April 19, 2013

Iowa State engineer working to put more science behind bloodstain pattern analysis




Daniel Attinger paused before handing over a photo of a crime scene.

“Are you bothered by the sight of blood?”

There was good reason for his question: The photo showed blood pooled and smeared on a floor. Blood drops ran down a nearby wall. A single shoe was left in the evidence of violence and pain.

“You can see some of the blood has started to dry,” said Attinger, an Iowa State University associate professor of mechanical engineering. “There are elliptical stains, all pointing toward the pool. On the wall, the stains indicate the region of origin of the blood spatter.”