Forensic Submission Strategy Case of Jamie Wood

FORENSIC SUBMISSION STRATEGY, CASE OF JAMIE WOOD 1
FORENSIC SUBMISSION STRATEGY, CASE OF JAMIE WOOD
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FORENSIC SUBMISSION STRATEGY, CASE OF JAMIE WOOD 2
Abstract
This report provides forensic evidence for the purposes of determining whether Jamie
Wood who has been accused of a rape case is guilty. The paper will rely on the physical objects
obtained on the scene of the crime (Jamie’s Car) such as clothes, watches and phone as well as
the samples obtained from different parts of his body such as swabs from his fingernails, hands,
urine and blood as evidence. The main method used in this research is Fluorescence in situ
Hydration (FISH) screening to determine the type of cells on the swabs. FISH analysis has been
used as the main approach to analyze swabs for laboratory evidence. Based on the analysis it has
been revealed that Jamie Wood had raped following the evidence of female cells on the swabs
obtained from his private parts as well as his clothes. It is however recommended that swabs
from the victim’s body be taken and the DNA compared to the female cell DNA obtained from
Jamie Wood’s swabs before he can be convicted with the case of rape.
Introduction
This report analyzes the case of Jamie Wood who is suspected to have committed a
sexual assault. As per the case, Jamie Wood had been discovered inside a vehicle at Teesaurus
Park in an unconscious state by Mr. Barry. The identity of the vehicle in which he was found
also belonged to him. Based on the fact that he had some injuries, Jamie Wood was rushed to
James Cook Hospital for treatment. It was also revealed that there had been an attempt to set his
vehicle on fire because there was some smell of accelerant from the front passenger foot. After
various forensic examinations on both the vehicle and the body of Jamie Wood, he was

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suspected to have raped and hence arrested. Based on the narration of the scenario, Jamie Wood
has just been suspected to have raped but there is no clear evidence that indeed he raped.
Therefore, the evidence is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he actually raped
before which everything must be treated as mere allegations.
In order to prove that Jamie Wood raped, a forensic investigation will be carried out. A
forensic investigation is the process or fathering and analyzing all crime related physical
evidence in order to conclude that the suspect is guilty. Specifically, the case of Jamie Wood will
utilize crime scene forensics which investigates documents and gathers any physical evidence
around the crime scene. This investigation will also entail the analysis of what investigators
collect as an exhibit to ensure credibility and relevance. In the case of Jamie Wood,
investigations will be done on his clothes, hair combings, phone, urine, blood sample, urine
sample and swabs from both fingernails and penis.
Literature Review
Traditionally, semen (spermatozoa and acid phosphate) in the cervical vagina was
considered as the only evidence which could prove that a rape case had taken place. However,
with the modern technology, research on fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has proved
that even in the absence of semen, female epithelial and inflammatory cells on male genital
organ as well as the areas around the genital organ can be used to prove that a rape incident took
place (Liehr, 2017). A striking paucity of literature on the examination of the alleged assailant’s
penis exists as evidence of a sexual assault. Currently, FISH is used as the main approach to
analyze post-coital swabs on the penis for laboratory evidence. According to Kocks et al, (2018),
after a coitus episode female epithelial and inflammatory cells are likely to be left on the male

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genital organ which can be easily obtained through penile swabbing. However, this study has
cautioned against allowing the suspect to take a shower before penile swabbing because there
will be no evidence.
In support of Kocks et al, (2018) research, Zhang et al, (2016) revealed that a male
assailant in a sexual assault could be detected even without ejaculation. According to Zhang et
al, (2016), traditional forensic analysis of DNA focused on the identification and typing of sperm
cells from the victim’s body, beddings and clothing. However, with the advanced and more
sensitive typing methodologies, it looks at the forensic investigations to have advanced into
examining fingernail clippings as well as swabs from areas in which the suspect is likely to have
come into contact with the victim (Frickmann et al, 2017, p.270). Following this advancement,
DNA analysts considered the collection of suspect underwear’s along with penile swabs in a
limited time (less than 36 hours) as a great source of evidence. In addition to penile swabs, finger
swabs have also been considered as a potential source of evidence. According to this study,
testing those samples can demonstrate the presence of the victim’s DNA on the suspect hence
providing some evidence.
A different study by Geiersbach et al (2018) has indicated that the presence of female
DNA (through vaginal or saliva fluids) on the suspect’s fingers, penis or underwear is easy
because of the large amounts of nucleated cells in body fluids. It has however considered it a
challenge if there was no ejaculation involved because the investigators must collect the skin
cells from the penis or the victim’s vagina. According to this study, non-sperm male cells could
be detected in post-coital cervicovaginal smears through a technique called Fluorescence in situ
Hybridization (FISH). The technique has been considered effective because it has the ability to