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Samples of Semen, Urine and Saliva are made visible with UV light.  GClark

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Dried blood and body fluid stains should be collected in the following manner: If the stained object can be transported back to the crime lab, then package it in a paper bag or envelope and send it to the lab if the object cannot be transported, then either use fingerprint tape and lift it like a fingerprint and place -Selton F

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by George Schiro
Forensic Scientist
Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory

Once the crime scene has been thoroughly documented and the locations of the evidence noted, then the collection process can begin. The collection process will usually start with the collection of the most fragile or most easily lost evidence. Special consideration can also be given to any evidence or objects which need to be moved. Collection can then continue along the crime scene trail or in some other logical manner. Photographs should also continue to be taken if the investigator is revealing layers of evidence which were not previously documented because they were hidden from sight.

Most items of evidence will be collected in paper containers such as packets, envelopes, and bags. Liquid items can be transported in non-breakable, leakproof containers. Arson evidence is usually collected in air-tight, clean metal cans. Only large quantities of dry powder should be collected and stored in plastic bags. Moist or wet evidence (blood, plants, etc.) from a crime scene can be collected in plastic containers at the scene and transported back to an evidence receiving area if the storage time in plastic is two hours or less and this is done to prevent contamination of other evidence. Once in a secure location, wet evidence, whether packaged in plastic or paper, must be removed and allowed to completely air dry. That evidence can then be repackaged in a new, dry paper container. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD EVIDENCE CONTAINING MOISTURE BE PACKAGED IN PLASTIC OR PAPER CONTAINERS FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS. Moisture allows the growth of microorganisms which can destroy or alter evidence.

Any items which may cross contaminate each other must be packaged separately. The containers should be closed and secured to prevent the mixture of evidence during transportation. Each container should have: the collecting person's initials; the date and time it was collected; a complete description of the evidence and where it was found; and the investigating agency's name and their file number.

Each type of evidence has a specific value in an investigation. The value of evidence should be kept in mind by the investigator when doing a crime scene investigation. For example, when investigating a crime he or she should spend more time on collecting good fingerprints than trying to find fibers left by a suspect's clothing. The reason is that fingerprints can positively identify a person as having been at the scene of a crime, whereas fibers could have come from anyone wearing clothes made out of the same material. Of course if obvious or numerous fibers are found at the point of entry, on a victim's body, etc., then they should be collected in case no fingerprints of value are found. It is also wise to collect more evidence at a crime scene than not to collect enough evidence. An investigator usually only has one shot at a crime scene, so the most should be made of it.

The following is a breakdown of the types of evidence encountered and how the evidence should be handled:

Fingerprints

Fingerprints (also includes palm prints and bare footprints) are the best evidence to place an individual at the scene of a crime. Collecting fingerprints at a crime scene requires very few materials, making it ideal from a cost standpoint. All non-movable items at a crime scene should be processed at the scene using gray powder, black powder, or black magnetic powder. Polaroid 665 black and white film loaded in a Polaroid CU-5 camera with detachable flash should be used to make one-to-one photographs of prints which do not readily lift. All small transportable items should be packaged in paper bags or envelopes and sent to the crime lab for processing. Because of the "package it up and send it to the lab" mentality, some investigators skim over collecting prints at a crime scene. Collecting prints at the crime scene should be every investigator's top priority. Fingerprints from the suspect as well as elimination fingerprints from the victim will also be needed for comparison (the same holds true for palm and bare footprints).

Bite Marks

Bite marks are found many times in sexual assaults and can be matched back to the individual who did the biting. They should be photographed using an ABFO No. 2 Scale with normal lighting conditions, side lighting, UV light, and alternate light sources. Color slide and print film as well as black and white film should be used. The more photographs under a variety of conditions, the better. Older bitemarks which are no longer visible on the skin may sometimes be visualized and photographed using UV light and alternate light sources. If the bitemark has left an impression then maybe a cast can be made of it. Casts and photographs of the suspect's teeth and maybe the victim's teeth will be needed for comparison. For more information consult a forensic odontologist.

Broken Fingernails

Much like a bullet that has individualizing striations on it, natural fingernails have individualizing striations on them. A broken fingernail found at a crime scene can be matched to the individual it came from many months after the crime has been committed. Broken fingernails should be placed in a paper packet which is then placed in a paper envelope. It can then be transported to the crime lab for analysis. Known samples from the suspect and maybe from the victim will be needed for comparison.

Questioned Documents

Handwriting samples can also be matched back to the individual that produced them. Known exemplars of the suspected person's handwriting must be submitted for comparison to the unknown samples. Questioned documents can also be processed for fingerprints. All items should be collected in paper containers. For more information consult a questioned documents examiner.

Blood and Body Fluids

If using the RFLP method of DNA analysis, then blood and seminal fluid can be matched back to an individual with a high degree of probability. Currently, if using the PCR method of DNA analysis or conventional serological techniques then blood and some body fluids can be said to come from a certain population group to which the individual belongs. As PCR technology advances, these population groups will become smaller, eventually giving it the same discriminating power as RFLP analysis has today. Dried blood and body fluid stains should be collected in the following manner: If the stained object can be transported back to the crime lab, then package it in a paper bag or envelope and send it to the lab; if the object cannot be transported, then either use fingerprint tape and lift it like a fingerprint and place the tape on a lift back; scrape the stain into a paper packet and package it in a paper envelope; or absorb the stain onto 1/2" long threads moistened with distilled water. The threads must be air dried before permanently packaging. For transportation purposes and to prevent cross contamination, the threads may be placed into a plastic container for no more than two hours. Once in a secure location, the threads must be removed from the plastic and allowed to air dry. They may then be repackaged into a paper packet and placed in a paper envelope. Wet blood and body fluid stains should be collected in the following manner: all items should be packaged separately to prevent cross contamination, if the item can be transported to the crime lab, then package it in a paper bag (or plastic bag if the transportation time is under two hours), bring it to a secure place and allow it to thoroughly air dry, then repackage it in a paper bag. If the item cannot be transported back to the lab, then absorb the stain onto a small (1"x1") square of pre-cleaned 100% cotton sheeting. Package it in paper (or plastic if the transportation time is less than two hours), bring it to a secure place and allow it to thoroughly air dry; then repackage it in a paper envelope. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD WET OR MOIST ITEMS REMAIN IN PLASTIC OR PAPER CONTAINERS FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS. Victim and suspect's known whole blood samples will have to be collected in yellow, red, or purple top "Vacutainers." Contact the lab to which the samples will be submitted for specific information.

Firearms and Toolmarks

Bullets and casings found at the crime scene can be positively matched back to a gun in the possession of a suspect. Bullets and casings can also be examined at the crime lab and sometimes tell an investigator what make and model of weapons may have expended the casing or bullet. A bullet found at the crime scene can sometimes be matched back to the same lot of ammunition found in a suspect's possession. Toolmarks can be positively matched to a tool in the suspect's possession. Firearm safety is a must at any crime scene. If a firearm must be moved at a crime scene, never move it by placing a pencil in the barrel or inside the trigger guard. Not only is this unsafe, but it could damage potential evidence. The gun can be picked up by the textured surface on the grips without fear of placing unnecessary fingerprints on the weapon. Before picking up the gun, make sure that the gun barrel is not pointed at anyone. Keep notes on the condition of the weapon as found and stops taken to render it as safe as possible without damaging potential evidence. The firearm can then be processed for prints and finally rendered completely safe. FIREARMS MUST BE RENDERED SAFE BEFORE SUBMISSION TO THE CRIME LAB. The firearm should be packaged in an envelope or paper bag separately from the ammunition and/or magazine. The ammunition and/or magazine should be placed in a paper envelope or bag. It is important that the ammunition found in the gun be submitted to the crime lab. Any boxes of similar ammunition found in a suspect's possession should also be placed in a paper container and sent to the crime lab. Casings and/or bullets found at the crime scene should be packaged separately and placed in paper envelopes or small cardboard pillboxes. If knives (or other sharp objects) are being submitted to the lab (for toolmarks, fingerprints, serology, etc.), then the blade and point should be wrapped in stiff unmovable cardboard and placed in a paper bag or envelope. The container should be labeled to warn that the contents are sharp and precautions should be taken. This is to prevent anyone from being injured.

Shoeprints and Tire Tracks

Shoeprints and tire tracks can be matched positively to a pair of shoes or to tires in a suspect's possession. Shoeprints and tire tracks can sometimes tell investigators what type of shoes or tires to look for when searching a suspect's residence or vehicles. Before any attempt is made at collecting shoeprints or tire tracks, one-to-one photographs should be made using a tripod, ruler, and level. The flash should be held at about 45 degree angles from the surface containing an impression. Casts can be made of impressions using dental stone. Once hardened, the cast can be packaged in paper and submitted to the lab. When photographing prints on hard flat surfaces the flash should be used as side lighting. Shoeprints on hard flat surfaces can also sometimes be lifted like a fingerprint. Dust prints on certain surfaces can be lifted with an electrostatic dustprint lifter.

Fracture Matches

Fracture matches can positively link broken pieces at the scene with pieces found in the possession of a suspect. For example, headlight fragments found at the scene of a hit and run could be positively matched to a broken headlight (just like putting together a jigsaw puzzle) on a suspect's vehicle. Larger fragments should be placed in paper bags or envelopes. Smaller fragments should be placed in a paper packet and then placed in an envelope.

Hair

If a root sheath is attached, then DNA analysis using PCR technology can say that this hair came from a certain percentage of the population to which the suspect belongs. If there is no root sheath, then a microscopic analysis can say that the hair has the same characteristics as the suspect's hair and is similar to his or her hair. At this point, no one can say that a hair came from a particular individual. Hair found at the scene should be placed in a paper packet and then placed in an envelope. If a microscopic examination is required, then 15-20 representative hairs from the suspect must be submitted to the lab for comparison. If DNA analysis if going to be used, then a whole blood sample from the suspect must be submitted to the lab in a "Vacutainer." Contact a DNA lab for more information.

Fibers

Fibers can be said that they are the same type and color as those found in a suspect's clothes, residence, vehicle, etc. Fibers should be collected in a paper packet and placed in an envelope. Representative fibers should be collected from a suspect and submitted to the lab for comparison.

Paint

Paint can be said that it is the same type and color as paint found in the possession of a suspect. Paint fragments should be collected in a paper packet and placed in an envelope. Representative paint chips or samples should be collected from the suspect and submitted to the lab for comparison.

Glass

Glass can be said that it has the same characteristics as glass found in the possession of a suspect. Smaller glass fragments should be placed in a paper packet and then in an envelope. Larger pieces should be wrapped securely in paper or cardboard and then placed in a padded cardboard box to prevent further breakage. Representative samples from the suspect should be submitted to the lab for comparison.

Other Trace Evidence

Sometimes during the commission of a crime, there are other items which may be transferred to a perpetrator from the scene or from the perpetrator to the scene (sheetrock, safe insulation. etc.). The guidelines for collecting the evidence and obtaining known samples is about the same as for paint and fibers. For specific information, contact your crime lab.

RECOMMENDED READING:

"Evidence Handling Guide" LA. Dept. of Public Safety and Corrections, Office of State Police, Crime Laboratory

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by George Schiro Forensic Scientist Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory Once the crime scene has been thoroughly documented and the locations of the evidence noted, then the collection process can begin. The collection process will usually start with the collection of the most fragile or most easily lost evidence.

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Methods used to examine sexual assault evidence — such as the use of an alternate light source (e.g., ultraviolet light) to visually detect semen stains, histological microscopic examination to observe spermatozoa, chemical methods based on the detection of seminal fluid acid phosphatase, and immunological methods based on the detection of p30 -Selton F

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Sidebar to the article Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of Non-DNA Forensic Evidence by Heather Waltke, Gerald LaPorte, Danielle Weiss, Dawn Schwarting, Minh Nguyen, and Frances Scott.
Methods used to examine sexual assault evidence - such as the use of an alternate light source (e.g., ultraviolet light) to visually detect semen stains, histological microscopic examination to observe spermatozoa, chemical methods based on the detection of seminal fluid acid phosphatase, and immunological methods based on the detection of p30 (or prostate-specific antigen) - have been described in scientific literature for more than three decades. Other common body fluids for which presumptive identification methods are routinely employed include blood and saliva. Such methods are typically based on the detection of hemoglobin (blood) through a phenolphthalein (Kastle-Meyer) test and the detection of saliva through an α-amylase test. Regardless of whether serological tests are performed as a screening step prior to DNA testing or to provide additional substantive case information after DNA testing, they are instrumental tools for forensic investigators.

Technology companies continue to develop new kits and tools to make body fluid identification more discriminatory, faster, and less labor intensive. More recent commercial advances boast the ability for multiplex testing to identify multiple body fluids simultaneously in a relatively short amount of time.

Meanwhile, NIJ continues to fund innovative research to address the need for new tools to better identify body fluids while minimizing the consumption of evidence. With NIJ funding, spectroscopic methods used in other analytical chemistry applications are being applied to forensic science to develop new methods. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has the potential for nondestructive blood stain analysis in laboratory and crime scene settings.[1] Raman spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics has been shown to be able to discriminate between peripheral blood, menstrual blood, saliva, semen, sweat, and vaginal fluid, without consuming any sample.[2] Advances are also being made in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for the identification of dried blood, semen, vaginal fluid, saliva, and urine.[3] NIJ funds are also being used to develop multiplex methods to identify multiple body fluids (e.g., human saliva, urine, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, peripheral blood, and menstrual blood) using mass spectrometry.[4] As forensic laboratory interest in massively parallel sequencing technologies increases, NIJ's investments into research projects that support sequence analysis-based methods to identify body fluids are becoming more relevant to potential practice.

Scientific methods used to identify body fluids, as currently performed or as they may be in the future, are important factors that can influence the crime scene investigation, inform the forensic laboratory processing, and affect court outcomes. Regardless of the perceived adequacy of existing methods, it is critical to continue to advance the field, building on new scientific findings and technologies that continue to evolve rapidly. As the field moves forward, it is critical to also continue to generate publicly available scientific knowledge that rigorously tests new methods, validates that the methods can do what they purport, and ultimately supports the foundation for the new tools and technologies that are adopted into practice.

About This Article

This article was published as part of NIJ Journal issue number 279, published April 2018, as a sidebar to the article Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of Non-DNA Forensic Evidence by Heather Waltke, Gerald LaPorte, Danielle Weiss, Dawn Schwarting, Minh Nguyen, and Frances Scott.

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Sidebar to the article Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of Non-DNA Forensic Evidence by Heather Waltke, Gerald LaPorte, Danielle Weiss, Dawn Schwarting, Minh Nguyen, and Frances Scott.

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Semen fluoresced in the snow solved a rape case - Selton F

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Bodily fluids are any fluids from your body including blood, urine, tears, sweat, saliva, semen, breast milk, or vaginal secretions. - Ariana Curry

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The most common methods used to collect body guild evidence include:
• Cuttings
• Wet absorption
• Scraping method
• Tape-Lifting
- Ariana Curry

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Module 03 :: Blood and Body Fluid Collection

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Latest DNA technology helped solve a 31-year-old murder case about a 16 year old girl named Fawn Cox that was sexually assaulted and killed on July 26, 1989. - Ariana Curry

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New DNA technology solves 31-year-old murder case

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As technology evolved, KCPD's Missing Persons/Cold Case section re-examined the case. They determined the initial investigation had left no stone unturned, and only science would solve Cox's murder. In the first decade of the 2000's, KCPD Crime Lab scientists developed a suspect DNA profile from the bodily fluids that were collected and stored in 1989.

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Body fluids should be packaged in paper bags or boxes after being air-dried completely. - Ariana Curry

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This article talks about a database called Sys-BodyFluid which is a systematical database for human body fluid proteome research. - Ariana Curry

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Abstract

Recently, body fluids have widely become an important target for proteomic research and proteomic study has produced more and more body fluid related protein data. A database is needed to collect and analyze these proteome data. Thus, we developed this web-based body fluid proteome database Sys-BodyFluid. It contains eleven kinds of body fluid proteomes, including plasma/serum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, synovial fluid, nipple aspirate fluid, tear fluid, seminal fluid, human milk and amniotic fluid. Over 10 000 proteins are presented in the Sys-BodyFluid. Sys-BodyFluid provides the detailed protein annotations, including protein description, Gene Ontology, domain information, protein sequence and involved pathways. These proteome data can be retrieved by using protein name, protein accession number and sequence similarity. In addition, users can query between these different body fluids to get the different proteins identification information. Sys-BodyFluid database can facilitate the body fluid proteomics and disease proteomics research as a reference database. It is available at http://www.biosino.org/bodyfluid/.

INTRODUCTION

In the post-genome era, proteomic technology has rapidly developed to be a powerful platform for the research of human physiology. It can be applied for identifying potential novel biomarkers for prognosis, diagnosis and therapeusis ( 1, 2). And in recent years it is shown that body fluids have become one of the important targets for proteomics research ( 3). The body fluids include a wide variety of compositions like plasma/serum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, synovial fluid, nipple aspirate fluid, tear fluid, amniotic fluid and so on. Analysis of the protein composition in body fluids can help to understand human disease proteomics better. Hu et al.,( 3) reviewed the body fluids research advances in proteome analysis and focused on its applications to human disease biomarker discovery. The importance of body fluids has also been appreciated by recent proteomics work ( 4). The database 'MAPU: Max-Planck Unified database of organellar, cellular, tissue and body fluid' ( 5) published in 2007 exhibit the close attention of the proteome researchers to the body fluids. The MAPU database stores the data from their own lab and contains several kinds of body fluids, such as urine and tear fluid. To collect more curated proteomics data in the related literatures of the body fluids and provide comprehensive protein annotation, as well as explore the relationships between the different body fluids, we constructed this database Sys-BodyFluid. Abundant proteomics data and in-depth protein annotation make Sys-BodyFluid to be a reference database for body fluid and clinical proteomics research.

DATABASE CONSTRUCTION

Sys-BodyFluid database was implemented through MySQL relational database ( http://www.mysql.com). The web graphical user interface was constructed using JavaServer Pages technology ( http://java.sun.com/products/jsp/). The manually curated body fluid protein data in the Sys-BodyFluid were imported to MySQL database by JAVA program. The protein annotation data were downloaded from International Protein Index (IPI) database, Gene Ontology ( 6), GOA database ( 7) and KEGG ( 8) pathway database. Open source JAVA library named as JFreeChart ( http://www.jfree.org/jfreechart/) distributed under LGPL was adopted to plot the image of the statistics data in the web.

DATA SOURCE AND DATABASE CONTENTS

We searched PubMed and manually curated 50 related peer-review publications published online before May 2008. The primary sequences of the proteins were retrieved by the original ID from their corresponding databases in these publications. Due to the database updates, the protein sequences reported in the literatures may have changed or depleted in the current databases. Therefore, these protein sequences were manually validated before importing into the database. Each protein was mapping to the IPI database to uniform the protein ID in Sys-BodyFluid by blasting these protein sequences against the database (Human IPI Version 3.44) (the E-value cutoff was set to 10 −8, the BLAST-HSP coverage was >0.9). Thus, each of the protein has a corresponding IPI ID in the Sys-BodyFluid database. The total unique proteins and paper numbers of the 11 kinds of body fluids in our database are summarized in . For example, there are 13 papers and 7748 proteins about the plasma/serum research in our database. Users can obtain this statistical information about the Sys-BodyFluid database in the 'DATABASE' web link in the website http://www.biosino.org/bodyfluid.

Table 1.

DATA AVAILABILITY

The Sys-BodyFluid is accessed from graphical web interface ( http://www.biosino.org/bodyfluid/) and the data are available for download through the 'DOWNLOAD' link in the website as a text file. Users could specify their interested body fluid data to download.

DATABASE UTILITY

Sys-BodyFluid provides users the current database data statistics of different body fluids through the DATABASE link for the paper number and the unique protein number (DATABASE Link). As shown in , Sys-BodyFluid offers users an optimal search function, including searching by protein ID, name and sequence similarity (SEARCH link, A). The comprehensive browse option allows users to explore comparison analysis between two or more different body fluids data (Browse link, B). For each protein in Sys-BodyFluid, we provide detailed annotation information, including protein description, involved body fluids, paper information, domain, Gene Ontology, pathway, sequence and so on (C). Users can choose their interested body fluid to browse or download. Web page describing the body fluid provides users particular information. Furthermore, the availability of pathway analysis will assist users to investigate the difference between body fluids through involved metabolism and signal transduction pathway (Pathway link, D). Proteins in our database are labeled with 'red' color. The body fluid number and paper number the proteins involved in are also showed in the web page.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

To get more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between body fluids, we compared the proteins composition in different body fluids. The result is shown in A. There are 2928 proteins presented in at least two body fluids and 1359 proteins exist in at least three body fluids. Only 15 proteins exist in total 11 body fluids. For these 2928 proteins, GO annotation information were obtained and enrichment analysis was performed using BiNGO ( 9) and Cytoscape ( 10). Each node in B represents a GO term. The node's size is scaled by protein number and node's color shows P-value of the enrichment analysis. The edge denotes the parent-children relationship between nodes. From this analysis, it is shown that some molecular functions like 'protein binding' and 'enzyme regulator activity' are over-presented in this dataset, as well as the biological process like 'transport' and 'secretion'. Cellular component like 'extracellular region' is significantly enriched.

Human body fluids proteome analysis is still a challenge because dynamic range and the complexity of the body fluids protein composition. It is important to construct a body fluid reference database dedicated to biomarker discovery research. Previous work like MAPU is a great effort to integrate the data from their own lab and aim to provide a 'gold standard' reference proteome database. It is still necessary to refer to other proteomic literature data. For this reason, our database Sys-BodyFluid was build as a complementary database to the MAPU and aimed to provide users more information about the body fluids accompanied by protein abundant annotations. The relationship between different body fluids was also focused in our database. Users can access this database by http://www.biosino.org/bodyfluid.

PERSPECTIVES

As more and more body fluid proteome data have been produced recently, it is planned to update Sys-BodyFluid database every 6 months. New body fluid proteome data produced during the time will be added to our database. Furthermore, more annotation information like protein interaction data will also be included. In the future, we will collect more body fluid proteome data in the disease proteomics research, for example, cancer and diabetes proteome data. If possible, tissue proteomics data will be also included to look into the crosstalk between the tissue protein and the body fluid protein.

FUNDING

Basic Research Foundation (2006CB910700); CAS Project (KSCX2-YW-R-106, KSCX2-YW-R-112, KGCX1-YW-13); High-technology Project (2007AA02Z334). Funding for open access charge: CAS project KSCX2-YW-R-106.

Conflict of interest statement. None declared.

Footnotes

The authors wish it to be known that, in their opinion, the first three authors should be regarded as joint First Authors

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sys-BodyFluid: a systematical database for human body fluid proteome research

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Recently, body fluids have widely become an important target for proteomic research and proteomic study has produced more and more body fluid related protein data. A database is needed to collect and analyze these proteome data. Thus, we developed this ...

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Other common body fluids for which presumptive identification methods are routinely employed include blood and saliva. Such methods are typically based on the detection of hemoglobin (blood) through a phenolphthalein. -SeltonF

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Sidebar to the article Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of Non-DNA Forensic Evidence by Heather Waltke, Gerald LaPorte, Danielle Weiss, Dawn Schwarting, Minh Nguyen, and Frances Scott.
Methods used to examine sexual assault evidence - such as the use of an alternate light source (e.g., ultraviolet light) to visually detect semen stains, histological microscopic examination to observe spermatozoa, chemical methods based on the detection of seminal fluid acid phosphatase, and immunological methods based on the detection of p30 (or prostate-specific antigen) - have been described in scientific literature for more than three decades. Other common body fluids for which presumptive identification methods are routinely employed include blood and saliva. Such methods are typically based on the detection of hemoglobin (blood) through a phenolphthalein (Kastle-Meyer) test and the detection of saliva through an α-amylase test. Regardless of whether serological tests are performed as a screening step prior to DNA testing or to provide additional substantive case information after DNA testing, they are instrumental tools for forensic investigators.

Technology companies continue to develop new kits and tools to make body fluid identification more discriminatory, faster, and less labor intensive. More recent commercial advances boast the ability for multiplex testing to identify multiple body fluids simultaneously in a relatively short amount of time.

Meanwhile, NIJ continues to fund innovative research to address the need for new tools to better identify body fluids while minimizing the consumption of evidence. With NIJ funding, spectroscopic methods used in other analytical chemistry applications are being applied to forensic science to develop new methods. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy has the potential for nondestructive blood stain analysis in laboratory and crime scene settings.[1] Raman spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics has been shown to be able to discriminate between peripheral blood, menstrual blood, saliva, semen, sweat, and vaginal fluid, without consuming any sample.[2] Advances are also being made in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for the identification of dried blood, semen, vaginal fluid, saliva, and urine.[3] NIJ funds are also being used to develop multiplex methods to identify multiple body fluids (e.g., human saliva, urine, seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, peripheral blood, and menstrual blood) using mass spectrometry.[4] As forensic laboratory interest in massively parallel sequencing technologies increases, NIJ's investments into research projects that support sequence analysis-based methods to identify body fluids are becoming more relevant to potential practice.

Scientific methods used to identify body fluids, as currently performed or as they may be in the future, are important factors that can influence the crime scene investigation, inform the forensic laboratory processing, and affect court outcomes. Regardless of the perceived adequacy of existing methods, it is critical to continue to advance the field, building on new scientific findings and technologies that continue to evolve rapidly. As the field moves forward, it is critical to also continue to generate publicly available scientific knowledge that rigorously tests new methods, validates that the methods can do what they purport, and ultimately supports the foundation for the new tools and technologies that are adopted into practice.

About This Article

This article was published as part of NIJ Journal issue number 279, published April 2018, as a sidebar to the article Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of Non-DNA Forensic Evidence by Heather Waltke, Gerald LaPorte, Danielle Weiss, Dawn Schwarting, Minh Nguyen, and Frances Scott.

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Sidebar to the article Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of Non-DNA Forensic Evidence by Heather Waltke, Gerald LaPorte, Danielle Weiss, Dawn Schwarting, Minh Nguyen, and Frances Scott.

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A body fluid refers to any fluid produced by a living organism.
-SeltonF

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Includes- blood, urine, saliva, tears, sweat, semen, breast milk, and vaginal secretions- Clinton Dennis

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How to package Bodily Fluids- Clinton Dennis

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Different methods of collections- Clinton Dennis

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Body fluid culture collection | Pathology Laboratories

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Latest news from Pathology Laboratories Read more...

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Database for Bodily Fluids- Clinton Dennis

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The People vs. Diaz- Clinton Dennis

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Supreme Court of Colorado,EN BANC.

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant. v. Joseph Phillip DIAZ, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 02SA156.

Decided: September 09, 2002
G.F. Sandstrom, District Attorney, Margaret C. Vellar, Deputy District Attorney, Pueblo, Colorado, Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellant. Michael S. Emmons, Pueblo, Colorado, Attorney for Defendant-Appellee.
In this interlocutory appeal, filed pursuant to C.A.R. 4.1, the prosecution appeals the trial court's suppression of blood and hair evidence the Pueblo police obtained from the defendant, Joseph Diaz. We hold that the police violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article II, section 7 of the Colorado Constitution by obtaining blood and hair samples through a warrantless search and seizure without a court order pursuant to Crim. P. 41.1.   Because no exceptions to the warrant requirement apply, we uphold the trial court's order suppressing the illegally obtained evidence.   However, the trial court erred in barring the prosecution-as a sanction for the prior police misconduct-from obtaining an order for nontestimonial identification evidence from the defendant.

I.

On December 18, 2000, Officer Abeyta responded to a sexual assault call.   The victim told Officer Abeyta that an ex-boyfriend named Joseph Diaz had twice sexually assaulted her.   Officer Oritz, who had also responded to the call, then contacted Diaz. Diaz said he was willing to talk with the police regarding the allegations.

At the police department, Officer Oritz advised Diaz of his Miranda rights.   Simply stating that "I did nothing wrong," Diaz did not waive these rights.   Officer Oritz asked Diaz if he would voluntarily provide samples of his hair and blood.   Diaz refused.   Officers then transported Diaz to St. Mary-Corwin Hospital for a sexual assault examination.   The officers did not obtain a court order for the collection of nontestimonial evidence from Diaz pursuant to Crim. P. 41.1.   At the hospital, a nurse specializing in sexual assaults drew blood and plucked head and pubic hairs from Diaz, but did not comb for foreign hairs or swab to detect foreign bodily fluid.

Subsequently, the prosecution charged Diaz with sexual assault, a class four felony, and violation of a restraining order, a class two misdemeanor.   Diaz filed a motion to suppress the nontestimonial evidence collected at the hospital prior to his arrest.   After a hearing, the trial court granted Diaz's motion to suppress the head hair, pubic hair, and blood taken from Diaz at the hospital.   As a sanction against police misconduct, the trial court also ruled that it would not entertain any prosecution requests to collect hair and blood samples from Diaz under Crim. P. 41.1 and Crim. P. 16(II)(a).

II.

We hold that the police violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article II, section 7 of the Colorado Constitution by obtaining blood and hair samples through a warrantless search and seizure without a court order pursuant to Crim. P. 41.1.   Because no exceptions to the warrant requirement apply, we uphold the trial court's order suppressing the illegally obtained evidence.   However, the trial court erred in barring the prosecution-as a sanction for the prior police misconduct-from obtaining an order for nontestimonial identification evidence from the defendant.

Crim. P. 41.1 sets forth a procedure for obtaining from the court an order for the taking of nontestimonial identification evidence prior to the defendant's arrest or after arrest and prior to trial:

Crim. P. 41.1.  Court Order for Nontestimonial Identification

․

(b) Time of Application.   A request for a nontestimonial identification order may be made prior to the arrest of a suspect, after arrest and prior to trial or, when special circumstances of the case make it appropriate, during trial.

(c) Basis for Order.   An order shall issue only on an affidavit or affidavits sworn to or affirmed before the judge and establishing the following grounds for the order:

(1) That there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed;

(2) That there are reasonable grounds, not amounting to probable cause to arrest, to suspect that the person named or described in the affidavit committed the offense;  and

(3) That the results of specific nontestimonial identification procedures will be of material aid in determining whether the person named in the affidavit committed the offense.

(d) Issuance. Upon a showing that the grounds specified in section (c) exist, the judge shall issue an order directed to any peace officer to take the person named in the affidavit into custody to obtain nontestimonial identification.   The judge shall direct that the designated nontestimonial identification procedures be conducted expeditiously.   After such identification procedures have been completed, the person shall be released or charged with an offense.

Crim. P. 41.1, 12 C.R.S. (2001)(emphasis added).   This rule applies to police gathering of nontestimonial identification evidence under authorization by a judicial officer.   Lacking a court order, the police proceeded with a warrantless search and seizure of Diaz, and the exclusionary rule applies in this case to suppress the evidence thus obtained.

A. Search and Seizure of Nontestimonial Identification Evidence

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article II, section 7 of the Colorado Constitution forbid the unreasonable search and seizure of nontestimonial identification evidence taken from a defendant's body.  People v. Harris, 762 P.2d 651, 654 (Colo.1988);  People v. Williams, 192 Colo. 249, 257, 557 P.2d 399, 406 (1976)(stating that "because of the special insult to human dignity involved when police seek evidence in body apertures or bodily fluids, special rules restrict internal body searches").   A warrantless search or seizure is presumed unconstitutional.  People v. Winpigler, 8 P.3d 439, 443 (Colo.1999).   The warrant requirement interposes an impartial member of the judiciary between the law enforcement officer and the person against whom the arrest and/or search is directed.  People v. O'Hearn, 931 P.2d 1168, 1173 (Colo.1997).

The exclusionary rule seeks to deter improper police conduct by suppressing evidence obtained by the police in violation of the Fourth Amendment from presentation during the prosecution's case-in-chief.  People v. Kazmierski, 25 P.3d 1207, 1213 (Colo.2001);  People v. Morley, 4 P.3d 1078, 1080 (Colo.2000).   The exclusionary rule is a "judicially created remedy designed to safeguard Fourth Amendment rights generally through its deterrent effect, rather than a personal constitutional right of the party aggrieved."   United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 348, 94 S.Ct. 613, 38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974).

When reviewing a suppression order, we defer to the trial court's findings of fact, but analyze the trial court's application of legal standards to those facts de novo.  Kazmierski, 25 P.3d at 1210.

1. Warrantless Search of Diaz

The police officers took Diaz to the hospital without his consent and obtained blood and hair samples without a court order.   This search and seizure was unconstitutional unless an exception to the warrant requirement applies.   At the suppression hearing, Officer Oritz testified that the police's failure to seek a Crim. P. 41.1 order was based on exigent circumstances because of their concern about losing any bodily fluid or hair evidence that may have been transferred from the victim to Diaz. Officer Oritz cited Diaz's clothing change as support for this concern.   In Cupp v. Murphy, 412 U.S. 291, 93 S.Ct. 2000, 36 L.Ed.2d 900 (1973), the United States Supreme Court held that a warrantless search based upon the existence of probable cause and ready destructibility of the evidence, involving a very limited intrusion undertaken incident to a station house detention, did not violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.  Id. at 296, 93 S.Ct. 2000.   In that case, the police scraped under the defendant's fingernails in order to preserve highly evanescent evidence while he was detained at the station house upon probable cause.  Cupp, 412 U.S. at 292, 93 S.Ct. 2000.

Here, however, no exigent circumstance existed to justify the warrantless search and seizure.   Diaz's blood and hair were not subject to ready disappearance.  The search of Diaz was not a very limited intrusion, nor was it conducted to obtain readily destructible evidence.  Cupp, 412 U.S. at 296, 93 S.Ct. 2000.

The prosecution urges the court to apply our holding in People v. Williams, 192 Colo. 249, 557 P.2d 399 (1976), to the present case.   In Williams, we held that "[i]n determining whether forced production of bodily fluids is permissible, the appropriate standard is clear indication that evidence of intoxication or drug abuse will be found.   Moreover, there must be some indication that evidence of drugs or alcohol, if found, will be relevant to a crime for which the defendant may be charged."  Williams, 192 Colo. at 258, 557 P.2d at 406 (emphasis in original).  Williams is inapplicable here.   Evidence of intoxication or drugs in the human system is ephemeral and can disappear in the time it takes to obtain a court order.   Here, the police only obtained Diaz's own hair and blood, items which could easily have been acquired at any time with a court order.

2. Exclusionary Rule and Inevitable Discovery Exception

The trial court applied the exclusionary rule in this case to suppress the evidence seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment and article II, section 7 of the Colorado Constitution.   The prosecution argues that the police-obtained evidence should be admitted under the inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule requirement, because the state may obtain blood and hair samples at any time under Crim. P. 41.1 or Crim. P. 16(II)(a).   We disagree.   The prosecution's ability to obtain identity evidence under these rules while the criminal case is pending does not satisfy the requirements of the inevitable discovery exception.

The independent source, attenuation, and inevitable discovery doctrines are well-established exceptions to the exclusionary rule, and permit the admission of evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment.  Morley, 4 P.3d at 1080.   The inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule allows evidence initially discovered in an unconstitutional manner to be received, but only if the prosecution can establish that the information ultimately or inevitably would have been discovered by lawful means.  People v. Burola, 848 P.2d 958, 962 (Colo.1993);  see People v. Breidenbach, 875 P.2d 879, 889 (Colo.1994).

We have previously stated that the ability to subsequently obtain a lawful search warrant, after the illegal search has occurred, does not satisfy the inevitable discovery exception requirements.  Burola, 848 P.2d at 963.   Rather, the police must have been pursuing another lawful means of discovery at the time the illegality occurred:

"If evidence is obtained by illegal conduct, the illegality can be cured only if the police possessed and were pursuing a lawful means of discovery at the time the illegality occurred.   The Government cannot later initiate a lawful avenue of obtaining the evidence and then claim that it should be admitted because its discovery was inevitable.   This is a sound rule, especially when applied to a case in which a search warrant was constitutionally required.   Because a valid search warrant nearly always can be obtained after the search has occurred, a contrary holding would practically destroy the requirement that a warrant for the search of the home be obtained before the search takes place."

Id. at 963 (quoting United States v. Satterfield, 743 F.2d 827, 846 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1117, 105 S.Ct. 2362, 86 L.Ed.2d 262 (1985) (citations omitted))(emphasis added).

Evidence is not admissible under the inevitable discovery exception based on speculation that the evidence would have been discovered anyway.   Breidenbach, 875 P.2d at 889.   The prosecutor must establish that there was a reasonable probability that the evidence would have been discovered in the absence of police misconduct, and that the police were pursuing an independent investigation at the time the illegality occurred.  Id. at 889.

Here, the prosecution has not shown that an independent police investigation was being conducted, or that the police would have inevitably discovered the evidence through such an investigation despite their misconduct.  We conclude that the inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule does not apply in this case to the illegally seized blood and hair evidence.   Thus, the trial court properly suppressed the evidence.

B. Trial Court's Sanction

As a sanction for the warrantless police search and seizure of Diaz's hair and blood, the trial court ruled that the prosecution could not pursue a motion for nontestimonial identification evidence under Crim. P. 16(II)(a) and Crim. P. 41.1.   Specifically, the trial court ruled:

In addition to that, this Court as a-I think when we suppress things, we also are to sanction the police.   To suppress these items and then allow another 41.1, another request under Rule 16 to be made, basically, does absolutely nothing but, I think, encourage the police to act as they did in this case.   Therefore, the Court will not grant any other requests by the prosecution in this matter to gather this specific kind of evidence from this Defendant.

(Emphasis added.)

A court abuses its discretion when its ruling is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair.  People v. Crow, 789 P.2d 1104, 1106 (Colo.1990).   Here, the trial court abused its discretion by forbidding the prosecution from filing a motion under Crim. P. 16(II)(a)  and Crim. P. 41.1 for nontestimonial identification evidence.   In effect, this ruling sanctioned the prosecution for the police department's misconduct.   Although Crim. P. 16(III)(g) provides the trial court with discretion to issue sanctions for discovery violations, the prosecution did not violate Crim. P. 16 and could not be sanctioned for the police conduct in which it did not participate.   Accordingly, Crim. P. 16(III)(g) was inapplicable.

The police violated the Fourth Amendment and article II, section 7 of the Colorado Constitution by obtaining blood and hair samples through a warrantless search and seizure without a court order pursuant to Crim. P. 41.1, and no exceptions to the warrant requirement apply.  People v. Schoondermark, 759 P.2d 715, 717-18 (Colo.1988)("A warrantless search violates the fourth amendment unless it falls within one of the recognized exceptions to the warrant requirement.")   Suppression of the illegally obtained evidence was the sufficient and required remedy for the unconstitutional police search and seizure.   Additional sanctions might be appropriate in an instance of governmental loss or destruction of exculpatory and material evidence, discovery violation, or other egregious governmental misconduct.   See People v. Braunthal, 31 P.3d 167, 172-73 (Colo.2001).

However, an illegal seizure of previous identification samples from the defendant by the police does not foreclose the prosecution from obtaining identity evidence through proper means after filing of the case.  See People v. Madsen, 743 P.2d 437, 439 (Colo.App.1987)(holding that second set of defendant's palm prints were not tainted by prosecution's violation of Crim. P. 16(II)(a) in obtaining the first set of defendant's palm prints).   Crim. P. 41.1 and Crim. P. 16(II)(a) do not prevent the prosecution from filing a request for nontestimonial identification evidence, despite a prior police illegal search and seizure.   See Crim P. 41.1, 12 C.R.S. (2001);  Crim. P. 16(II)(a), 12 C.R.S. (2001).

Moreover, in seeking the nontestimonial identification evidence through Crim. P. 16(II)(a) and Crim. P. 41.1, the prosecution does not rely on information or evidence the police obtained by means of an illegal search and seizure.   See Madsen, 743 P.2d at 439;  Schoondermark, 759 P.2d at 719 ("[A] search pursuant to a warrant would not be a genuinely independent source of the challenged evidence if the decision to seek the warrant was prompted by what was observed during the initial entry or if information obtained during that entry was relied upon by the magistrate in issuing the warrant.");  People v. Barndt, 199 Colo. 51, 56, 604 P.2d 1173, 1176 (1980).   The type of evidence addressed by Crim. P. 41.1 and Crim. P. 16(II)(a) is nontestimonial identification evidence, such as blood, hair, fingerprints, footprints, etc.   See Crim. P. 41.1(h)(2), 12 C.R.S. (2001).   The trial court in this case may not preclude the prosecution from requesting this type of nontestimonial identification evidence under Crim. P. 16(II)(a) and Crim. P. 41.1.

III.

Accordingly, we uphold the trial court's order suppressing the blood and hair samples taken through a warrantless search and seizure without a court order for nontestimonial identification evidence collection.   We reverse the court order prohibiting the prosecution from applying for and obtaining an order under Crim. P. 16(II)(a) and Crim. P. 41.1.

FOOTNOTES

1.  Sexual Assault, § 18-3-402(1)(a) and (2), 6 C.R.S. (2001).

2.  Crime of Violation of a Restraining Order, § 18-6-803.5(1) and (2)(a), 6 C.R.S. (2001).

3.  The nurse did not comb for foreign pubic hair or swab for foreign bodily fluid.   Accordingly, we do not decide whether exigent circumstances existed for taking that type of evidence without a court order.

4.  The case before us is distinguishable from the United States Supreme Court's holding in Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 444, 104 S.Ct. 2501, 81 L.Ed.2d 377 (1984).   In Nix, two independent investigations were being conducted simultaneously.  Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 444, 104 S.Ct. 2501, 81 L.Ed.2d 377 (1984)(volunteer search for victim's body was proceeding at same time as police interrogation of defendant).   Here, the police were pursuing only one line of investigation.

5.  Crim. P. 16(II)(a), 12 C.R.S. (2001), provides:  Crim. P. 16.   Discovery and Procedure Before Trial  Part II.  Disclosure to Prosecution(a) The Person of the Accused.(1) Notwithstanding the initiation of judicial proceedings, and subject to constitutional limitations, upon request of the prosecuting attorney, the court may require the accused to give any nontestimonial identification as provided in Rule 41.1(h)(2).(2) Whenever the personal appearance of the accused is required for the foregoing purposes, reasonable notice of the time and place of such appearance shall be given by the prosecuting attorney to the accused and his counsel.   Provision may be made for appearance for such purposes in an order admitting the accused to bail or providing for his release.

6.  We note that once judicial proceedings against a defendant have been initiated, the prosecution in seeking nontestimonial identification evidence must proceed with notice through Crim. P. 16(II)(a), which incorporates by reference Crim. P. 41.1(h)(2).   See People v. District Court, 664 P.2d 247, 250 n. 5 (Colo.1983);  People v. Angel, 701 P.2d 149, 150-51 (Colo.App.1985).

Justice HOBBS delivered the Opinion of the Court.

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FindLaw's Supreme Court of Colorado case and opinions.

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The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant. v. Joseph Phillip DIAZ, Defendant-Appellee. G.F. Sandstrom, District Attorney, Margaret C. Vellar, Deputy District Attorney, Pueblo, Colorado, Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellant. Michael S. Emmons, Pueblo, Colorado, Attorney for Defendant-Appellee. In this interlocutory appeal, filed pursuant to C.A.R.