Examination of Firearms Review: 2007 to 2010 - Interpol

The following case studies [6-8] show that (contrary to expectation) significant
fibre evidence can be recovered from victims of homicide deposited in an
aquatic environment and that this can be used as a powerful intelligence tool
providing an investigative steer to the investigative team;
Palmer [6] detailed the circumstances of the ‘Suffolk Serial Killings’, when the
naked bodies of five young women were discovered in various locations on
the outskirts of the town of Ipswich in England in December 2006. Two of
these women were recovered from a river after immersion for a number of
weeks, whilst the remaining three had been deposited in woodland and
exposed to a combination of heavy rainfall and wind. Despite the adverse
conditions to which the bodies of these women had been exposed,
combinations of fibre collectives common to all of the victims were identified in
debris recovered from their bodies. Fibres were recovered from the hair of the
two women immersed in water, using a modified palynological technique.
Using fibres as an intelligence tool, sources for these fibre collectives were
eventually identified within the home environment of a suspect, Steve
WRIGHT, who was subsequently found guilty of all five murders.
Sulkava [7] described a double homicide where there was a five year gap
between recovery of the victims who had both been deposited in an aquatic
environment (the first in the sea, the second in a lake). Using a combination
tape lifting, vacuuming, combing and washing and filtration of debris of the
clothing of the second victim, fibre and other trace evidence was recovered
which was to prove crucial in the conviction of the suspect.
De Wael [8] reported on a case involving the abduction and murder of two
young girls, whose bodies were found in a drainage canal three weeks after
their disappearance and subjected to fast flowing water during this period.
The address of the prime suspect in the case was searched and a number of
items of clothing interest were recovered, however, these had been washed.
Despite this, painstaking examinations were not only able to demonstrate a
two way primary transfer between the victims and the suspect, but also a
secondary transfer of fibres to the victims, from the duvet covers belonging to
the girlfriend of the suspect, via the suspect himself. The majority of fibres
were recovered from ‘concealed’ areas of the garments in question (e.g.
seams on inside surfaces). At trial, the suspect was found guilty and
sentenced to life imprisonment.
Shaw [9] presented a case study on a series of rapes which occurred over a
three year period in the state of Illinois, USA. In each case, the perpetrator
entered the home of a single woman, bound the victim and after sexually
assaulting them, forced them to bathe. The head and wrists of one of the
victims were bound with duct tape. Examination of the duct tape revealed the
presence of two distinct fibre collectives, however, nothing further of
significance was found on any of the other victims. Following a report of an
attempted break- in, the suspect, a policeman, was arrested. A balaclava and
jacket found in the suspects home were found to be sources for the fibre
collectives on the duct tape used to bind one of the victims. The suspect was
subsequently found guilty at trial.
186