Case study of JonBenet Ramsey
Jon Benet Ramsey was murdered in the year 1996. The killing took place in Boulder, Colorado. After looking for their daughter for close to eight hours, the parents found JonBenet’s body placed near a remote room next to their home. From the look of things, Jon Benet appeared to have been struck and strangled on the head. Her feet were tied together while her arms were taped above her head. Her parents Patricia Paugh and John Ramsey initially originated from West Virginia and Lincoln Nebraska respectively. So far, the person behind the killing of JonBenet has not been found. This case has faced a lot of frustrations caused by a number of factors which include ineptness of police, media exposure and several challenges experienced from the attorney’s office (Kimmel 137)
Forensic evidence can be applied on Ramsey’s case to help identify the person or people behind her killing. In simple terms, forensic science refers to an interaction or connection between science and law. A broader definition by Fraser (5) describes forensic science as an evaluation, investigation and explanation of relevant legal events that include the origin, identity and life history of human beings, materials, substances and artifacts. Investigation and evaluation is carried out using scientific methodologies or techniques which enable an individual to reconstruct, infer and describe events. Reconstruction is based on evaluation and analysis of indirect physical evidence and any other information that seems relevant. It can be concluded that the law infers criminal intent, behavior and motivation as can be evaluated from these facts. However, for the law to achieve this, it should be based on legal standards that are pre-determined. In short, it can be said that forensic science provides answers to central questions especially when conducting criminal investigation such as the brutal murder of JonBenet. These answers help to identify the criminal involved using different methods like fingerprints and analyses of bloodstain patterns.
According to Kobilinsky (291), forensic science uses chemistry to make an analysis of poisons and drugs, physics to carry out investigations on accidents and biology to conduct DNA profiling. Kobilinsky adds that forensic science embraces the use of appropriate DNA biology tools to carry out diagnosis compared to other fields in sciences. Forensic science in biology is driven by the increased need to perform high resolution methodologies for testing human techniques. For a very long time, forensic science has managed to develop and implement a number of reliable and robust typing technologies in DNA. The resulting success has also made it easier to perform accurate and reliable typing even on the extreme DNA quantities using a resolving power that makes it easy to reduce the evidence-sample contributors to few individuals or one source. The reliability of forensic biology tools is achieved as a result of validation requirements that are well-defined. Given the maturity of forensic field, there is no need to seek out dramatic technology changes. Instead, refining the current state of technological advancement should be embraced.
Areas of forensic science
Forensic science is divided into different areas which include criminalistics, forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, forensic odonotology and forensic engineering. In forensic science, criminalistics involve gathering and analyzing of physical evidence that relate to a particular criminal activity. Criminalistic is therefore much applicable in Ramsey’s case. This area of forensic science also involves other engagements such as handling of firearms, drugs, fingerprints analyses and body fluids testing. These items are usually analyzed from the forensic science laboratories. In forensic pathology, analysis is performed by medical examiners trained in both anatomic and clinical pathology. The overall duty of a medical examiner is to establish the events that led to death. This happens mostly when death occurs under unknown or unclear circumstances. The central function of this process is to conduct a post-mortem test and often requires a teamwork approach. Other members of the team who at times may be needed to carry out this process include radiologists, anthropologists, entomologists and toxicologists. Forensic anthropology involves studying human beings as well as their ancestors. This area aims at identifying individuals who cannot be easily identified using soft tissue characteristics like fingerprints or photographs. Specifically, forensic anthropologists perform analyses on the skeletal remains in order to determine whether they belong to human beings. This analysis also helps to identify their height, age, sex and other relevant features that can be used to trace a missing person. Forensic anthropologists feature mainly in the identification of individuals who experience collective fatalities like airplane crash and bombings. Forensic anthropologists can work closely with dentists and pathologists in order to help in identifying people who cannot be assessed easily. Forensic odontology, also called forensic dentistry has numerous applications in forensic sciences.
Lastly, forensic engineering focuses on testing and investigation of products, structures or materials that fail to perform their overall function. The failure of these structures may lead to trauma injury of an individual and consequently result into civil cases. The overall goal is to identify the cause of failure so that that the gathered information can be used to improve performance and safety. In other cases, this information may be used to establish reliability of legal cases (Houck and Jay 4).
Evidence examination in Ramsey’s case
Analyzing a crime scene requires investigators to acquire all the vital details from the scene that can serve as permanent record. Such kind of information is used to complete the investigation process or to make further comparison. The gathered samples include chemical, physical and biological samples. Biological samples include tissue samples like hair, semen, skin and blood. Examples of chemical samples include cosmetics, paints, soil and solvents. Recorded messages, fibers, computer discs and fingerprints are good examples of physical samples. When the case of Ramsey is considered, the forensic team can obtain DNA traces from the clothes that the child was wearing. Footprints can be obtained from the site where the crime was committed. In addition, the ransom note that was collected in the house by the child’s mother can be used by the investigators as a permanent record. Forensic handwriting analysis can be performed on written materials such as on the ransom note found in the house. In performing forensic handwriting analysis, it is believed that different people cannot have the same handwriting patterns and skills. Forensic experts trained in analyzing different writing styles can therefore find it easy to analyze the writings on the ransom note. Analysis can be done by considering how the letters are shaped, the writing angles and other features that can speed up the analysis process. In most cases, the experts usually make a comparison between the writings on the notes with the sample writings collected from the suspects.
In most cases, the evidence gathered is processed in forensic laboratories. This process is conducted by scientists specialized in a given area. These scientists usually rely on the DNA, chemical residues or hair that might have been left behind. However, it should be noted that having very many people at the crime scene is likely to contaminate the evidence. In addition, increased handling of evidence material such as a weapon can also result into traces of DNA or tissues that do not originate from the crime scene (Lotter par. 4).
In order to avoid contaminating the evidence, quality control should be exercised when collecting, handling and analyzing evidence. In Ramsey’s case, the forensic team could have easily obtained fiber evidence if only JonBenet’s parents had not contaminated fiber evidence found in the carpets, beddings, and blankets. Contamination occurred when John took JonBenet’s body from where it was placed in an effort to revive his daughter. Similarly, the child’s mother interfered with the evidence when she tried to bring back the life of her daughter. A large number of friends and other family members who visited the crime scene also interfered with the evidence which the forensic team would use to identify the killers. When conducting a DNA analysis, it is important to store all the collected samples at recommended temperatures and also ensure that the collected evidence is not contaminated. Before JonBenet was killed, it is believed that the child was sexually assaulted. Under such circumstances, it is likely that physical evidence like semen can be collected. When such evidence is gathered, it should be stored at the right temperatures so as to prevent it from evaporating. In addition, an individual handling this kind of evidence should handle the samples using clean gloves and perform the analysis from a very clean laboratory. If the child’s father had used a pair of gloves to handle the body of his daughter, it would become very easy for forensic experts to obtain clean evidence.
Reaching at accurate findings also requires the forensic experts to perform an accurate analysis of the collected samples. Failing to process samples correctly can make the prosecution team to experience difficulties when proving their case in a trial. Presence of DNA or chemical traces on the surrounding materials at the scene is also vital especially when there is need to establish the order of events that led to an accident or crime. DNA is found on all fluids of the body and this makes it easy for forensic scientists to analyze the samples found in crime scene. These samples are later used to develop DNA profiles. In the case of Ramsey, the blood samples that were taken from crime scene to be compared with blood samples from relatives did not reveal any significant evidence (Lotter par. 5).This is an indication that none of the parents was behind the killing of JonBenet.
In addition to the samples used, forensic scientists can collect swabs contained in objects and materials found at the crime scene. This helps them to test for presence of toxins, radioactive isotopes, chemicals and poisons used to produce chemical weapons. There is no much disparity observed when conducting normal investigations or other investigations where weapons of mass destruction are used. In case of any difference, it may be realized based on the chemical level of a particular sample. The samples obtained from scenes where biological weapons have been used contain higher quantities of chemicals compared to samples collected from scenes where less dangerous weapons have been used. In such cases, the instruments used for carrying out analysis should be very accurate and sensitive (Aytac and Mustafa 193).
Biological traces are obtained from different sources. For instance, the traces can either be obtained from the site where a crime has been committed. Alternatively, the investigators can obtain these traces from deceased bodies or else they can request the surviving victims to provide them with the required traces. DNA is the common method used to identify people. For example, it is very difficult to identify fire and crash victims. However, an individual can be positively identified through DNA. It is important for forensic experts to first identify and group the collected samples before embarking on the investigation process. According to Budolowe and VanDaal (341), it is also necessary to identify various traces of organic remains especially when handling customized products pr those which have been quarantined.
It is also important to mention that either qualitative or quantitative assessment may be carried out when handling samples to be tested in forensic chemistry. In particular, objects or solutions may be taken through chemical tests during such processes. Chemists usually perform extensive analyses of soil samples, fiber, fire debris and gun residues. For instance, specific samples that are suspected to be pollutants should be taken through a laboratory test in order to confirm that are not suitable in the environment. In this scenario, the investigators can make use of samples obtained from the surrounding objects. On the same note, it is usually recommendable to undertake various confirmative tests when conducting the likely causes of fire accidents. Hence, there are substances that can easily cause fire outbreaks such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and volatile oil products. Investigators should park all the debris in tight and secure containers in order to prevent evaporation of some compounds since some of them may be highly volatile. It should also be noted that failing to observe proper debris transportation can cause loss of vital traces. Using charcoal strips is a very good method of analyzing the debris especially when performing fire investigations. The overall aim of carrying out analysis is to enable scientists to identify the amount of hydrocarbon present in the samples.
Physical evidence is dependent on the objects that are found on the crime scene. Physical evidence includes different types of prints like handprints, fingerprints, cut marks, tool marks and tide marks. Analyzing the physical evidence is done by either by making impressions, getting the image marks or lifting the footprints/fingerprints away from the objects encountered. In Ramsey’s case, forensic experts can rely on the shoeprints as the physical evidence. Shoeprints are specific and this depends on the brand and the features of the footwear. It is easy to approximate the height of an individual using shoeprints and then compare it with the height of the suspects. In Ramsey’s case, the investigators photographed the shoeprints found on the scene but this did not yield true information since the crime scene was not secured and got contaminated by police, family and friends. This led to destruction of evidence (Lotter par. 2).
References
Aytaç, Osman and Kibaroğlu, Mustafa. Defence against Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2009. Print.
Budolowe, Bruce and Angela, VanDaal. Extracting evidence from forensic DNA analysis. Beyond Darwin: the future molecular biology directions, 46 (2009): 339- 350. Print.
Fraser, Jim. Forensic Science: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.
Houck, Max and Siegel, Jay. Fundamentals of Forensic Science. Burlington, MA: Academic Press, 2010. Print.
Kimmel, Eleonora. Altered and Unfinished Lives. Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, 2006. Print.
Kobilinsky, Lawrence. Forensic Chemistry Handbook. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
Lotter, Karen.Forensic science: Forensic evidence in the Ramsey case. 2008.Web.