1. Blood in Flight
Notes 3.2

2. How’d the blood get there?
Speed
Low, Medium, and High Velocity Blood Spatter
Volume
Type of Impact
Cast-off Blood (centrifugally flung blood)
Secondary Cast-off Blood (reverse facing satellites)
Ricochet Blood (hits surface and breaks up)
Projected Blood (large volume, arterial)
Blood on Blood (irregular, substantial # of satellites)

3. How’d the blood get there?
4. Contact stains
Transferred blood (e.g., bloody handprint)
Smeared blood (wipes and swipes)
Absorbed blood (fabric)
Running blood (on non-horizontal, non-porous surface)

4. Low Velocity Blood Drops formed by the force of gravity
Shape = spherical
Volume = 0.05mL
Acceleration = 32ft/sec/sec ( = -9.8m/s2)
Terminal Velocity reached from ~25 feet above the ground (height of terminal velocity)
Terminal Velocity is 40ft/sec
An increase in height will result in an increase in the size of the spatter (to a height of 25 feet)

5. Low Velocity Blood

6. Medium Velocity Blood Drops formed by forces greater than gravity
Result from the forceful impact of one object with another
Volume = less than 0.05mL
Most often seen in crimes involving stabbing or bludgeoning

7. Medium Velocity Blood

8. High Velocity Blood Drops formed by forces greater than gravity
The drops are atomized and have a diameter of less than 1mm
Only seen in crimes involving gun shots

9. High Velocity Blood

10. Cast-off Blood
A bloody object is swung and the blood is cast off due to centrifugal force
The blood tends to form a track of droplets
Each swing produces its own track (why is this important to investigators?)

11. Cast-off Blood

12. TRANSFER BLOOD
A transfer bloodstain is created when a wet, bloody surface comes in contact with a secondary surface (a wipe).
A recognizable image of all or a portion of the original surface may be observed in the pattern, as in the case of a bloody hand or footwear. This is called Ghosting.

13. TRANSFER BLOOD

14. TRANSFER BLOOD

15. Shadowing/Ghosting/Void

16. Skeletonized Stain

17. Determining the Angle of Impact

18. Determining Direction

19. Determining Point of Origin

23. Aterial Spurts

24. Link to other blood spatter images and review of Blood Spatter Lab