1. Blood Spatter
October 3, 2014

2. Early on the morning of July 4, 1954 police received a call from Dr
Early on the morning of July 4, 1954 police received a call from Dr. Sam Sheppard. He reported that his wife had been killed the night before.
Sam & Marilyn Sheppard
Sam Sheppard Case

3. Sam Sheppard Case Sam’s Story He went to sleep on the couch
Heard his wife shout “Sam”and awoke
Found a person standing by his wife’s bed. They struggled, Sam was hit on the back of the neck, and lost consciousness.
When he awoke, he found his wife covered in blood. He took her pulse and found that she was dead.
Marilyn, partially undressed and covered in blood.
Sam Sheppard Case

4. Sam Sheppard Case Sam’s Story
When he regained consciousness, the intruder was gone.
He checked on sleeping son next door – he was fine.
Went downstairs and saw intruder leaving.
Chased and battled the “tall bushy-haired” intruder on the beach, was choked, and again lost consciousness
Awoke in the morning, wet & missing his shirt and watch.
Sheppard (?) with a neck brace
Sam Sheppard Case

5. Sam Sheppard Case Police investigation
Marilyn was found in bed, with her clothes partially removed and covered in blood
More than 20 blows to her head
Appearance of staged robbery
Crime scene sketch of Sheppard home
Sam Sheppard Case

6. Sam Sheppard Case Police investigation
Marilyn was found in bed, with her clothes partially removed and covered in blood
More than 20 blows to her head
Appearance of staged robbery
Quote from Marilyn’s friend’s husband, who was allowed to view the scene:
"Oh my God.  It looks like someone stood in the middle of the room with a great big can of red paint and a brush and flicked it all around.  This wasn't a couple of blows.  Oh no.  Whoever did it, they had to be out of their mind.“
Sam Sheppard Case

7. Sam Sheppard Case 1954 Trial
Police quickly concluded the Sheppard killed his wife and (perhaps) did a somewhat sloppy job examining the evidence
The case garnered a lot of publicity, and the press was very hostile to Sheppard
The trial had “carnival-like atmosphere” and the defense offered little evidence other than Sam’s story and injury.
Convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Sam Sheppard Case

8. Sam Sheppard Case Supreme Court Verdict
In 1966 the Supreme Court overturned Sheppard’s conviction, arguing that he did not receive a fair trial due to the publicity surrounding the trial
Sam Sheppard Case

9. Sam Sheppard Case 1966 Retrial
Respected criminalist Dr. Paul Kirk re-examined the blood spatter evidence and testified for the defense
Blood spatter consistent with left-handed killer (Sam Sheppard is right-handed)
Blood on Sheppard’s watch and clothing was transferred blood not back spatter
Sheppard was pronounced not guilty.
The End
… or is it?
Sam Sheppard Case

10. Sam Sheppard Case 2000 Civil Trial
In 2000, Sam Sheppard’s son sued the county for wrongful imprisonment.
The jury sided with the county, and 6 of 8 jurors said they believed Sheppard to be the murderer.
So … is he guilty??
You decide!
Sam Sheppard Case

11. What can you learn from blood spatter?
Blood spatter – the patterns left on a crime scene by blood – can be used to help reconstruct the events of a crime.
By observing spatter, you can determine
The direction of travel
The angle of impact
The position origin
The droplet’s speed
What can you learn from blood spatter?

12. Classifying Spatter Passive blood
Blood drops that form by the force of gravity, alone.
Example: Blood dripping or oozing from a wound or a weapon
Projected blood
Blood drops that form when something other than gravity applies a force to the blood.
Example: Arterial pressure, blunt force trauma, gunshot, etc.
A murder throws a bloody knife into the bushes, leaving blood spatter on the grass. Is this passive blood or projected blood. Why?
Classifying Spatter

13. Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Talk with a partner, and take a guess …
How will each of these factors affect passive blood spatter patterns?
Distance of dropping
Angle of impact
Surface of impact
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns

14. Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Distance of Dropping
Passive blood falls due to gravity
Accelerates until reaching terminal velocity
Higher the fall  faster the velocity of impact (up to a point)
Terminal velocity is ~25 ft per second, occurs with fall of ~5ft
Faster velocity / Higher fall = larger diameter of drop.
Which drop fell from the greatest height?
The drop on the upper left.
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns

15. Passive Blood Spatter PatternsC F
Match each stain from the height with the heights at which they were dropped. Assume the same amount of blood fell with each drop
Heights: 1.5 ft, 2 ft, 3 ft, 5 ft, 7 ft, 10 ft
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns

16. Passive Blood Spatter PatternsC F
Match each stain from the height with the heights at which they were dropped. Assume the same amount of blood fell with each drop
Heights: 1.5 ft (E), 2 ft (C), 3 ft (B), 5 ft (?), 7 ft (?), 10 ft (?)
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Why don’t A, D, and F vary much in size?

17. Passive Blood Spatter PatternsC F
Match each stain from the height with the heights at which they were dropped. Assume the same amount of blood fell with each drop
Heights: 1.5 ft (E), 2 ft (C), 3 ft (B), 5 ft (?), 7 ft (?), 10 ft (?)
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Why don’t A, D, and F vary much in size? Blood reaches terminal velocity at about ~5 ft.

18. Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Angle of Impact
Drops that hit at a 90O angle (i.e. straight down) form an even circle.
Drops that hit at other angles form an elongated oval
The longer the oval, the shallower the angle of impact
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns

19. Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Angle of Impact The angle of impact can be calculated using the formula: Angle of impact = arcsine ( 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ )
3 cm
5 cm
Angle of impact = arcsine (3/5) = 37 degrees
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns

20. Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Angle of Impact Angle of impact = arcsine ( 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ )
You do: Find the angles.
The one on the left
Which drop had a greater angle of impact?
What does it mean to have a greater angle of impact?
The greater the angle, the more perpendicular (straight down) the drop lands.
2 cm
30 degrees
3 cm
49 degrees
4 cm
4 cm
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns

21. Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Surface of Impact
Drops falling onto smooth, non-porous surfaces have smooth edges (they don’t splash).
Drops falling onto rough surfaces produce spiny / irregular stains and possibly satellite spatter.
Satellite spatter are the small drops that surround a central drop. They form when the blood splashes after hitting the surface.
Spatter on tile
Passive Blood Spatter Patterns
Spatter on wood

22. What can you tell me about this spatter?
Think, Pair, & Share.
What can you tell me about this spatter?

23. Closure What were our objectives today? How did we meet them?
What was our learner profile trait and how did we use it?
How does what we did today address our unit objective?
Closure

24. Draw some blood spatter patterns in the below
Draw some blood spatter patterns in the below. Write a short paragraph describing the spatter. Use at least 5 of the following vocab words in your paragraph: passive blood, projected blood, angle of impact, velocity of impact, terminal velocity, surface of impact, satellite spatter.
Exit Ticket