NCJ Number
216368
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 56 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2006 Pages: 896-907
Date Published
November 2006
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This experiment examined whether bloodstains under multiple layers of paint could be detected with luminol.
Abstract
All of the sections of drywall with paint deposited over the bloodstains (maximum of eight layers of paint) showed luminescence with luminol in varying degrees of intensity, but none of them revealed any recognizable patterns. As the number of paint layers increased, so did the amount of time required for the luminol to react. Photographs did not record the luminescence in tests on samples with more than four paint layers. Photographs for tests with three and four layers barely showed the luminescence. Although limited in its ability to identify bloodstain patterns under multiple paint layers, luminol can be useful as a presumptive test for blood concealed by paint. The materials used in the experiment are listed, and the testing procedures are described in detail. Four drywall sections were used as controls with the following conditions: untreated; one coat of primer; one coat of primer and one coat of paint; and one coat primer, one coat paint, and a splatter with 2 ml of blood. The experimental drywall sections contained a base coat of primer and paint to which blood spatter consistent with a beating was applied. One to eight layers of paint were then applied to separate drywall samples. The luminol kit used in the testing was Sirchie's 16B. The luminol procedure is described, along with the procedure and camera setting for photographs. 1 table, 11 figures, and 3 references