Crime & Clues

Fingerprinting the Dead

Obtaining fingerprints for identification is a long established law enforcement practice. When the practice started, is was most common to use printers ink applied to the fingers which were then pressed onto paper cards. Later specialized inks were employed to improve the quality of the prints obtained. While ink is still used today, many agencies are now using computer "live-scan" methods to record reference prints.

One of the challenges in obtaining reference prints has always been how to obtain them from the deceased. Ink has often been used with success, but it can be difficult, especially with rigor stiffened or mummified fingers. Live-scan is not a practical option, at least not until someone develops a portable scanner.

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Case Study: Conviction Through Enhanced Fingerprint Identification

This article originally appeared in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, December 1992.

In March 1990, an unknown assailant sexually molested and fatally stabbed a young woman. At the crime scene, an investigator discovered few leads. The only evidence was a pillowcase, found adjacent to the victim''s body, that exhibited several bloodstains. One stain showed some faint fingerprint ridge detail, barely visible even to the trained eye.

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Hidden Evidence: Latent Prints on Human Skin

By Ivan Ross Futrell

Mr. Futrell is a supervisory fingerprint specialist in the Latent Fingerprint Section of the FBI Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

This Article Originally Appeared in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, April 1996.

(Recent research proves that identifiable prints can be obtained from the skin of homicide victims under real field conditions, not just in the laboratory.)

Whether to stop them from fleeing, immobilize them, or dispose of them, murderers often grab their victims. What homicide detective has not wished for the ability to develop identifiable fingerprints of a suspect from the skin of a dead body? Crucial fingerprint evidence linking the perpetrator to the victim must be right there, but, until recently, attempts to retrieve those prints rarely met with success.

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Latent Prints in Dust

by Captain Curtis C. Frame,
Criminal Investigation Division
Jasper County Sheriff''s Office
Jasper, Texas
Article Copyright © 2000, Curtis C. Frame

A Latent print found in dust, may be the only clue in which there are no other leads. And because the areas that are routinely touched by the victims are not normally dusty, the dust print we find may be the only link we have of the perpetrator to the crime scene. However, most crime scene and latent print examiner experts will say that, regardless of their importance, latent prints in dust are a nightmare. This is due to the fact that a latent print in dust was actually left there due to the dust being removed by adhering to the ridges of the skin that touched it.

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