NCJ Number
202535
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 53 Issue: 5 Dated: September/October 2003 Pages: 556-565
Date Published
September 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article discusses techniques that may be used to successfully process latent prints from human bones.
Abstract
The authors questioned which processing technique would be most successful at capturing latent prints on human bones. It is important to choose the correct processing technique because the use of the wrong technique can permanently destroy any latent prints. The article describes the surface of bones and then describes the materials and methods used in this study to develop latent prints on a sample of dry human long bones and skulls. First, the authors began with a visual examination of the bones with an alternate light source, which exposed no remarkable latent prints. Next, the authors utilized cyanoacrylate fuming, Ardrox with additional alternate light source examinations, black powder, black magnetic powder, and ninhydrin to process the prints. Results from each of these techniques are described in turn. The use of black magnetic powder easily outperformed all the other methods in the processing of latent prints on human bones. The results are similar to other studies that describe the processing of latent prints on antlers. The forensic implications are reviewed and include the use of latent print analysis to identify anyone who has previously handled a bone sample. Figures, references