Forensic evidence in apparel fabrics due to stab events

Did heart asymmetry play a role in the evolution of human handedness?

“…However, stabbing violence to the abdomen is suggested to be relatively infrequent (Bajanowski et al 1991;Karlsson 1998;Kemp et al 2009;Rogde et al 2000;Schmidt and Pollak 2006), and therefore greater vulnerability of the right vs. left abdomen is unlikely to balance the vulnerability of the left thorax. Schmidt and Pollak (2006) investigated 158 victims that had survived stab and cut injuries, showing between 1 and 20 separate wounds (mean 3.7), 63.4% of which were located on the front of the body and 36.6% on the back.…”

“…Studies of crime victims, have demonstrated that the majority of wounds were localized to the thorax (Bajanowski et al 1991;Karlsson 1998;Kemp et al 2009;Rogde et al 2000;Schmidt and Pollak 2006). Schmidt and Pollak (2006) demonstrated that the left half of the body accounted for 63.7% of stabs and cuts, with 36.3% on the right.…”

Fibres and Textiles

“…Once an item of apparel is manufactured from fabric, it is subject to increasing levels of degradation from environmental and use factors (Slater, 1986;Guoping and Slater, 1990). The major causes of fabric and apparel degradation include abrasion, extension, light (including ultraviolet light and daylight), weathering, temperature and relative humidity variations, ozone, atmospheric oxygen, wind, microbial and insect attack, dust, dry-cleaning, laundering, ironing, perspiration, water (fresh, sea, chlorinated) and chemicals (organic solvents, acids, alkalis and salts) (Dweltz and Sparrow, 1978;Warfield and Stone, 1979;Slater, 1986Slater, , 1991Morton and Hearle, 1993;Gore et al, 2006;Kemp et al, 2009). The mechanical properties of fabric and apparel change with laundering.…”

“…6.1a,b). Thus, in any investigation, it is critical to: (i) identify fabric degradation and distinguish it from damage that might be forensic evidence; and (ii) understand how fabric degradation might affect any damage that could be of interest in a forensic investigation (Kemp et al, 2009;Carr et al, 2010;Daroux et al, 2010;Carr and Wainwright, 2011).…”

“…General guidelines for individual fibres are that: (i) scissor cuts result in pinched ends; (ii) knife cuts produce flat severances sometimes with a lip; and (iii) impact tears produce bulbous fibre ends (Hearle et al, 1989;Pelton, 1995). However, researchers have reported difficulty in distinguishing between fibres cut with a knife or scissors, or among different sharp weapons (Stowell and Card, 1990;Pelton and Ukpabi, 1995;Kemp et al, 2009). …”