Hair Lab Report
Erin Gaudet
SCI-220-01
Title: Hair Lab
Object: Analyze hair samples
Procedure: Same as in lab handout
Results: See attached data sheet
Conclusion: This type of lab analysis is important to the field of forensic science because you could link a person to a crime. The removal of hair from the body often denotes physical contact between a victim and perpetrator and hence a crime of a serious or violent nature. Forensic scientists would find this lab useful because they would be able to determine if the hairs were human or animal. With this lab, scientists would also be able to determine whom the hair came from and eliminate any other suspects.
Questions:
1. There are three characteristics to hair that can be used to distinguish one type from another. Continuous medullation is an unbroken line of color. Interrupted medullation is a broken pigmented line. Both hairs types can be found in most animals. Fragmented medullation is am unevenly spaced pigmented line. Most human hairs have either fragmented medullae or none at all. 2. Circumstantial evidence is evidence providing only a basis for inference about the fact in dispute. Hair is considered circumstantial evidence because you cannot prove this person committed a crime based on a hair sample found. Although circumstantial evidence strongly suggests something, it cannot be proven just on the find. Hair is always shedding your body and can be picked up and transferred by someone else. Finding fingerprints at a crime scene would more or less prove the person guilty, however, they are still considered circumstantial. 3. Circumstantial evidence is important because it could be the only evidence that is found. Scott Peterson was convicted with only a hair strand found on a pair of pliers. The DNA found on the hair strand turned out to be his wife, Laci’s. This evidence linked Laci to the boat Scott used to dump her body. 4. There are many differences between human hair and animal hair. Animal
SCI-220-01
Title: Hair Lab
Object: Analyze hair samples
Procedure: Same as in lab handout
Results: See attached data sheet
Conclusion: This type of lab analysis is important to the field of forensic science because you could link a person to a crime. The removal of hair from the body often denotes physical contact between a victim and perpetrator and hence a crime of a serious or violent nature. Forensic scientists would find this lab useful because they would be able to determine if the hairs were human or animal. With this lab, scientists would also be able to determine whom the hair came from and eliminate any other suspects.
Questions:
1. There are three characteristics to hair that can be used to distinguish one type from another. Continuous medullation is an unbroken line of color. Interrupted medullation is a broken pigmented line. Both hairs types can be found in most animals. Fragmented medullation is am unevenly spaced pigmented line. Most human hairs have either fragmented medullae or none at all. 2. Circumstantial evidence is evidence providing only a basis for inference about the fact in dispute. Hair is considered circumstantial evidence because you cannot prove this person committed a crime based on a hair sample found. Although circumstantial evidence strongly suggests something, it cannot be proven just on the find. Hair is always shedding your body and can be picked up and transferred by someone else. Finding fingerprints at a crime scene would more or less prove the person guilty, however, they are still considered circumstantial. 3. Circumstantial evidence is important because it could be the only evidence that is found. Scott Peterson was convicted with only a hair strand found on a pair of pliers. The DNA found on the hair strand turned out to be his wife, Laci’s. This evidence linked Laci to the boat Scott used to dump her body. 4. There are many differences between human hair and animal hair. Animal