Our Unsolved Homicide Private Investigators at Our Private Detective Agency in OKC Share the Top Forensic Approaches to Solving Cold Case Homicides During Cold Case Murder Investigations
Every long-term missing person case and cold case homicide has a family searching for answers. These families endure a horrible period of grieving and waiting for answers that might never materialize as the months and years go by.
Before beginning their cold case private investigations into these incidents, law enforcement organizations must consider pragmatic and philosophical issues. On a practical level, organizations must first identify their needs: What kinds of unsolved cold case homicides exist, and how many? Second, do agency detectives have the knowledge and resources to investigate these cases?
However, a rise in forensic studies in recent years has contributed to the systematic organization and consistency of forensic science that has also led to the great success of some unsolved cold case homicides and murder investigations. Here are the top methods that private detective agencies in OKC are using as forensic approaches to solving cold case homicides during cold case murder investigations:
Ballistics Forensic
Police, prosecutors, and judges can learn information from the kind of weapon used in a crime when investigated by an unsolved homicide private investigator. Ballistics analysis is evolving, growing more advanced, and becoming more reliable. A research team discovered that expert analysts had a high accuracy rate for identifying bullets and cartridge cases in a 2022 study published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.
Using the help of specialized associations like the Association of Firearm and Toolmark Examiners, the research team secured 173 volunteers. A test packet, including 15 cartridge case sets and 15 bullet sets, was mailed to participants by the team. Over 80% of the participants correctly identified the bullets and the cartridge boxes during their cold case murder investigation for cold case homicides.
Single Source DNA
Evidence specialists gather samples of blood, hair, semen, or skin cells at a crime scene to produce a DNA profile investigated by an unsolved homicide private investigator. The DNA is chemically removed from the sample and amplified using a polymerase chain reaction. A computer program measures and examines the generated DNA fragments from the private detective agency. The DNA sample in question can be compared to others in a database containing DNA profiles of people arrested in several states for cold case murder investigations.
Single-source DNA was rated a trustworthy forensic method by PCAST that is well backed by empirical evidence. However, the council added a warning that if samples are contaminated in the environment or incorrectly labeled in the lab, the procedure may be susceptible to human error by private detective agencies in OKC.
BPA (Bloodstain Pattern Analysis)
BPA can give law enforcement more information at a scene where a murder may have occurred and is being investigated by a private detective agency. For instance, BPA can establish whether a fatal gunshot was caused by unsolved cold case homicide or suicide. Or, if the defendant is asserting self-defense, BPA could show whether a struggle occurred.
BPA has been accepted in courtroom testimony for more than 150 years. However, the PCAST assessment condemned the method for having significant error rates. Scientists conducted empirical studies to evaluate accuracy rates and pinpoint process defects that persisted over time.
Multiple Source DNA
Unsolved homicide private investigators could come across many DNA profiles at crime scenes. For instance, blood tests out from the victim and the offender might exist. Or there can be “contact DNA” evidence or skin cells left behind when several people approach the same thing.
Even though “touch DNA” is gaining popularity, the PCAST analysis indicated that multiple-source DNA would have been most credible when only two profiles were used. The council cautioned that DNA testing of “complex combinations” was not yet based on a valid foundation and would produce inaccurate results. For instance, Touch DNA was used to find American university student Amanda Knox guilty of killing her Italian flatmate in 2007. Knox was later found not guilty.
Fingerprint Analysis
With the help of this technique, unsolved homicide private detectives can locate a fingerprint or part of a fingerprint left at a crime scene or on a bloody knife. The print is then compared to complete sets generated from suspects or kept in databases by private detective agencies. Although the method has been employed in the United States for over a century, scientists have recently started to closely examine the procedure for cold case private investigations.
The Madrid underground bombing in 2004 caused scientists to reevaluate the method’s dependability. Spanish investigators had a difficult time naming a suspect. They resorted to foreign investigative organizations like the FBI and gave them their information, along with a latent fingerprint discovered on an explosives bag by the private detective agency.
Because of his prior military service, the FBI was able to match the print with an Oregon lawyer whose complete set was already on file. The attorney claimed he didn’t have a current U.S. passport at the incident in question and hadn’t left the nation ever since the early 1990s. Once the FBI was forced to retract an incorrect accusation, the forensic community started to doubt the reliability of fingerprint analysis.
The FBI has done empirical research to increase reliability since the bombing, the council observed in the 2016 PCAST report. Although the procedure was declared “foundationally valid,” the report warned that juries needed to be made aware that false positives occasionally occur.
Bottom Line
The top-notch forensic methods are gaining popularity due to their contribution to a success rate of unsolved homicides and cold case murder investigations. If you require more worthy information on the contribution of forensic science in unsolved murder cases or need help, contact Bonds by Tamara for professional and skilled help in town.
