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The Use of Forensic Tests to Distinguish Blowfly Artifacts from Human Blood, Semen, and Saliva
Author(s) -
Durdle Annalisa,
Mitchell R. John,
Oorschot Roland A.H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12663
Subject(s) - semen , saliva , artifact (error) , false positive paradox , blood stains , physiology , medicine , biology , pathology , anatomy , computer science , artificial intelligence , neuroscience
This study investigated whether routinely used forensic tests can distinguish 3‐day‐old or 2‐week‐old fly artifacts, produced after feeding on human blood, semen, or saliva, from the biological fluid. Hemastix ® , Hemident ™ , and Hemascein ™ were unable to distinguish blood from artifacts. Hemastix ® returned false positives from negative controls. ABA card ® Hematrace ® and Hexagon OBTI could distinguish blood from 3‐day‐old artifacts, but not 2‐week‐old artifacts. Phadebas ® and SALI g AE ® were unable to distinguish saliva from artifacts. RSID ™ ‐Saliva was able to distinguish saliva from 3‐day‐old artifacts, but not 2‐week‐old artifacts. Semen tests Seminal Acid Phosphatase, RSID ™ ‐Semen, and ABA card ® p30 were all able to distinguish semen from 3‐day‐old artifacts, but not 2‐week‐old artifacts. The tests investigated cannot be relied upon to distinguish artifacts from biological fluids. However, if an artifact is identified by its morphology, a positive result may indicate which biological fluid the fly consumed, and this knowledge may prove useful for investigators searching for DNA .