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A Preliminary Assessment of the Correlation of Drying Time and the Peripheral Rim Thickness of Perimeter Bloodstains

Abstract

Raeghan Steelberg and David San Pietro

Bloodstain patterns can be used to attempt to sequence events that occurred during a bloodshed event at a crime scene. Perimeter bloodstains may be useful for sequencing as they can indicate movement or the presence of some interacting object between the time that the blood was initially deposited onto its target surface and when it dried completely. The purpose of this series of experiments was to assess the reliability of perimeter bloodstains as an estimation tool for bloodstain drying time as well as to compare the properties of perimeter bloodstains on different target surfaces. After measuring over 600 bloodstains, it was determined that there was a significant difference in the peripheral rim widths of perimeter bloodstains of different drying times under the conditions of this experiment. It was also determined that similar peripheral rim width characteristics are seen on both cardboard and glass surfaces, however, the diameter of the same volume deposited on both surfaces is smaller on cardboard than on glass.