Bloodstain pattern analysis is a major tool in the field of criminalistics, as it can provide crucial information about a crime scene, the people involved, the characteristics of the weapons, as well as how the suspects and victims moved prior, during, and after the crime was committed. Blood, however, is assumed to be normal in spatter analysis, until there are abnormalities found that affect viscosity and consequently the spatter pattern. The use of methamphetamine in crime related events have been rising nationwide, whereas other more dangerous drugs such as heroin and cocaine are declining. In this study, blood spatter was created at medium and low velocity from different weapons and additionally spiked with the drug of interest. The different bloodstain patterns created by spiked blood were examined through the use of a blood room. The presence of drugs were then detected by examining both the physical bloodstain pattern analysis from the blood room, as well as instrumental testing using the GC-MS. This data was used to determine whether a suspect or victim's drug use impacted the spatter pattern. This could be useful in cases where blood is present, but a body is not.

Detection of methamphetamines in medium and low velocity bloodstain patterns

251st National Meeting (2016)

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