Rivera, Taylor. PhD.
The blood spatter from the crime scene was investigated to determine the angle of impact and point(s) of origin. The data showed that there were two points of origin. This implies that the victim was hit more than once. This conclusion was drawn from the analyzing the blood spatter. Rulers were used to measure the length and width of the blood droplets. Using the length and width, the R value was found and thus used to find the angle measure. Using a ruler, a straight line was drawn from the opposite end of the tail of every drop. This process was conducted for other drops as well, excluding drops that had an R value of one. The lines from the drops were then measured to the first intersection point of a line of a different drop. Once a line intersects a line from another drop, the distance is measured. Once the distance is has been determined, the tangent of the angle was found to determine the height. This process is used to determine the point of origin. The low angle of impact implies that the victim had to have been on the ground when hit both times. This indicates some type of struggle occurred between the two. For example, the victim could have been pushed, hit, or have fallen down, causing the victim to be on the ground before wounded. Furthermore, the angle of impacts suggest a range of 30 to low 40’s and another measure from the higher 40’s to mid- 50’s, this suggests two points of origin. The data is located in the table below. Drop Number
Width (mm)
Length (mm)
R(W/L)
1 2 3 4 5 6
2 8 1 2 2 6
3 11 2 3 3 8
.667 .727 .5 .667 .667 .75
Angle Measure (in degrees) 41.81 46.66 30 41.81 41.81 48.59
Distance (mm)
Tan. Of Angle
Height (mm)
17.4 10 212 259 259 273
0.8944 1.0597 .5774 .8944 .8944 1.1339
155.6256 101.597 122.4088 231.6496 147.576 365.547