Fingerprint Residues

Case Synopsis: In 1991, a  78 year old grandmother named Lucille Johnson was brutally murdered in her home in Salt Lake City, Utah. The woman had been strangled and beaten profusely and when authorities had arrived they have noticed Lego's scattered all throughout the entryway of the home. The case had become cold due to the lack of DNA testing sites (later developed in the early 2000's). The case was reopened in 2013, investigators were able to test residue underneath Johnson's fingernails. The residue contained DNA that convicted 47-year old John Sansing to the murder. In order to really prove it was him, investigators had tested the fingerprints on the Lego's. A direct match was made to his son which led to a lot of assumptions. It is believed that the child was used to gain entry and that Sansing and Johnson previously did not know one another.

Lucille Johnson 

John Sansing 

The Deltas, Ridges, Dots, and Bifurcations enabled investigators to pinpoint specific parts of the fingerprint. Knowing that each fingerprint is specific to an individual, Sansing easily pleaded guilty to the charges against him. The case was closed and even though the family of Mrs. Johnson may never be the same, fingerprinting and DNA analysis enabled her family to have closure on the murderer of the family. 

In this case presented, Latent Prints are taken. Latent prints are fingerprints collected from the scene of the crime that cannot be seen directly from the human eye. The prints removed from the Lego pieces are taken from a taping method which is common for all types of prints. The examination process isn't necessarily the longest part but one of the most crucial. If a wrong match is made, it is basically guaranteed that whoever made the call will be fired and most likely will never be hired anywhere again due to lack of credibility. Forensics is a very difficult and risky field to get into, a lot of research and preparation is needed to keep your job. That is why the longest part of the process of fingerprinting would be the research behind the sample taken and the readiness of being prepared for a court case. 

In today's society it is almost impossible for a case to go unsolved due to the expanded technological advances. Most crime shows today may cause someone to believe that whatever they see is actually how things are in real life. From a scientist's point of view I can tell you that is wrong, especially in fingerprinting. The image of the fingerprint itself, doesn't put a criminal away. What puts the criminal away are the small characteristics found within  a strong microscope. Fingerprints can almost be taken from any object imaginable. For example, if an intruder breaks into the house and accidentally touches a bar of soap, and investigator can remove the prints using a lifting method after placing a tape-like object on the soap. The impressions made can be taken out and brought in for investigation. This is known as 3D/Plastic Printing. 

RESOURCES:

Curry, C. Lego Fingerprints Helped Solve Cold Case Murder. Retrieved November 15, 2014, <http://abcnews.go.com/US/lego-fingerprints-helped-solve-cold-case-murder-authorities/story?id=25178331>. 

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