Mensuration de la coudée [Measurement of the cubit (from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow)]
Courtesy of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Fingerprints Can Lie - The Real CSI
For more than a century, fingerprints, palm prints and sole prints have been used as identification tools by law enforcement. Collectively known as "friction ridge analysis," this forensic method involves examiners comparing the details of an unknown print with a set or a database of known prints. These details include ridges, loops, whorls and other points of similarities.
According to the National Academies of Sciences, no peer reviewed scientific studies have ever been done to prove the basic assumption that every person's fingerprint is unique. Recent studies have also shown that fingerprint examiners can be influenced by contextual bias when comparing fingerprints.
According to the National Academies of Sciences, no peer reviewed scientific studies have ever been done to prove the basic assumption that every person's fingerprint is unique. Recent studies have also shown that fingerprint examiners can be influenced by contextual bias when comparing fingerprints.
Types of Crime Scenes
There are three types of crime scene:
1. The Outdoor Crime Scene
The outdoor crime scene is the most vulnerable to loss, contamination, and deleterious change of physical evidence in a relatively short period of time. Individuals with access to the scene can potentially alter, destroy or contaminate evidence.
The risk is greatest when crime scene investigators fail to secure the crime scene properly. Destruction or deterioration of evidence due to environmental conditions such as heat, cold, rain, snow and wind are problems associated with outdoor scenes. Evidence that cannot be protected under these conditions should be collected expeditiously without compromising its integrity. Investigators who encounter a combination of an indoor and outdoor scene should give priority to processing the outdoor component.
Nighttime outdoor crime scenes are particularly problematic. Regardless of the quality of the light source used to illuminate the scenes, the lack of sunlight can lead to investigators inadvertantly missing or destroying evidence. Whenever possible, outdoor crime scenes should be held and secured until daylight for processing.
2. The Indoor Types of Crime Scene
Evidence at an indoor scene is generally less susceptible to loss, contamination and deleterious change. Indoor crime scenes are usually easier to secure and protect, and securing a scene can be as simple as closing a door. The methods used by forensic laboratories have evolved so that very small amounts of biological material can produce a usable DNA profile. This, however, means that the potential for detecting DNA traces deposited by contamination at crime scenes becomes a factor.
Contamination of any crime scene can easily occur if proper precautions, such as limiting the number of people inside the scene, are not taken. For example, first responders, emergency medical personnel, patrol supervisors, crime scene investigators, and medical examiners are all potential sources of contamination and/or loss of evidence.
3. The Conveyance Crime Scene
Conveyance is defined as "something that serves as a means of transportation." Types of crimes committed in conveyances include, but are not limited to:
It is important that the crime scene investigator recognize that physical evidence recovered from these scenes may extend well beyond the conveyance itself. The flight path of the perpetrator may reveal evidence important to the investigation. For example, impression evidence, such as shoe or footprints in soil, may be found leading away from the scene, and property removed from the conveyance may be deposited or dropped as the perpetrator flees the scene.
Cigarette butts are sometimes found in and around the conveyance. The nature of the crime may give the investigator an idea of the type of evidence present. To protect the scene against inclement weather and other factors that may contribute to evidence loss and/or destruction, a conveyance such as a vehicle may be transported to the laboratory after proper documentation has been completed.
(Information provided by the Department of Justice)
Famous Forensic Cases
TED BUNDY
One of the most notorious serial killers of all time, Ted Bundy was officially linked to the murder of 36 victims, although many expert commentators believe he probably killed at least 100 women. It is widely acknowledged that the expert testimony by forensic odontologist (dentist) Dr. Richard Souviron in relation to the bite mark found on murder victim Lisa Levy; was crucial in securing the conviction and subsequent execution of Bundy.
Click Here to read The "Most Famous Bitemark Case of the Twentieth Century" by Dr Mike Bowers.
Famous Forensic Cases
New forensic tests have shown that bones believed to be the remains of French icon and heroine Joan of Arc are in fact Egyptian in origin. Forensic scientist Dr Philippe Charlier says the remains include a charred human rib from an Egyptian mummy and the thigh bone of a cat.
Dr Charlier, from the Raymond Poincare Hospital in Garches, near Paris, obtained permission to study the relics from the France's Catholic Church last year.
He used a range of scientific tests such as spectrometry, electron microscopy, and pollen analysis.
Click Here for more details.
Joan of Arc remains 'are fakes'
The bones came from a mummy, Philippe Charlier says
Bones thought to be the holy remains of 15th Century French heroine Joan of Arc were in fact made from an Egyptian mummy and a cat, research has revealed.
In 1867, a jar was found in a Paris pharmacy attic, along with a label claiming it held relics of Joan's body.
But new forensic tests suggest that the remains date from between the third and sixth centuries BC - hundreds of years before Joan was even born.
The study has been reported in the news pages of the Nature journal.
Forensic scientist Dr Philippe Charlier, who led the investigation, told Nature: "I'd never have thought that it could be from a mummy."
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Famous Forensic Cases
The Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case
The death of Marilyn Sheppard in 1954 remains one of the most infamous unsolved murders in the USA. The subsequent arrest of her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard resulted in what became known as the "Trial of the Century" in 1954 followed by the "Re-Trial of the Century" in 1966.
In 1999 the TV science series NOVA aired a program on the Sheppard case which re-examined the forensic evidence surrounding the case. Nova also produced an excellent supporting website entitled "The Killer's Trail".
A riveting, step-by-step account of the key events in the Sheppard murder case, assembled by Sheppard's son and attorney-journalist Cynthia Cooper.
Click Here to visit the website.
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Vintage Crime Scene Photos
Album of Paris Crime Scene - Attributed to Alphonese Bertillon
Photographs of the pale bodies of murder victims are assembled with views of the rooms where the murders took place, close-ups of objects that served as clues, and mug shots of criminals and suspects. Made as part of an archive rather than as art, these postmortem portraits, recorded in the deadpan style of a police report, nonetheless retain an unsettling potency.
![[Album of Paris Crime Scenes]](http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ph/web-large/DP263660.jpg)
![[Album of Paris Crime Scenes]](http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/ph/web-large/DP263663.jpg)
Photographs of the pale bodies of murder victims are assembled with views of the rooms where the murders took place, close-ups of objects that served as clues, and mug shots of criminals and suspects. Made as part of an archive rather than as art, these postmortem portraits, recorded in the deadpan style of a police report, nonetheless retain an unsettling potency.
Vintage Crime Scene Photos
Album of Paris Crime Scene - Attributed to Alphonese Bertillon
Alphonse Bertillon, the chief of criminal identification for the Paris police department, developed the mug shot format and other photographic procedures used by police to register criminals. Although the images in this extraordinary album of forensic photographs were made by or under the direction of Bertillon, it was probably assembled by a private investigator or secretary who worked at the Paris prefecture.
Alphonse Bertillon, the chief of criminal identification for the Paris police department, developed the mug shot format and other photographic procedures used by police to register criminals. Although the images in this extraordinary album of forensic photographs were made by or under the direction of Bertillon, it was probably assembled by a private investigator or secretary who worked at the Paris prefecture.
Famous Forensic Cases
Forensic science is a fascinating topic in its own right but when its employed, discussed and debated in relation to celebrities, high profile trials and key historical figures it becomes utterly compelling.
Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen
Forensic science is shedding new light on one of the most notorious murder cases in British history. In 1910 American born Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen was found guilty and subsequently hanged for the murder of his wife Cora. Crippen is said to have poisoned Cora, dismembered her body and then buried her remains in the cellar of their London home.
However, in a remarkable twist to a case that has spawned intrigue and interest for almost a century a team of forensic scientists from Michigan State University believes that modern forensic science proves that the remains buried in Crippen’s cellar could not be those of his wife.
The forensic team behind this amazing finding was David Foran, a forensic biologist and director of MSU’s forensic science program, forensic toxicologist John Harris Trestrail and genealogist Beth Wills. The basis for their claim arose from DNA analysis conducted on a microscope slide sample that was presented as evidence during Crippen's trial. During the trial forensic pathologist Bernard Spilsbury testified that the sample revealed an abdominal scar consistent with Cora Crippen's medical history, testimony that helped convince the jury that the remains were those of Cora.
The simple premiss underpinning extremely complex forensic DNA analysis is that if Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen murdered his wife and disposed of remains, then those remains would share specific DNA characteristics with Cora Crippen’s living relatives. However, they do not! As David Foran notes "We took a lot of precautions when doing this testing...We just didn’t stop. We went back and started from scratch and tested it again. The DNA in the sample is different from the known relatives of Cora Crippen."
Which of course begs the question, whose remains were buried in the cellar?
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Bloodstains With a Story: The Allure of Artifacts Linked to Famous Crimes
A bloodstained tan stocking was unrolled across a Manhattan cafe table the other day. It had belonged to Bonnie Parker, the murderous robber, and was found in her getaway car in 1934 after she and her partner, Clyde Barrow, died in a hail of police bullets.
ArtsBeatA waitress at the cafe was told about the clothing’s notorious past. “That is awesome,” she replied. Then she asked, “How much is it worth?”
The stocking had arrived in New York in the company of Bobby Livingston, a vice president at R R Auction in Amherst, N.H. The company has organized a “Gangsters, Outlaws, and Lawmen” memorabilia sale for Sept. 30 in Nashua, N.H.
Souvenir hunters descending on crime scenes had saved many of the objects now in the auction, with estimates into the six figures. The stocking is expected to bring $1,000 to $2,000, in a group lot with Parker’s empty aspirin tin, an engraved metal eyeglass earpiece and a screwdriver useful for repairing guns.
Law officers and vigilantes who had gunned down outlaws would routinely hand out bloody relics as crowds gathered. “There was a mania or whatever about collecting that stuff,” Mr. Livingston said.
The R R sale is part of a torrent this fall of exhibitions and sales of artifacts connected to felonies.
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Guns Found on Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde Up For Sale
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| Clyde Barrow’s gun, found inside his waistband after his death. (RR Auction) |
On the morning of May 23, 1934, a stolen Ford V-8 automobile kicked up a cloud of dust as it sped down a dirt road near Sailes, Louisiana. Inside was America’s most infamous duo—Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. For nearly two years, the outlaws—and lovers—had captured headlines as they eluded authorities on one of the most notorious crime sprees in history. Along with the “Barrow Gang,” Bonnie and Clyde had gone on a binge of kidnappings, murders and robberies, knocking off banks, country stores and gas stations throughout the South and Midwest. While there are conflicting accounts as to whether Bonnie ever fired a shot, according to the FBI the couple is believed to have committed 13 murders.
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| Bonnie Parker’s gun, found taped to her thigh after her death. (RR Auction) |
Clyde Barrow’s gun, found inside his waistband after his death. (RR Auction)
“Seldom did anyone ever live when Clyde got the first shot,” warned a newsreel of the day.
On this day, however, Clyde never even had a chance to grab for his Colt. A six-man posse led by retired Texas Ranger captain Frank Hamer, hiding in the bushes on the side of the dirt byway, unleashed a fatal blizzard of gunshots into the vehicle carrying Bonnie and Clyde. The lawmen emptied their automatic rifles, then their shotguns and then their pistols. They pumped more than 130 rounds of steel-jacketed bullets into the car. The duo was killed nearly instantly. When the authorities opened the doors of the automobile after the ambush, they found Bonnie’s body leaning on Clyde’s.
As part of his bounty, Hamer was given the Colt Model 1911 U.S. Army pistol recovered from Clyde’s waistband and the snub-nose detective special revolver found on Bonnie’s leg. The guns were passed down to Hamer’s son and then sold to a private collector. Last week, New Hampshire-based RR Auction announced that the guns, along with other personal effects recovered from Bonnie and Clyde’s perforated car, will be sold to the highest bidder during a live auction on September 30.
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| Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow in a photograph from the early 1930s. (Library of Congress) |
Bobby Livingston of RR Auction said he expects each gun to go for at least $100,000. “As far as handguns connected to Bonnie and Clyde, these are the finest you can have as a collector,” he said. “They were on the market last in 1986, so we are obviously getting intense interest. These items are as close to Bonnie and Clyde as you can get.”
Other items up for sale include Bonnie’s light brown leatherette cosmetic case—minus the lipstick, box of face powder and powder puff that were found inside after the ambush. Another item up for bid is Clyde’s Elgin pocket watch, which has a 10-karat gold-filled screw-back case. The watch was among the personal effects returned to Clyde’s father, along with his body. Clyde’s father wore the watch in memory of his son for more than 20 years until his death.
More than 100 other lots that are part of RR Auction’s “Gangsters, Outlaws and Lawmen” collection will be up for bid on September 30, including a letter written by John Dillinger from prison and a handwritten score of “Madonna Mia,” a song composed by Al Capone while he was incarcerated at Alcatraz.
FBI Launches $1 Billion Face Recognition Project
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| Mugshots are just the start. Courtesy of Timothy Fadek/Corbis |
by Sara Reardon
"Face recognition is 'now'," declared Alessandro Acquisti of Carnegie Mellon Univ. in Pittsburgh in a testimony before the US Senate in July.It certainly seems that way. As part of an update to the national fingerprint database, the FBI has begun rolling out facial recognition to identify criminals.
It will form part of the bureau's long-awaited, $1 billion Next Generation Identification (NGI) programme, which will also add biometrics such as iris scans, DNA analysis and voice identification to the toolkit. A handful of states began uploading their photos as part of a pilot programme this February and it is expected to be rolled out nationwide by 2014. In addition to scanning mugshots for a match, FBI officials have indicated that they are keen to track a suspect by picking out their face in a crowd.
Another application would be the reverse: images of a person of interest from security cameras or public photos uploaded onto the internet could be compared against a national repository of images held by the FBI. An algorithm would perform an automatic search and return a list of potential hits for an officer to sort through and use as possible leads for an investigation.
Read more.
Source: New Scientist
Is This Really Jack the Ripper's ‘Autobiography’ ?
Written in the 1920s and rediscovered in 2008, a first-person account of
what may be the most legendary cold case in history was published today
as “The Autobiography of Jack the Ripper.” Its author, whose identity
remains a mystery, presents himself as the eponymous serial killer who
butchered at least five women in London’s Whitechapel district during
the fall of 1888. Has “James Carnac”—who dedicated his manuscript to
“the retired members of the Metropolitan Police Force in spite of whose
energy and efficiency I have lived to write this book"—finally confessed
to his crimes?
Typed on yellowed pages with a handmade cover, the manuscript that inspired the new book comes from an unlikely source: Sydney George Hulme Beaman, the British author and illustrator who created the “Toytown” radio series for children. Beaman wrote in a preface that a one-legged acquaintance named James Carnac, whom he describes as having a “streak of cynical and macabre humor,” bequeathed the document to him in the 1920s and asked that it be published after his death. Beaman also claimed to have omitted certain “particularly revolting” passages from the original text and expressed his personal opinion that Carnac was indeed Jack the Ripper.
Did Beaman himself pen the alleged autobiography, using a centuries-old literary convention in which a writer presents fictional memoirs as a found document?
Did Beaman himself pen the alleged autobiography, using a centuries-old literary convention in which a writer presents fictional memoirs as a found document?
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What Readers are saying About Seven Ways To Die!
"SEVEN WAYS TO DIE is tense, gripping and impossible to put down, featuring a truly compelling homicide detective. I was intrigued from the first page!"
~ Carla Neggers Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 60 novels, with translations in 24 languages.
Verdict in: Peterson Jury United on Clothes
By MICHAEL TARM Associated Press
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AP FILE - In this Tuesday, July 31, 2012
file courtroom sketch, Drew Peterson, foreground, looks on, as Will
County State's Attorney James Glasgow gives his opening statement before
Judge Edward Burmila and jurors, in Joliet, Ill., in Peterson's murder
trial. Peterson is charged in the 2004 death of his third wife, Kathleen
Savio. Jurors at the trial have been showing up wearing matching
clothes. (AP Photo/Tom Gianni, File)
One expects coordinated outfits from cheerleaders, fast-food workers, military units — clowns even. It fosters unity of purpose, team spirit. But color-coordinated jurors? And at a murder trial, no less?
For a month, the jurors at the sensational murder trial of former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson have been filing into court wearing matching clothes — all yellow one day; other days black, blue or green. They've even walked in wearing alternating red, white and blue.
And the coordinated attire hasn't been just about color. Once, it was business suits. Then there was the day they all wore jerseys from sports teams — mostly Chicago Bears and White Sox, though one was a Green Bay Packers shirt, and none for the Cubs.
The oddity has left courtroom observers scratching their heads. It has led to jokes and banter among the judge and attorneys. But it's also raised questions about propriety and precedent during a trial in which evidence against Peterson has included descriptions of his violent threats and grisly photos of his dead wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub in 2004.
It's unclear what — if any — message jurors might be sending, because no one can speak to them. But one thing is clear about the 12 panelists expected to begin deliberations after closing arguments next week: At least they are unanimous about what to wear.
For a month, the jurors at the sensational murder trial of former suburban Chicago police officer Drew Peterson have been filing into court wearing matching clothes — all yellow one day; other days black, blue or green. They've even walked in wearing alternating red, white and blue.
And the coordinated attire hasn't been just about color. Once, it was business suits. Then there was the day they all wore jerseys from sports teams — mostly Chicago Bears and White Sox, though one was a Green Bay Packers shirt, and none for the Cubs.
The oddity has left courtroom observers scratching their heads. It has led to jokes and banter among the judge and attorneys. But it's also raised questions about propriety and precedent during a trial in which evidence against Peterson has included descriptions of his violent threats and grisly photos of his dead wife, Kathleen Savio, who was found dead in her bathtub in 2004.
It's unclear what — if any — message jurors might be sending, because no one can speak to them. But one thing is clear about the 12 panelists expected to begin deliberations after closing arguments next week: At least they are unanimous about what to wear.
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Alphonse Bertillon's "The Speaking Portrait"
Illustration from "The Speaking Portrait" (Pearson's Magazine, Vol XI, January to June 1901) demonstrating the principles of Bertillon's anthropometry.
Alphonse Bertillon's Anthropometric Identification System
Identification anthropométrique (1893), demonstrating the measurements one takes for his anthropometric identification system.
The Bonnot Gang
The Bonnot Gang originally consisted of a group of French anarchists centered around the individualist anarchist magazine L’Anarchie. The group was founded by Octave Garnier, Raymond Callemin, and René Valet. It was Garnier's idea to use automobiles in the service of a daring criminal act. Jules Bonnot joined them in December 1911.
Class on the Bertillon system in France in 1911
Class on the Bertillon system in France in 1911
In 1882 Bertillon decided to show a criminal identification system known as anthropometry but later also known as Bertillonage in honor of its creator. In this system the person was identified by measurement of the head and body, individual markings - tattoos, scars - and personality characteristics.
The measurements were made into a formula that would apply to only one person and would not change. He used it in 1884 to identify 241 multiple offenders, and the system was quickly adopted widely by American and British police forces. Part of its benefit was that by arranging the records carefully, it would be very easy to sift through a large number of records quickly given a few measurements from the person to be identified. While it might not always give an exact match, it would allow one to narrow the pool of possible people and then to compare the person with a photograph.
Alphonse Bertillon
Did you know that Alphonse Bertillon is the Inventor of the mug shot? Here he is using himself as a model.
Alphonse Bertillon
Did you know Anthropometry was the first scientific system used by police to identify criminals?
Alphonse Bertillon was a French police officer and biometrics researcher who created anthropometry, an identification system based on physical measurements.
BEACH BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES “SEVEN WAYS TO DIE” FOR GRAND PRIZE
NEW YORK _ A crime thriller with a unique back story is the grand prize winner of the 2012 Beach Book Festival, which honors the summer’s hottest reads. “Seven Ways to Die” is the final book from best-selling author William Diehl, who passed away five years ago after writing 400 pages of the novel, yet leaving it still incomplete.
His wife allowed his friend and fellow author, Kenneth Atchity, to step in and complete the work. Atchity, who has written 15 books and produced 30 films, used notes and an outline to finish the whodunit. Fans of intriguing plots and page-turning reads will not be disappointed.
The judges awarded the book top honors for its colorful characters and intriguing plot, making it a perfect beach read for the coming season. The authors will be honored at a private awards ceremony to be held June 22 at the Grolier Club in Manhattan.
Where Do Fingerprints Come From?
From Cradle to Grave, no matter how much fingers grow, everyone's fingerprints are unique and unchanging.
Livor Mortis: The Science of Death
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| iStockphoto |
Pathologists and medical examiners piece together how and when a person likely died. Fleshing out these details clue investigation teams into whether a person succumbed to natural causes, an accident or by the actions of someone else. But to make accurate estimates of time of death, they need to understand the science behind body reactions once the heart stops beating.
Though there are many factors to consider, livor mortis, a phenomenon involving the shift of blood in the body, is often examined alongside other types of clues such as rigor mortis, or muscle stiffness.
Every second, a living person's heart pumps oxygen-rich blood through the entire body in an extensive network of veins, arteries and capillaries. Blood gives organs and muscles the nutrients and warmth they need to work properly.
But what happens when the heart stops pushing blood throughout the body, and why does it matter to scientists?
For starters, the blood stops moving and gravity takes hold. If a person dies and falls on his back, blood will settle in the areas closest to the ground and will slowly drain from the body's front side. Indeed, such movement gives the dead the pale appearance we associate with a lack of life. Blood doesn't disappear, it simply moves to the backside of the body closest to the ground.
As death settles in, the blood begins to congeal, making the back of the person's body purple and pink from the influx of blood. After eight to 12 hours, the blood will usually stay that way.
But the parts of the body in direct contact with objects or the floor will appear pale because of the pressure placed on the skin's capillaries. One medical examiner and pathologist at a lecture on forensics and murder explains that when you press and hold your fingertip on the top of your hand for a few seconds, you'll release it to find it's paler than your surrounding skin. Then, it quickly turns back to your normal skin color. This is because your body recirculates the blood you temporarily pushed away.
The same concept applies when livor mortis sets in, except there's no heartbeat to push blood back into parts of the body.
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Handprints May Give Away Height, Gender
The technique relies on the fact that taller people, and men, tend to have larger hands than shorter people and women.
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Hand prints can reveal a person's height and size (Getty Images)
Prints left by the hand, or even parts of it, can be used to estimate the height of an unknown intruder and possibly tell whether they were male or female, say researchers.
A team led by forensic anthropologist Associate Professor Daniel Franklin, from the University of Western Australia, report their findings in a series of recent scientific papers.
"That might be useful if you've got someone who has broken into a house or someone has been seen messing around with a window of a house," says Franklin.
When trying to identify a suspected perpetrator of crime experts try to narrow down the list of potential suspects.
... The researchers took measurements of 91 male and 100 female adults from Western Australia. They measured the height of each individual and took seven measurements of each hand and its corresponding print.
Franklin and colleagues measured hand breadth and length, palm length, as well as the length of the first, second, third and fourth digits.
They then carried out a statistical analysis and found that hand prints involving these parts of the hand could be used to estimate height.
"If you're taller you tend to have longer limbs and you tend to have bigger hands as well. It's a scaling effect," says Franklin.
"We can show that there is a strong correlation between the size of your hand and your ... height and the same thing applies to a print from a hand."
Franklin says a forensic investigator could use these statistics to get a quantifiable estimate of an offender's height and this would help narrow down suspect profiles given out to the public or could be used to narrow down a given list of suspects.
Franklin says the study showed hand prints can predict height with a relatively high degree of accuracy, close to that of height predictions from hand bones.
A team led by forensic anthropologist Associate Professor Daniel Franklin, from the University of Western Australia, report their findings in a series of recent scientific papers.
"That might be useful if you've got someone who has broken into a house or someone has been seen messing around with a window of a house," says Franklin.
When trying to identify a suspected perpetrator of crime experts try to narrow down the list of potential suspects.
... The researchers took measurements of 91 male and 100 female adults from Western Australia. They measured the height of each individual and took seven measurements of each hand and its corresponding print.
Franklin and colleagues measured hand breadth and length, palm length, as well as the length of the first, second, third and fourth digits.
They then carried out a statistical analysis and found that hand prints involving these parts of the hand could be used to estimate height.
"If you're taller you tend to have longer limbs and you tend to have bigger hands as well. It's a scaling effect," says Franklin.
"We can show that there is a strong correlation between the size of your hand and your ... height and the same thing applies to a print from a hand."
Franklin says a forensic investigator could use these statistics to get a quantifiable estimate of an offender's height and this would help narrow down suspect profiles given out to the public or could be used to narrow down a given list of suspects.
Franklin says the study showed hand prints can predict height with a relatively high degree of accuracy, close to that of height predictions from hand bones.
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Trayvon Martin 911 Call: How Experts ID Voices Voice recognition software can show the actual speech structure of the vocal cords to make a match.
by Sheila Eldred
Have you ever realized how different your voice sounds on an answering machine? This week, Kasey-Dee Gardner finds out which one is your "true" voice and why.
Have you ever realized how different your voice sounds on an answering machine? This week, Kasey-Dee Gardner finds out which one is your "true" voice and why.
In classic whodunnit mysteries, detectives and FBI agents dust for fingerprints to solve mysteries and collect court-admissible evidence.
In real life, it's more often the voice that offers the tell-tale evidence, since technology to recognize voices in recordings has become so much more sophisticated.
The Feb. 26 recording of a 911 call by a woman who reported someone crying out for help in her gated community in Sanford, Fla., could be a key piece of evidence in the Trayvon Martin murder case, especially since she called early enough so that screams for help and the gunshot were recorded.
George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, shot Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old. Why he did so remains a hotly argued topic, with Zimmerman claiming Martin attacked and beat him.
In real life, it's more often the voice that offers the tell-tale evidence, since technology to recognize voices in recordings has become so much more sophisticated.
The Feb. 26 recording of a 911 call by a woman who reported someone crying out for help in her gated community in Sanford, Fla., could be a key piece of evidence in the Trayvon Martin murder case, especially since she called early enough so that screams for help and the gunshot were recorded.
George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, shot Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old. Why he did so remains a hotly argued topic, with Zimmerman claiming Martin attacked and beat him.
Tom Owen, a forensic consultant for Owen Forensic Services LLC and chair emeritus for the American Board of Recorded Evidence, recently analyzed the tape. After running the woman's 911 call through a software program called Easy Voice Biometrics and comparing it to another 911 call with Zimmerman's voice, Owen's team concluded that the screams for help were not Zimmerman's.
And, Owen said, if he had samples of Martin's voice, he may be able to definitively identify the screams as his.
"We've talked to the family; the attorney has been notified," he told Discovery News.
How can he be so sure?
... "The human voice is like a symphony, each voice is unique based on the type of instruments played and skill of the musicians playing the instruments. Similarly, the human voice is created using many physical components, the lungs, larynx and wind pipe. These exit the body through the mouth involving our tongue, teeth and lips," Primeau said.
"As forensic experts, we do not have the proper tools to arrive at a positive ID to conclude the voice is Trayvon yelling for help," Primeau said. "By process of elimination, both Tom and I agree the voice yelling is not Zimmerman. That is our opinion."
Trayvon Martin's brother has said that the screams on the tape sound like his brother.
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... "The human voice is like a symphony, each voice is unique based on the type of instruments played and skill of the musicians playing the instruments. Similarly, the human voice is created using many physical components, the lungs, larynx and wind pipe. These exit the body through the mouth involving our tongue, teeth and lips," Primeau said.
"As forensic experts, we do not have the proper tools to arrive at a positive ID to conclude the voice is Trayvon yelling for help," Primeau said. "By process of elimination, both Tom and I agree the voice yelling is not Zimmerman. That is our opinion."
Trayvon Martin's brother has said that the screams on the tape sound like his brother.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
1. Alec Jeffreys:
Reader's Review ...
I have read his books before. The Primal Fear Trilogy, and Eureka. Mr. Diehl never failed to to write a very exciting and riveting book. I totally loved 7 ways to die. I am sorry we can have no more Micah Cody books, or any more forthcoming from William Diehl. This book is a very rare book. It reminds me of the Nelson DeMille type books, and the mystery thrillers of the 60's and 70's. He will be sorely missed.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
2. Edmond Locard:
Known as the “Sherlock Holmes of France” Edmond Locard was famous as a pioneer in forensic science. He pointed out that everyone leaves a trace, and even developed a 12-point method of matching fingerprints in order to identify who they belonged to. Locard and two of his assistants started the first police lab. He originally studied medicine, but became interested in solving crime after working with a criminologist, Alexandre Lacassagne.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
3. Joseph Bell:
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
4. Sara Bisel:
One of the pioneers in the field of forensic anthropology was Sara Bisel, who started using chemical and physical analysis of the skeletons found at Herculaneum, one of the cities destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the year 79 CE. Her methods provided insight into the health of ancient populations — and even provided a basis for the chemical analysis performed on remains today in forensic science.Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
5. William Bass:
In order to better study human remains and decomposition, William Bass founded what is known as The Body Farm. This facility, the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, has been one of the most famous training grounds in forensic science. He has pioneered ways of studying human remains, and is well versed in osteology. He is a forensic anthropologist and served as an inspiration for a crime novel by Patricia Cornwell.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
6. William Maples:
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
7. Clea Koff: “The Bone Woman,”
Clea Koff, is well-known for her work on behalf of the United Nations. She worked for the Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and also for the tribal for the formal Yugoslavia. She is a well-known forensic anthropologist who used her skills to help bring some of the perpetrators of genocide to trial. Her autobiography is The Bone Woman: Among the dead in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Croatia. She also founded the Missing Persons Identification Resource Center that focuses on helping families match up with the U.S. Coroner’s Office in order to identify bodies that are so for unidentified.
Seven Ways To Die Featured in Atlanta Magazine!
SEVEN WAYS TO DIE by William Diehl with Kenneth John Atchity AEI/Story Merchant Books Before he died in 2006, Diehl (Sharky's Machine and Primal Fear) had written more than 400 pages of his tenth novel, about a captain in the NYPD on the trail of a serial killer in Manhattan. Using an outline and notes that Diehl left behind, Atchity finished the thriller, staying very true to the fast-paced, screenplay-ready plot that was the author's trademark. It's a fitting posthumous tribute to the former journalist-and first managing editor of Atlanta magazine who left his day job in his fifties to pursue his dream of writing fiction.
FIRST LOOK: As always his psyche was momentarily askew. He performed each autopsy compassionately. They were constant reminders of the finite line between life and death, between the human body and a corpse without a soul.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
8. Cyril Wecht:
Cyril Wecht is one of the most interesting forensic scientists alive today. He has consulted on a number of high profile cases, including speculation about the death of president John Kennedy. He has also shared thoughts on Vincent Foster, Anna Nicole Smith and Sharon Tate. He was also a consultant in the Branch Davidian case. He does private consultations, and was even charged with fraud at one point, though those charges were dropped. Wecht was concertmaster at the University of Pittsburgh (he wanted to be a musician), but he went on to get his M.D. and to serve as a coroner.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
9. Henry Lee:
Known for his work on the JonBenét Ramsey case, as well as the Laci Peterson case, Henry Lee is almost as high profile as they come. He even worked on the O.J. Simpson case, consulted on the Vincent Foster case, and was asked for insights in the D.C. sniper shootings. He was born in China, but fled with his family to Taiwan. He has a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and came to the U.S. specifically to study Forensic Science. The main blot on his career is that he is accused of evidence tampering in the Phil Spector case.
Top Ten Most Famous Forensic Scientists
10. Michael Baden:
As the host of the HBO show Autopsy, many people recognize Michael Baden.
He is also an author, writing popular non-fiction books about his work
as a coroner and board certified forensic pathologist. He contributes to
Fox News as an expert, and is a M.D. He has looked into past cases of
murder, including those of John Belushi, JFK, Czar Nicholas II
and his family, and looked into the cases of Phil Spector and O.J.
Simpson. (The overlap on such cases is common; many forensic experts
often go over the same cases — especially if the cases are famous. Baden
is a consulting pathologist with a private practice, as well as
providing expert witness testimony in court, and professional analysis
on television. For one year, he was the Chief Medical Examiner for New
York City.Seven Ways to Die Reader's Review
By Mary C
Loved
this book. It brought me to places I'd never been, the back alleys of
Manhattan, the wilds of Central Park, not to mention the wolves and Nez
Perce reservation. I didn't know murder could be such a sick work of
art, and respect the detectives who analyze it and bring the offenders
to justice.
The Last From One of The Greats
By Larry D. Thompson "Larry" (Houston TX)
When you write thrillers
yourself, it's hard not to see the thread beneath the tapestry. But I read this
one without being able to tell where Bill Diehl's distinctive voice faltered,
so well did Atchity capture it and continue the story to the spectacular ending
without a hitch. If you are into serial killers and police who track them down,
this one will take you to places you've never been--because this one is truly
unique.
Delicious Images That Peel Away the Mystery and Leave You Wanting More
By Milton lyles (UPLAND, CALIFORNIA, US
William Diehl is a master story teller. His writing is beautifully layered with rich visual images and a sense of mystery that carries the book's artful, insightful, hero, Cody, swiftly to its seventh way to die
Awesome thriller! Great writing. Want more from this author!
By Laurie A. Dressman
This isn't usually the kind
of book I read, and it was a little racy for me in spots, but when I saw the
rave review on Nancy Grace CNN, I thought I'd download it and take a chance.
Well, my face was red off and on, but I was sucked right into the meticulous
procedures of the NYPD homicide detectives trying to put an end to these
murders "by the book." It makes you look at things through the eyes
of the police and notice things you'd never otherwise notice, not to mention
the cast of great characters whose lives you get entwined with as the pages
turn. I hated to see it end! if you like excitement, you'll love this book.
Fascinating Book - Reader's Review
This was a fascinating book & it made me more than a little sad to read it was W. Diehl's final writing effort. K.J. Atchity & his "team" did an admirable job of completing this book for all of us to read. The storyline & writing style are truly seamless, & it certainly lived up to the crime-thriller genre.
My only regret ... I feel a sense of loss over the fact that Micah Cody & his super-talented & hand-picked investigative team of characters will not be a part of my reading future.
Book Review: Seven Ways To Die by William Diehl with Kenneth John Atchity
William Diehl was a New York Times bestselling author. He passed away almost five years ago and his last book, Seven Ways To Die, begins with a touching note written by his widow, Virginia Gunn Diehl. She writes: “He completed over four hundred pages of Seven Ways To Die. He loved this book…He was sorry that he couldn’t complete his final project. He worked so hard on it for several years. He was proud of it.”
His widow goes on to say that her husband’s friend of twenty-five years, Ken Atchity, did his best to “make sure that Bill’s book would see the light of day.” Ken Atchity is a talented author himself, having written fifteen of his own books, and he is the producer of thirty films. Atchity understood his friend’s writing style and used notes and an outline left by Bill Diehl to complete the book. Ken Atchity’s contribution doesn’t disappoint the reader and he fulfilled Virginia Diehl’s wish; that her husband’s fans would have one more opportunity to enjoy his craft.
Seven Ways To Die is a work of fiction, written in third person, published by AEI/Story Merchant Books. It’s a suspenseful, crime whodunit, laced with colorful characters and an intriguing plot. The main character, Cody, is a 30-something NYPD captain of homicide, who founded a special unit known as TAZ which stands for “The Tactical Assistance Squad.” He’s trying to catch a serial killer, all the while being hounded by a pompous crime writer named Ward Hamilton.
The reader learns that Cody grew up in Idaho on the Nez Perce Reservation. As a boy, he learned to be in tune with nature. He had a special connection, even mystical tie, with animals, and was mysteriously able to communicate with them. Cody learned at a young age to read “signs” of nature and this innate skill helped him later as a homicide detective.
We are introduced to Cody at age thirteen but the story quickly jumps to the present; Cody working Homicide with the NYPD. The author’s spine tingling descriptions make the reader feel like they are in the room with the first victim, Melinda. As the tension builds, you quickly feel Melinda’s terror and won’t want to put the book down (I had to keep flipping the pages to see what would happen next).
Bill Diehl had a powerful gift for creating images painted with his words. Be it the beautiful Nez Perce Reservation, the dark and secretive sex clubs, victim number two’s posh brownstone or the ghoulish murder scenes, each chapter descriptively sets the stage for a story that moves at top speed.
William Diehl was a master at character development. He’s able to make you feel the melancholy of the tough and now sober Detective Frank Rizzo, as he enters his small apartment, on the anniversary of his wife’s passing.
On page 160, Diehl writes:
“He got a glass, pored himself a glass of ginger ale, went in the living room and turned on the television set. When the remote turned up nothing of interest, he put on the DVD of “West Side Story” and as the overture began, he slumped down in his easy chair and let memories envelope him like a warm blanket.” (The reader learned earlier that the couple’s first date was spent seeing the movie, “West Side Story”).
The characters in this novel amuse, entertain, confuse and mesmerize. From Amelie Cluett, the exotically beautiful masseuse, to Victoria, the sexually deviant lover of crime writer and flamboyant columnist, Ward Hamilton, each character packs a punch, adding dazzle to this superb drama.
Seven Ways To Die was William Diehl’s last (literary) love and the people who loved him made sure his hard work was to no avail. It was the inspiration of Virginia Gunn Diehl, the dedication of Ken Atchity, the forensics contributions from Dr. Brett Bartlett, M.D., and the persistence and hard work of others that made Seven Ways To Die more than a suspenseful, top notch thriller. It is a labor of love, and like a diamond, it’s a brilliant and valuable gift left by Diehl and his wife to all his fans.
William Diehl
If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading any of William Diehl’s New York Times Best Sellers (Primal Fear or Sharky’s Machine), I urge you to pick up Seven Ways To Die. It’s a fabulous read and in my opinion, if ever made into a movie, would become a box office hit.
In closing, I’d like to point out that Bill Diehl dedicated Seven Ways To Die as follows: “For Virginia-She endured.” And because of Virginia’s great love for her husband, William Diehl’s last writing will endure and be enjoyed for eternity.
Please visit the author’s website and that of his wife:
Seven Ways To Die
The Virginia Gunn’s Website
This post was written by:
Lu - who has written 140 posts on Essence Of Life Chronicles.Lu is a freelance writer in the Boston area and the VP of Editing for DocUmeant Publishing. She's a published ghost writer and has other magazine publications to her credit. She writes book reviews for publishers and their authors. In her free time, she contributes to blogcritics.org.
BOOKS, BONE And BUFFY Reviews Seven Ways To Die
SEVEN WAYS TO DIE by William Diehl with Kenneth John Atchity – Review
William Diehl is a master storyteller who unfortunately died in 2006 before he could complete Seven Ways to Die,
his tenth novel. Before his death he was able to write 412 manuscript
pages of the novel, which was completed by Kenneth John Atchity, a
friend and fellow writer, with the help of extensive story notes and
outlines that were left behind. Diehl’s bestselling crime novels
included Sharky’s Machine (1978) and Thai Horse (1987), and I can see why he was, and continues to be, so popular. Seven Ways to Die
is a delicious mixture of police procedural, forensics and character
study, with an unexpected and healthy dose of sex thrown in.
Micah Cody is a Nez Perce Indian homicide
detective with a pony tail and an uncanny ability to communicate with
animals. As a main character he’s got it all: good looks, mystery, and
the ability to get into the mind of a serial killer. He’s formed a
subgroup of the NYPD called the Tactical Assistant Squad (TAZ) and
assembled the best of the best to help him solve homicides, including a
computer whiz, a forensic pathologist, and an assistant DA. He also has a
white German shepherd named Charley with “the best nose in the
business” that accompanies Cody on investigations, and indeed plays an
important part in solving this mystery.
TAZ is called in to investigate the
murder of a successful stock broker named Raymond Handley. They are
first to arrive on the scene and discover the victim dead, naked and
tied to a chair. His throat is slashed but there isn’t a drop of blood
to be found. Back at headquarters, the team gets to work trying to
determine cause of death, and they discover something chilling. Although
Handley appears to have died from having his neck slashed, they
discover the underlying and true cause of death: drug-induced heart
failure and de-sanguination. This mislead occurs in subsequent murders,
and the TAZ crew realizes that they have a serial killer on their hands.
In the midst of TAZ trying to get a lead
on the killer, we are introduced to Ward Hamilton, a pompous and
flamboyant true crime writer who convinces his editor to let him write a
series of articles about unsolved cases in the NYPD. Having failed at
writing novels, Hamilton feels the need to redeem himself and make a
comeback with the articles, which will culminate in a book. And he’s
found his first subject for the project: the case of a young dancer
named Melinda Cramer, whose apparent suicide was never solved by Cody
and his team. Hamilton is a truly unlikable character, and as he tries
to get the Cramer case file from Cody to start his research, we get
glimpses into his unsavory life as a playboy that he shares with his
equally unlikable lover Victoria.
When a second body turns up naked and
tied to a chair, the hunt intensifies to find the killer before he or
she can strike again. Along with the growing suspense and the terror of
trying to stop a serial killer, Diehl introduces a love interest for
Cody, a woman named Amelie who coincidentally lives in the apartment
across from Handley’s. The instant attraction between the two was a
nice break from the tension, and in a particularly sweet scene, Cody
takes Amelie with him to the zoo in Central Park where he demonstrates
his rapport with the zoo’s resident wolves.
Diehl is adept at pacing, and he manages
to keep the large cast of characters under control while the action
escalates toward the final showdown between Cody and the killer. There
are all sorts of wonderful elements in Seven Ways to Die
that give what could have been a conventional murder mystery extra
depth. One of my favorites was the role that dogs and wolves played in
the story. During a flashback we are introduced to Cody as a boy in the
Nez Perce tribe, who is bitten by a rattlesnake while walking through
the desert. Near death and hallucinating, he awakens to find a white
wolf next to him, licking the venom from the snakebite. In a brilliant
parallel, Charley the German shepherd saves Cody’s life by licking
poison out of his wound after he is struck by a poisoned arrow.
There really isn’t anything to not like about Seven Ways to Die.
I thought the dialog was first-rate, and with snappy lines like “Cody
knew his goose was cooked” I was charmed from page one. There has been a
bit of flap from other reviewers over the sex scene in chapter 38,
which does seem to come out of nowhere. But because of the way the
bodies are found, the team determines that the killer is almost
certainly a sex addict, so the graphic scene didn’t really feel
out-of-place to me. Diehl and Atchity also neatly tie in the title of
the book, with the forensic description of the seven ways homicide
victims are killed, which figures into the murders themselves. The only
story element that didn’t ring true for me was the believability that
the killer had the intelligence and resources to pull off the highly
complicated murders, after learning the killer’s identity. But that was
a small thing that really didn’t detract from the rest of the story.
It was a pleasure to read the book of a
seasoned and talented writer, and the work that Atchity did to finish it
off was brilliant.
You can purchase Seven Ways to Die from Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
Thank you Nancy Grace ...
 |
| Friends of William Diehl... Nancy Grace, Michael A. Simpson and Judy Cairo |
Please check out my friend William Diehl's new book - "Seven Ways to Die"
Nancy Grace is television's only justice
themed/interview/debate show, designed for those interested in the
breaking crime news of the day.
and Featuring Seven Ways to Die on your Show!
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