Identification Canada, Volume 29, No. 3 September 2006

• NCJ Number: 233771
• Journal: Identification Canada Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2006 Pages: 86-119
• Author(s): James A. Bailey; Ernest Hamm; Dave Richard
• Editor(s): Della Wilkinson
• Date Published: September 2006
• Length: 34 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: French; English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

Featured articles in this issue address the back-transfer of footwear and tire tread design on victim clothing, the examination of bullet wipe patterns for symmetry, and the successful use of a postmortem drawing as an aid in identifying a victim whose body was in advanced decomposition after being in water.

Abstract

The casework presented in one article shows the importance of examining both the outside and inner surfaces of all clothing worn by a victim whose clothing may have been subjected to impact from footwear, tires, or certain types of weapons. This should be done in order to determine whether back-transfer patterns exist. The examination of the clothing with forensic light sources should be considered in efforts to locate and identify areas that can be subjected to chemical enhancement methods. A second article presents the results of a study that evaluated the consistency of bullet wipe patterns of shots fired perpendicular to cloth targets at known distances. Bullet wipe is a discoloration that occurs from combustion byproducts from the propellant, leaving traces of metal from the bullet and bullet lubricant. This study determined that bullet wipe patterns will not always produce a uniform symmetrical deposit around the margin of the entrance hole when fired at 90 degrees on a cloth target. A possible explanation for this finding is that the asymmetrical bullet wipe pattern result from the bullet stretching the cloth as it passed through the cloth. The third article describes how the author, a forensic artist, drew the features of a victim who had undergone advanced decomposition. The drawn image was sufficiently accurate for the victim's identification from a viewer who saw it on television. This issue also presents a message from the president of the Canadian Identification Society, along with minutes of the annual general meeting of the Society.