(*) Minister of Interior, Italian State Police, Forensic Science Department

CRIME SCENE EVIDENCES AND USEFUL INFORMATION FOR INVESTIGATION PURPOSE OF THIS WORK A, B, C, D, COLLECTED SAMPLES ANALYSES PROCEDURES AND METHODOLOGY RESULTS AND CONCLUSION SUMMARY

In the year 2005, in a small village near Rome, a young woman was found dead in her home. Near the body, the police found two muddy footmarks. The Police collected two samples on the crime scene: the mud from footmarks and victim’s shoes. CRIME SCENE

Some neighbours reported to the police that the evening before the crime, Laura quarreled with her boyfriend and that they used to do that very often. In the boyfriend’s home, the investigators found a pair of shoes dirty of mud, and collected them. The Police carried out a survay on the suspect’s car, the pedals were dirty of mud and the pedals were collected. The Police collected the two samples. INFORMATION FOR INVESTIGATION

to make a comparison between the mud collected on the crime scene, with the mud adhering on the pedal’s car and the soil adhering on the suspect’s shoes to demonstrate differences or analogies among the samples to prove if the suspect has been on the crime scene. THE PURPOSES OF THIS WORK ARE:

SAMPLE A VICTIM’S SHOES

SAMPLE B SOIL NEAR THE BODY

SOIL ADHERING ON THE SUSPECT’S CAR SAMPLE C

SAMPLE D THE SUSPECT’S SHOES

ANALYSES PROCEDURES AND METHODOLOGIES MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION S.E.M. ANALYSES GRAIN SIZE SEPARATION XR DIFFRACTOMETRIC ANALYSES THIN SECTION ANALYSES BY MEANS OF A POLARIZING MICROSCOPE THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSES

MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION

S.E.M. ANALYSES

GRAIN SIZE ANALYSES W% PHI

SAMPLE AQuartz, Plagioclase, Calcite, Muscovit SAMPLE BQuartz, Plagioclase, Calcite, Muscovit SAMPLE CQuartz, Plagioclase, Calcite, Muscovit SAMPLE DQuartz, Plagioclase, Calcite, Muscovit XR DIFFRACTOMETRIC ANALYSES

MINERALSABCD CALCITE XXXX QUARTZ XXXX ORTOCLASE XXXX MICROCLINE XXXX PLAGIOCLASE XXXX MICA GROUP XXXX CLINOPYROSSENOID XXXX TOURMALINE X--- GLAUGONITE X-X- GARNET XXXX ANPHIBOLE --XX OXIDE IRON XXXX POLARIZING MICROSCOPE 1 SEDIMENTARY ROCKSABCD MICRITIC LIMESTONE XXXX SPARITIC LIMESTONE XXXX ORGANIC LIMESTONE XXXX CALCARENITE XXXX SANDSTONE XXXX FLINT STONE XXXX METAMORPHIC ROCKS ABCD SCHISTS XXXX QUARTZITES XXXX MICROFOSSILSABCD MICROFORAMINIFERS XXXX

MINERALS SAMPLE ASAMPLE BSAMPLE CSAMPLE D QUARTZ 56,554,948,346,2 PLAGIOCLASE GROUP 0,81,00,60,7 FELDSPAR GROUP 15,615,818,413,2 MICA GROUP 1,4 0,91,2 IRON OXIDE 0,81,20,81,4 SEDIMENTARY ROCKS LIMESTONE 15,5 16,225,7 SANDSTONE 3,23,54,84,2 FLINSTONE 3,12,92,32,6 METAMORPHIC ROCKS QUARTZITES 3,13,87,74,7 POLARIZING MICROSCOPE 2

POLARIZING MICROSCOPE 3

THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSES

MACROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION: Colour, morphology, vegetables fragments and fibres have very similar features in each samples, especially between B and C samples S.E.M. ANALYSIS: The grains of the samples A, B, C, D have the same chemical composition ANALYSIS AND GRAIN SIZE SEPARATION: The grains of the samples A, B, C, D have very similar size (sand and silt) XR DIFFRACTOMETRIC ANALYSIS: The samples A, B, C, D have the same mineral phases THIN SECTION ANALYSIS BY MEANS OF POLARIZING MICROSCOPE: The thin section analyses show the same minerals, rocks fragments and microfossils in all samples, with small differences among them THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS: Thermogravimetric analyses show features with high analogy among all the samples, except for the sample A. RESULTS DISCUSSION

THE ANALYSES SHOWED THAT THE SAMPLES A,B, C, D HAVE: HIGH ANALOGY IN INORGANIC COMPOSITION (MINERALS AND ROCK FRAGMENTS) HIGH ANALOGY IN ANTHROPIC COMPOSITION (FIBRES) HIGH ANALOGY IN ORGANIC COMPOSITION (VEGETABLES). THE ANALYSES APPLIED ON THE SOIL STUDY,GAVE THE INVESTIGATORS THE EVIDENCE IN ORDER TO LINK LAURA’S BOYFRIEND WITH CRIME SCENE. CONCLUSION