......................................................88
Chapter 8 Toxicology.......................................................................91
What is Toxicology?..............................................................92
History of Toxicology.............................................................92
Importance of Toxicology......................................................92
Collection of Sample for Toxicology.......................................93
What are Poisons?................................................................93
Commonly Used Types of Poison...........................................94
Types of Poisoning................................................................95
Methods of Examining Poisons.............................................97
Entrance and Elimination of Poisons in the Body..................97
Chapter 9 Blood, Semen, and DNA Analysis....................................99
Importance of Serology in Crime Investigation......................100
Examination of Blood...........................................................101
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BSPA).......................................103

Uses of BSPA........................................................................103
What is Semen?....................................................................105
Forensic Examination of Semen............................................106
What is DNA?.......................................................................110
DNA in Forensics..................................................................111
Methods of DNA Profiling......................................................111

UNIT 3 PHYSICAL IDENTIFICATION CASES....................................117

Chapter 10 Glass Fracture, Macro Etching, and Bullet Trajectory...119
What is Glass?.....................................................................120
The Strength of the Glass and the Glass Fracture.................121
Properties of Glass................................................................122
Theories Related To Glass Fracture.......................................122
Fracture Impacts..................................................................125
Factors that Contribute to the Resulting
Characteristics of the Fracture..................................126
Value of Glass as Evidence...................................................126
Collecting and Handling Glass and Glass Fragments............126
Laboratory Examination.......................................................128
What is Macro-Etching?.......................................................130
Purposes of Macro-Etching...................................................131
Importance of Number Restoration.......................................131
Chemicals Used in Number Restoration................................133
What Is Bullet Trajectory?....................................................133
Bullet Hole Characteristics...................................................133
Tools Necessary for Trajectory Determination.......................135
Chapter 11 Soil Analysis, Toolmarks, Casting, and Molding............139
What Is Soil?........................................................................140
Collection of Soil Sample......................................................140
Laboratory Tests for Soil Samples.........................................142
Steps In Analyzing Soil Samples...........................................143
Toolmarks............................................................................143
What are Toolmarks?............................................................144
Characteristics of Toolmarks................................................144
Types of Toolmarks...............................................................145
Places Where Toolmarks Might be
Observed in Criminal Investigations..........................147
Casting and Molding.............................................................148

Procedure of Casting............................................................149
Laboratory Examination of Shoe Prints
and Tire Impressions.................................................152
Chapter 12 Hair and Fibers............................................................155
Sources of Human Hair........................................................159
Significance of Hair Evidence................................................162
Collection of Hair Evidence...................................................164
Laboratory Analysis of Hair..................................................166
Hair Microscopy...................................................................166
Methods of Microscopic Analysis of Hairs..............................167
What is a Fiber?...................................................................168
Classes of Fibers..................................................................168
Other Sources of Fibers and Their Characteristics................170
Fabrics.................................................................................173
Fabric Source Determination................................................173
Fiber Transfer and Persistence.............................................174
Nature of Contact.................................................................174
Value of Fibers as Evidence..................................................175
Collection of Fiber as Evidence.............................................176
Chapter 13 Arson Cases.................................................................179
What is Arson?.....................................................................180
What is Fire?........................................................................180
Fire Triangle.........................................................................181
Collection of Samples for Arson Cases..................................182
Chapter 14 Ink and Paint................................................................185
What is Ink?.........................................................................186
Pigments..............................................................................186
Importance of Ink Analysis in Forensics................................187
Paint....................................................................................189
Physical and Chemical Features of Paints.............................189
Value of Paint as Evidence....................................................190
Forensic Examination of Paints............................................191
Chapter 15 Ultraviolet Examination................................................193
UV Powder............................................................................194
UV Light...............................................................................194
Electromagnetic Spectrum....................................................195
Sources of Ultraviolet Radiation............................................195

Fluorescence........................................................................196
Use of Ultraviolet Light in Forensic Investigation...................196

UNIT 4 POLICE OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES FOR FORENSIC FIELD

INVESTIGATION..............................................................................201
Chapter 16 Field Forensic Investigation..........................................203
Scene of the Crime Operation...............................................204
Important Considerations in Case Development....................204
The Criminal Cases Included for SOCO................................205
SOCO Team Composition.....................................................205
Eleven Stages of Crime Scene Search....................................205
Objective of Crime Scene Search...........................................206
The Different Methods of Crime Scene Search.......................207
Disaster Victim Identification (DVI).......................................209
When Are DVI Procedures Applied?......................................209
Recording the Crime Scene...................................................210
Standards for Identification..................................................211
The Post Blast Investigation..................................................212
Clan Laboratory Investigation...............................................214
Clandestine Operation..........................................................215
Chemical Hazards and Their Properties................................217
Usual Chemicals Found in the Clan Lab...............................217
Suggested DOs in Clandestine Lab Processing......................218
Bibliography..............................................................................221

UNIT

Forensic Chemistry and the

Forensic Chemist

Introduction to Forensic Chemistry

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION TO FORENSIC CHEMISTRY

Learning Objectives

At the end of this chapter, the student will be able

to:

Define forensic chemistry and its role in

forensic investigation

Identify the characteristics and main functions

of a forensic chemist

Discuss the four stages in the practice of

forensic chemistry

Enumerate the golden rules in the practice of

forensic chemistry

Forensic CHEMISTRY AND TOXICOLOGY

What is Forensic Chemistry?

Forensic chemistry refers to the branch of chemistry that deals
with the application of chemical theories and principles in the solution
of legal problems in relation to the administration of justice. This field of
study applies science and technology to investigate and establish facts
in criminal or civil courts of law. In simple terms, forensic chemistry
is the application of chemistry to law (Khan, Kennedy, & Christian,
2012).
The word forensic is derived from the Latin word forensis,
which means of the forum, or speaking the truth in public. The
forum, arguably the historical equivalent of modern-day courts, is also
a place where ancient Romans used to conduct public discussions.
Therefore, forensic science is the application of scientific principles
to criminal and civil laws, which are enforced by police agencies in a
criminal justice system (Bertino, 2012).
History of Forensic Chemistry
The history of forensic chemistry can be traced back to the
use of poisons by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.
Demorates, an ancient philosopher widely considered as the father of
modern science, was probably the first to study poisons. Poisoning
was used by the ancient world as a method of murder and execution,
such as when Socrates was sentenced to death by drinking hemlock,
a highly poisonous plant. The use of arsenic, a very poisonous metallic
element, was so widespread during this time that by 82 B.C.E., the
ancient Roman civilization created laws against poisoning. In 1752,
the first actual chemical test for poison was undertaken during the
Blandy trial. In 1836, the Marsh test was developed, which was the
first reliable analysis that scientifically demonstrated the presence of
arsenic in the body of a victim (Sullivan, n.d.).
Centuries later, Belgian chemist Jean Servais Stas (1813
1891) conducted studies on various methods employed to detect
certain types of vegetable poisons in the body. Stas is best known
for his work in determining the atomic weights of the elements, and
served as the leading chemist in Belgium during his time. In 1851,
Stas was required to examine the organs of a dead body involved in a
notorious murder case, concluding that the victim had been poisoned
by nicotine, a natural product considered to have been responsible for
unsolved murders at that time (Newton, 2007).

Introduction to Forensic Chemistry

The mid-19th century saw the rapid advancement of forensic

chemistry. Tests for blood were developed through the efforts of
German-Swiss chemist Christian Friedrich Schnbein who discovered
the first reliable method for identifying human blood in 1863, and
Dutch chemist Izaak van Deen, who developed another test for the
presence of blood at about the same time. In 1832, British chemist
James Marsh invented the Marsh test for arsenic. It was also during
this period when studies on bullet fingerprinting began, enabling
the identification of weapons used in crimes and the individuals
who used them. By the following century, more studies ushered in
the development of sophisticated methods for the fingerprinting of
bullets (Newton, 2007).
Locards Exchange Principle
Another key figure in the history of forensic science is Edmond
Locard (18771966) who also made several significant contributions
to the new science of fingerprinting. Locard succeeded in setting up
the first police laboratory in Lyon, France in 1910. He is best known
for the Locards exchange principle, which has been adopted as one of
the tenets of forensic science. The principle holds that every contact
leaves a trace, or that every contact between two objects results in an
exchange of traces between them. In other words, it is impossible for a
criminal to perform an act of violent crime without having some trace
of his or her presence. As an example, Locard highlighted the power
of the microscope to characterize the debris deposited on the clothing
of a person moving through different environments. This principle is
further explained below:
Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever
he leaves, even unconsciously, will serve as a silent
witness against him. Not only his fingerprints or his
footprints, but his hair, the fibers from his clothes, the
glass he breaks, the tool mark he leaves, the paint he
scratches, the blood or semen he deposits or collects. All
of these and more, bear mute witness against him. This
is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by
the excitement of the moment. It is not absent because
human witnesses are. It is factual evidence. Physical
evidence cannot be wrong, it cannot perjure itself, it
cannot be wholly absent. Only human failure to find it,
study and understand it, can diminish its value. (Kirk,
1953).