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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: forensics

forensics stories: 13 news summaries

(Newser) - FBI forensics experts found a blood stain in the shape of a child in fetal position in the trunk of Casey Anthony’s car, according to newly released documents. One intelligence analyst pointed out the silhouette in an email to another bureau employee last September. “You can make out... More »

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murder • forensics • DNA evidence • Casey Anthony • Caylee Anthony

No Blood Found in Casey Anthony's Trunk

Officials release
video, documents in capital murder case

Aug 7, 09 11:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Prosecutors in the Casey Anthony case released a flurry of documents today, including a three-dimensional animated movie of the area where her daughter’s body was found, crime scene photos, and a 1,100-page report by investigators, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Among the revelations: No blood was found in... More »

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death penalty • Florida • blood • forensics • murder trial • Casey Anthony • Caylee Anthony • evidence

(Newser) - Recent lawsuits are bringing the reliability of police dogs’ noses into question, USA Today reports. Since 2004, three men have been released after wrongful convictions based partially on scent evidence, and two current federal suits target a well-known Texas deputy who works with his dogs across the nation. “It’... More »

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Texas • lawsuit • wrongful conviction • forensics • scent • evidence • bloodhound • police dog • Keith Pikett

 Gun Match Made in 
 Craigslist Killer Case 

Suspect's fingerprints match those left on duct tape at crime scene

Apr 24, 09 4:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Solid evidence is piling up against accused Craigslist killer Philip Markoff, the Boston Globe reports. A gun found at Markoff's home—concealed inside a copy of medical textbook Gray's Anatomy—matched the weapon used to kill Julissa Brisman in preliminary testing, and the suspect's fingerprints match those found on plastic... More »

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Boston • forensics • murder charges • Julissa Brisman • Philip Markoff • Craigslist killer

Multiple People Assaulted Kercher: Expert

Convicted killer
Guede appears in court, refuses to testify

Apr 4, 09 11:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - A forensics expert testified today in the Meredith Kercher murder trial that she was assaulted by more than one person, Sky News reports. A gynecologist, meanwhile, said he’d never seen similar wounds on someone who had consented to sex. Today's court session included evidence so graphic that the judge... More »

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forensics • murder trial • Meredith Kercher • Amanda Knox • Raffaele Sollecito • Rudy Hermann Guede

Move Over, Police Sketches: DNA's On the Case

Forensic phenotyping works, but is it ethical?

Mar 27, 09 10:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - The old-fashioned police sketch could soon be obsolete, the Wall Street Journal reports, thanks to DNA forensic phenotyping, an increasingly popular technique that uses crime-scene DNA to describe a suspect. So far, labs can only determine details such as ethnicity and physical traits, but that alone has helped in... More »

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DNA • forensics • DNA evidence • digital forensics

Sloppy DNA Work Creates Myth of Phantom Serial Killer

Female 'suspect' now believed to have been employee at DNA swab factory

Mar 27, 09 9:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - Embarrassed German cops may soon call off their hunt for a notorious female serial killer, the Times of London reports. DNA from a suspect dubbed "the woman without a face” has been found at dozens of crime scenes across Europe, including stranglings and shootings, but detectives now believe the... More »

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Germany • DNA • forensics • serial killers • DNA evidence • crime scene • Howard Stern Grid

Crime Labs Employ Shoddy Science: Report

Experts will call for independent agency
to oversee forensics

Feb 5, 09 9:08 AM CST
(Newser) - The country's crime labs are seriously deficient, according to a new report that's expected to shake up the field of forensics, the New York Times reports. Evidence portrayed as incontrovertible is often far from it, says the report, which Congress commissioned from the National Academy of Sciences. Forensic analysis often... More »

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law enforcement • police • forensic science • forensics • forensic experts • National Academy of Sciences • evidence • crime lab

UPDATED

 Body Tentatively ID'd as Caylee 

Authorities tentatively ID remains as those of missing 3-year-old

Dec 12, 08 4:07 PM CST
(Newser) - Investigators in Florida believe a body discovered yesterday is that of missing toddler Caylee Anthony, a lawyer for her mother told a judge today. The corpse recovered near the Orlando home of her grandparents has been “tentatively indentified” as hers, based on hair color and other physical evidence, CNN... More »

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Florida • body • missing child • forensics • court cases • Casey Anthony • Caylee Anthony

DNA Led Cops to Pressly Murder Suspect

Officials say forensics tie man to anchor's murder, teacher's rape

Nov 29, 08 5:40 AM CST
(Newser) - Police in Little Rock say forensic evidence led them to a suspect in the murder of news anchor Anne Pressly, reports KATV. A DNA sample from Pressly's home matched DNA found at the scene of an unsolved rape in Marianna, 90 miles away. Marianna police pointed investigators to rape suspect... More »

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Arkansas • murder • rape • forensics • Little Rock, Arkansas • DNA evidence • news anchor • Anne Pressly

Fingerprint Test Can Now ID What Person Has Touched

Technique detects drugs, explosives

Aug 8, 08 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Cutting-edge technology now means fingerprints can reveal much more than just a person's identity, the New York Times reports. A spray developed by US researchers can analyze tiny molecular compounds left behind by the print and tell what materials a person has recently handled—including drugs or explosives. It can... More »

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technology • fingerprint • fingerprinting • forensic science • forensics

ERs Will Offer Anonymous Rape Tests to Victims

Anonymity removes barrier, gives option to press charges after the fact

May 14, 08 11:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Starting next year throughout the US, rape victims will be able to take an anonymous forensic rape test in the ER and save the evidence in case they want to press charges. The so-called "Jane Doe" kits will be paid for by states, reports the AP. "Sometimes the... More »

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emergency room • rape • forensics • Violence Against Women Act

WTC Victims' Families Grieve All Over Again

Remains continue to be found and identified, even 6 years later

Sep 11, 07 2:46 PM CDT
(Newser) - Many of those affected by the 9/11 attacks are still burying loved ones as remains are found and slowly identified, making closure hard to achieve, the Boston Globe reports. "How many times are you going to bury somebody?" asks the widow of a man killed in the World Trade... More »

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terrorism • World Trade Center • September 11 • remains • survivors • forensics

13 Stories


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