SUSPECT: MR. LAND VICTIM: MS.BROWN.

Trace evidences: hand gloves, shoes of the suspect, shattered

glass pieces of the house window and car window.

Ms. BROWN goes missing

Police officers from the Birmingham department visited the

site

Things noted:

i. All the doors and windows of the house were locked

ii. The window located near the rear entry of the house had

been broken

iii. The driver’s side of the car window was shattered.

iv. Shoe imprint was found on one of the glass pieces.

v. Very important - her body was found by hikers in a rock

quarry on Ruffner mountain in Jeffferson country.

Following the clues i.e contact numbers of Mr.LAND and

his mother were found on the bulletin board.

Mr.LAND accompanied the police officers and they found the

imprint of shoes matching the evidences.

They even ceased two wire cutters from his car.

Later they ceased, hand gloves of LAND.

Bloodstains were found in his shoes.

Glass pieces from different locations were packed into

different containers(clearly marking the outside package the

description of the evidence)

Depending on the size, glass pieces was packed in envelopes,

bags, or in paperfolds.

Rear glass window of the house hand gloves

of the suspect

SAMPLE location

G1 Fragments of rear window

of the house

G2 Fragments found on the

car seat

G3,G4 Hand gloves of the

suspect

KS1 Glass pieces of the rear

window

KS2 Glass pieces of the driver

side window

The shattered car window pieces

The composition of a particular piece of glass is unique

Glass being made up of a variety of compounds, it is

possible to distinguish one type of glass from another

by examining the different physical and chemical

properties.

During investigations, glass forms one of the

evidentiary materials in many criminal cases.

The significance of such evidence will be enhanced if

the fragments are determined to be indistinguishable in

all measured properties from the broken window.

GLASS IMPORTANCE IN CRIMESCENE

Glass is technically defined as: “The inorganic product of

fusion which has cooled to a rigid condition without

crystallizing”

Due to its fragile nature and abundance, glass is one of the

major types of trace evidence encountered in crime scenes

such as burglaries, car accidents, hit and runs, assaults, drive-

by shootings and bombings.

Whether it’s a glass or no?

The physical properties used for comparison include glass

color, fluorescence, thickness, surface features, and curvature

These tests are rapid and nondestructive.

Color assessment is performed visually against a

white background in natural light with the particle on

edge.

Side-by-side comparison should be used with

similarly sized particles

THICKNESS CURVATURE

The ratio of the mass of an object to the volume occupied by

that object. (g/cm3 ,solids); g/mL (liquids))

Each type of glass has a density that is specific to that glass.

If two samples of glass can be differentiated by density, they

could not have originated from the same source.

Glass density can be measured by Displacement, Flotation,

and Density Gradient Column methods.

SAMPLE DENSITY

Group 1 2.532 g/cm3

Group 2 2.425 g/cm3

Group 3 2.533g/cm3

Group 4 2.432g/cm3

Known sample 1 2.53g/cm3

Known sample 2 2.42 g/cm3

Refraction is the change in the direction of light as it speeds up or slows

down when moving from one medium into another

It is the most commonly measured property in the forensic examination of

glass fragments. It provides good discrimination potential.

BECKE LINE - If the refractive index (n) of the liquid medium is

different from the refractive index of the piece of glass, a halo-like ring

appears around the edge of the glass.

SAMPLE REFRACTIVE INDEX

Group 1 1.520

Group 2 1.5188

Group 3 1.521

Group 4 1.5190

Known sample 1 1.520

Known sample 2 1.5188

Nowadays, refractive index methods are semi-automatic – the GRIM2 instrument measures

the refractive index of glass fragments by reference to calibrated immersion oils and

automatically identifies the glass.

• Glass composition can be analyzed.

•Manufacturers of the glass can be identified.

•The time period ,when it was manufactured can be identified.

ADVANTAGES:

•Accuracy, time

DISADVANTAGES:

• Cost, distraction of the sample

SL.

no

Na2

O

Mg

O

SiO2 SO3 Ca

O

Cr2O

3

K2O FeO Al2O3

G1 14.0 3.7 73.1 0.2 9.0

G2 13.1 3.5 73.3 0.2 8.3 0.6 1.0

G3 14.0 3.7 73.1 0.2 9.0

G4 13.1 3.5 73.3 0.2 8.3 0.6 1.0

KS1 14.0 3.7 73.1 0.2 9.0

KS2 13.1 3.5 73.3 0.2 8.3 0.6 1.0

RESULTS OF SEM ANALYSIS

Sl.no Fe(Kα) Sr(Kα) Sr(Kβ)

And/ or

Zr (Kβ)

Nb(Kα) Other

peaks

G1 93 41 26 - -

G2 65 42 45 - -

G3 93 41 26 - -

G4 65 42 45 - -

KS1 93 41 26 - -

KS2 65 42 45 - -

RESULTS OF XRF ANALYSIS

After the analysis:

• the glass pieces found in the suspect hand gloves

matched the

1. Rear glass pieces of the window

2. Glass pieces of the drivers seat of the car

• The shoe print found in the spot matched the suspects

shoe print.

• After the analysis we found some blood stains in the

shoe.

RE-CONSTRUCTION

•The proof prooved that he is the culprit.

•Later on interogation he confessed that ,

he shot her from the back , but later he

ran away.

•Since we found the blood stains in his

shoe , turned out to be the major

evidence.

JUDGEMENT:

Michael jeffrey land was convicted of

the capital murder of candance brown,

and sentenced to death.