Conclusions

Figure 8: NIR spectra of (a) an aged blood sample (vein blood 262 h on glass), (b) lyophilized crystalline hemoglobin, and (c) lyophilized crystalline hemoglobin after wetting and drying.

Development of a scientifically validated forensic method to determine the age of bloodstains from a crime scene could make a significant contribution to helping crime scene investigators determine the time of a specific crime. It has been demonstrated that a bloodstain aged over a period of one month at ambient temperatures undergoes spectral changes, which can be used to predict the age of a stain. Loss of water is the major contributor to the change during the first hour of aging; however, the lack of reference bands at this stage reduces the quantitative value of the data. After 1 h, characteristic bands due to proteins appear in the 1800–2500 nm region, and a new band appears in the 1460–1860 nm, which can be used for predicting the age of a stain. The standard error of prediction for a composite sample from three sources was 2.3 over a total aging period of 590 h. These results support the potential for using a miniature NIR spectrometer for determining the age of bloodstains.

Acknowledgments

Table I. Standard error of prediction (SEP) for three bloodstains and a composite fit of all samples

We would like to thank the Forensic Science Partnership, University of Rhode Island, and the Applications Laboratory-Digilab (Randolph, Massachusetts). Marc Lamontagne gratefully acknowledges the sabbatical support from Department of Physical Sciences, Rhode Island College.

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Edita Botonjic-Sehic is with the Department of Chemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, and Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pomona, New York. Chris W. Brown is with the Department of Chemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island. Mark Lamontagne is with the Department of Physical Sciences, Rhode Island College, Providence, Rhode Island. Mary Tsaparikos is with the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island.