The majority of trace evidence examinations, performed in laboratories of forensic science throughout the world, are of a comparative nature. Questioned (Q) items of evidence (e.g., fibers, hair, glass, paint, soil) from a crime scene (or victim, suspect, location, etc.) are compared to suspected items of known (K) origin to determine the likelihood that the K and Q items could have originated from the same source. The justification normally invoked for performing these comparisons is Locard's Exchange Principle, which states that whenever two objects come into contact there is a transfer of material between them. The original research into the analysis of dust traces, which led Nickolls 1 in 1956 to recognize and name this principle, was performed by Edmond Locard between 1910 and 1965. Since then, this principle has been repeatedly validated by means of published research and casework. The research reports describe the results of transfer experiments, most often with fibers, performed by forensic scientists from around the world. The results of these experiments have all confirmed Locard's original premise. Published casework reports also confirm the utility and value of microscopic traces in demonstrating contact between individuals, vehicles, sites, etc., to events in question, even when no eye witnesses were present to give testimony.
Forensic paint comparisons are generally conducted on samples which, while small relative to their source, are still visible to the unaided eye and are thus located and analyzed without great difficulty. Here we demonstrate that a more detailed examination of candidate transfer surfaces can capture materials (questioned samples), even when such traces are invisible to the unaided eye. While certain analytical details (such as layer sequence or a pure FTIR spectrum) may not be obtainable from such traces due to their size and condition, a detailed analysis of the sample characteristics that are analytically accessible may still provide sufficient analytical data to arrive at a probative result. Here we present the application of this approach to a suspected paint transfer case, involving particles of paint as small as 40 μm in size. Using a combination of stereomicroscopy, polarized light microscopy, infrared microspectroscopy, Raman microspectroscopy, and SEM/EDS, all performed on a single, subsample of the original minute particle, it was possible to demonstrate evidence of a two‐way transfer between the suspected sources. Furthermore, the transferred paint particle in one direction could be classified as automotive in nature based on a combination of polymer composition, microscopic texture, and pigment package (which included three specifically identified pigments). This work demonstrates (i) the potential for improving detection limits when searching for a questioned sample, (ii) the potential benefits of higher resolution analyses on samples that would be traditionally labeled as “sample‐size limited,” and (iii) the value of case‐specific interpretation over standardized, one‐size fits all report templates.
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