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Murder and the Making of English CSI
The engrossing account of how science-based forensics transformed the investigation of twentieth-century murders and in the process invented CSI.
Crime scene investigation—or CSI—has captured the modern imagination. On television screens and in newspapers, we follow the exploits of forensic officers wearing protective suits and working behind police tape to identify and secure physical evidence for laboratory analysis. But where did this ensemble of investigative specialists and scientific techniques come from?
In Murder and the Making of English CSI, Ian Burney and Neil Pemberton tell the engrossing history of how, in the first half of the twentieth century, novel routines, regulations, and techniques—from chain-of-custody procedures to the analysis of hair, blood, and fiber—fundamentally transformed the processing of murder scenes. Focusing on two iconic English investigations—the 1924 case of Emily Kaye, who was beaten and dismembered by her lover at a lonely beachfront holiday cottage, and the 1953 investigation into John Christie's serial murders in his dingy terraced home in London's West End—Burney and Pemberton chart the emergence of the crime scene as a new space of forensic activity.
Drawing on fascinating source material ranging from how-to investigator handbooks and detective novels to crime journalism, police case reports, and courtroom transcripts, the book shows readers how, over time, the focus of murder inquiries shifted from a primarily medical and autopsy-based interest in the victim's body to one dominated by laboratory technicians laboring over minute trace evidence. Murder and the Making of English CSI reveals the compelling and untold story of how one of themost iconic features of our present-day forensic landscape came into being. It is a must-read for forensic scientists, historians, and true crime devotees alike.
eBook
Forensic science : in pursuit of justice
\"This title presents the history of forensics. Vivid text details how early studies of toxic chemicals and firearm analysis led to modern scientific crime solving techniques. It also puts a spotlight on the brilliant scientists who made these advances possible.\"--Publisher's website.
Book
Forensic Medicine in Western Society
The first book of its kind, Forensic Medicine in Western Society: A History draws on the most recent developments in the historiography, to provide an overview of the history of forensic medicine in the West from the medieval period to the present day. Taking an international, comparative perspective on the changing nature of the relationship between medicine, law and society, it examines the growth of medico-legal ideas, institutions and practices in Britain, Europe (principally France, Italy and Germany) and the United States.
Following a thematic structure within a broad chronological framework, the book focuses on practitioners, the development of notions of ‘expertise’ and the rise of the expert, the main areas of the criminal law to which forensic medicine contributed, medical attitudes towards the victims and perpetrators of crime, and the wider influences such attitudes had. It thus develops an understanding of how medicine has played an active part in shaping legal, political and social change.
Including case studies which provide a narrative context to tie forensic medicine to the societies in which it was practiced, and a further reading section at the end of each chapter, Katherine D. Watson creates a vivid portrait of a topic of relevance to social historians and students of the history of medicine, law and crime.
Contents Introduction 1. The Legal Inheritance 2. Medico-Legal Practice before the Modern Period 3. Experts and Expertise 4. Criminal Responsibility and the Insanity Defence 5. The Medicalization of Deviance 6. Twentieth-Century Developments in Forensic Medicine and Science Bibliography.
eBook
Lessons from the “Trial of the Century” and early forensic science efforts: Beginnings of U.S. forensic science and the little-known role of the National Bureau of Standards
This article briefly discusses early pioneers in Europe and the United States involved in forensic science (also known then as criminalistics or police science), as well as a 1929 European tour by Calvin Goddard that would link efforts and raise awareness of activities on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. High profile crimes often propel disciplines in forensic science to make significant progress. The first so-called “Crime of the Century” involved kidnapping the 20-month-old son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh from his second-story nursery on the evening of March 1, 1932. This set in motion a large investigation that would lead to the “Trial of the Century” almost three years later. Forensic science evidence in the form of handwriting comparisons with 15 ransom notes and analysis of a ladder left at the crime scene would play key roles in the conviction of Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Widespread media attention and publicly available records, some which have only recently come to light, provide opportunities to consider how this investigation and trial contributed to the development and foundations of early forensic science in the United States. Lessons from the study of early forensic science efforts can benefit this field today. In particular, the little-known roles of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and a physicist named Wilmer Souder in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case. Today, almost a century later, NBS, now known as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), continues to make important advances in forensic science research, standards, and scientific foundation studies.
•Forensic science pioneers in Europe and the United States are discussed.•Calvin Goddard’s 1929 tour raised U.S. awareness of European activities at that time.•The 1932 “Crime of the Century” Lindbergh kidnapping set in motion a large investigation.•Wilmer Souder, a National Bureau of Standards (NBS) physicist, assisted with the Lindbergh case.•NBS, now NIST, continues to benefit forensic science research, standards, and foundations.
Journal Article
Blood, bullets, and bones : the story of forensic science from Sherlock Holmes to DNA
\"A history of modern forensic science from the first test for arsenic poisoning in the 1700s to criminal profiling, fingerprinting, blood [spatter] analysis, DNA evidence, and all the milestones in between\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Insects and associated arthropods analyzed during medicolegal death investigations in Harris County, Texas, USA: January 2013- April 2016
The application of insect and arthropod information to medicolegal death investigations is one of the more exacting applications of entomology. Historically limited to homicide investigations, the integration of full time forensic entomology services to the medical examiner's office in Harris County has opened up the opportunity to apply entomology to a wide variety of manner of death classifications and types of scenes to make observations on a number of different geographical and species-level trends in Harris County, Texas, USA. In this study, a retrospective analysis was made of 203 forensic entomology cases analyzed during the course of medicolegal death investigations performed by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston, TX, USA from January 2013 through April 2016. These cases included all manner of death classifications, stages of decomposition and a variety of different scene types that were classified into decedents transported from the hospital (typically associated with myiasis or sting allergy; 3.0%), outdoor scenes (32.0%) or indoor scenes (65.0%). Ambient scene air temperature at the time scene investigation was the only significantly different factor observed between indoor and outdoor scenes with average indoor scene temperature being slightly cooler (25.2°C) than that observed outdoors (28.0°C). Relative humidity was not found to be significantly different between scene types. Most of the indoor scenes were classified as natural (43.3%) whereas most of the outdoor scenes were classified as homicides (12.3%). All other manner of death classifications came from both indoor and outdoor scenes. Several species were found to be significantly associated with indoor scenes as indicated by a binomial test, including Blaesoxipha plinthopyga (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), all Sarcophagidae (including B. plinthopyga), Megaselia scalaris Loew (Diptera: Phoridae), Synthesiomyia nudiseta Wulp (Diptera: Muscidae) and Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). The only species that was a significant indicator of an outdoor scene was Lucilia eximia (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). All other insect species that were collected in five or more cases were collected from both indoor and outdoor scenes. A species list with month of collection and basic scene characteristics with the length of the estimated time of colonization is also presented. The data presented here provide valuable casework related species data for Harris County, TX and nearby areas on the Gulf Coast that can be used to compare to other climate regions with other species assemblages and to assist in identifying new species introductions to the area. This study also highlights the importance of potential sources of uncertainty in preparation and interpretation of forensic entomology reports from different scene types.
Journal Article
American Sherlock : murder, forensics, and the birth of American CSI
\"From the acclaimed author of Death in the Air (\"Not since Devil in the White City has a book told such a harrowing tale\"--Douglas Preston) comes the riveting story of the birth of criminal investigation in the twentieth century\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Forensic document examination and algorithmic handwriting analysis of Judahite biblical period inscriptions reveal significant literacy level
Arad is a well preserved desert fort on the southern frontier of the biblical kingdom of Judah. Excavation of the site yielded over 100 Hebrew ostraca (ink inscriptions on potsherds) dated to ca. 600 BCE, the eve of Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of Jerusalem. Due to the site's isolation, small size and texts that were written in a short time span, the Arad corpus holds important keys to understanding dissemination of literacy in Judah. Here we present the handwriting analysis of 18 Arad inscriptions, including more than 150 pair-wise assessments of writer's identity. The examination was performed by two new algorithmic handwriting analysis methods and independently by a professional forensic document examiner. To the best of our knowledge, no such large-scale pair-wise assessments of ancient documents by a forensic expert has previously been published. Comparison of forensic examination with algorithmic analysis is also unique. Our study demonstrates substantial agreement between the results of these independent methods of investigation. Remarkably, the forensic examination reveals a high probability of at least 12 writers within the analyzed corpus. This is a major increment over the previously published algorithmic estimations, which revealed 4-7 writers for the same assemblage. The high literacy rate detected within the small Arad stronghold, estimated (using broadly-accepted paleo-demographic coefficients) to have accommodated 20-30 soldiers, demonstrates widespread literacy in the late 7th century BCE Judahite military and administration apparatuses, with the ability to compose biblical texts during this period a possible by-product.
Journal Article