Blood Pattern Analysis: Techniques and Limitations in Forensics

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of blood pattern analysis, a crucial aspect of forensic science used in crime scene investigations. It identifies five potential locations where blood patterns might be observed, including the weapon (baton), walls, and the area where the body was found. The report details the types of blood patterns expected in each location, such as passive spatter, swipe patterns, and impact stains, explaining how these patterns can provide insights into the events that occurred. Furthermore, the report addresses the limitations of blood pattern analysis, focusing on cognitive biases, potential errors in interpretation, and the impact of environmental factors on bloodstain morphology. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of considering these limitations to ensure accurate and reliable forensic investigations. Desklib offers a variety of solved assignments and past papers for students seeking to enhance their understanding of forensic science.

Running head: BLOOD PATTERN ANALYSIS
Blood pattern analysis
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BLOOD PATTERN ANALYSIS
Question 1(a):
Blood pattern analysis:
Blood pattern analysis is a crucial process of forensic discipline which deals with the
physics of blood for assisting in the investigation of a crime scene (1). In the current context,
there are five possible locations of the blood pattern can be observed.
1. 60 cm baton by which the crime was done
2 And 3. The next two locations are two corners of the wall where the blood was splashed after
criminal hit the victim if the criminal hit victim in a projectile manner.
4. The next location is the corner of the room where blood was possibly dropped from the head
wound or from the baton.
5. The next location would the corner of the house where the body was lying after the wound.
1. Baton:
Since the force of gravity was used to hit the victim by the baton, passive spatter can be
found where swipe pattern would be created from the baton leaving a bloodstain in the vertical
direction (2). In this case, since the multiple wounds were found in the victim’s head, multiple
sizes of over lapped bloodstained can be found with the and few spine patterns can be found due
to the spatter (5).
2 and 3: two sides of the wall :
When the baton was used for hitting the victim, in the projectile manner blood was
spattered from the baton in the forwarding direction and cast off stain can be found in the left and

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BLOOD PATTERN ANALYSIS
right wall of corner of the room where the body was found. The projected blood pattern can be
high impact and it would be drip if the blood falls in the linear direction from two walls or each
of the wall, the blood stain will have a long tail of approximately 30 degree and the tail of the
elongated drop points to the travel direction (2). Expiratory blood can came out of the wound of
the head. Swiped pattern with the collection of blood deposited in surfaces can be found in the
wall if the hands are in contact with the blood and made impression on the walls (4).
Figure: blood pattern with tail
Source: (4)
4. Ground where blood spatters from the baton:
Impacted blood stain can be found in the different places of the ground where the blood
spatters from the baton or wounded head in the ground. It often displays numerous and relatively
small stain sizes which can be 80-degree angles take on a more elliptical shape (1). The similar
size of the droplet (spurt) can be found with the distance between them. No mist, small drops,
cylindrical droplets with no possible direction can be found.

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BLOOD PATTERN ANALYSIS
Figure: blood stain with tail and eclipse shaped
Source : ( 6)
5. Ground where dead body was lying:
Passive blood pattern can be found in the place where the dead body of the victim was found.
The drip pattern can be found in the surface of the floor blood in blood or clotting pattern can be
found in the wound is deep and hemorrhagic and a part of the flowing pattern can be found from
the blood in the surface (5). The blood pattern can be found in the rain pattern or mess pattern
indicating the huge blood loss (6).
Question 1(b):
Limitation of blood pattern analysis:
The major limitation of blood pattern analysis is the cognitive biases of the individuals
who are analyzing the crime scene based on the blood pattern. The error can occur during
calculation regarding the interpretation of the blood size and surface area (moment of impact and

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BLOOD PATTERN ANALYSIS
cast off) in the crime scenes (5). The interpretation of the relevant bloodstains present in the
crime is usually done in this blood pattern analysis. No blood stains which were removed from
the crime scene can be obtained that further leads to the inaccurate result of investigations. The
Blood pattern cannot be physically collected and packaged like other physical evidence.
Bloodstain exposed to excess heat or humidity may distort the shape, size, and morphology of
the body that further give rise to an inaccurate result (3). Sometimes, the blood stain can be too
few or the volume of the blood can be too excessive for analysis. Therefore, it is not always a
reliable process to investigate and obtain an accurate result from the crime scene.

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BLOOD PATTERN ANALYSIS
References:
1. Kim S, Ma Y, Agrawal P, Attinger D. How important is it to consider target properties
and hematocrit in bloodstain pattern analysis?. Forensic science international. 2016 Sep
1;266:178-84.
2. Hu SW, Qiao S, Xu BY, Peng X, Xu JJ, Chen HY. Dual-Functional Carbon Dots Pattern
on Paper Chips for Fe3+ and Ferritin Analysis in Whole Blood. Analytical chemistry.
2017 Jan 11;89(3):2131-7.
3. Vitiello A, Di Nunzio C, Garofano L, Saliva M, Ricci P, Acampora G. Bloodstain pattern
analysis as optimisation problem. Forensic science international. 2016 Sep 1;266:e79-85.
4. Laan N, De Bruin KG, Slenter D, Wilhelm J, Jermy M, Bonn D. Bloodstain pattern
analysis: implementation of a fluid dynamic model for position determination of victims.
Scientific reports. 2015 Jun 22;5:11461.
5. Vitiello, A., Di Nunzio, C., Garofano, L., Saliva, M., Ricci, P. and Acampora, G., 2016.
Bloodstain pattern analysis as optimisation problem. Forensic science international, 266,
pp.e79-e85.
6. Li R. Forensic biology. CRC Press; 2015 Mar 11.