Citation

Johnson DJ, Andersen C, Scriven KA, Klein AN, Choi MR, Carroll C, de Leon RD. J. Forensic Sci. 2014; 59(3): 735-742.

Affiliation

School of Criminal Justice and Criminalistics, California State University, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90032; California Forensic Science Institute, California State University, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA, 90032.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Society for Testing and Materials, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1556-4029.12377

PMID

24606037

Abstract

Bloodstain pattern analysis to determine the wound-of-origin of bloodstains is problematic with nonspecific patterns. In this proof-of-concept study, the authors examined a molecular approach to correlate bloodstains with injuries using the rat as a model. Specifically, investigations were conducted on the rat brain marker, rno-miR-124-3p, with the QIAGEN miScript System and real-time PCR analysis. Rno-miR-124-3p was detected in brain homogenates diluted 100,000 times; in 3-week-old, room temperature stored, simulated brain-blood stains; and in bloodstains from head gunshot wounds collected with swabs and subsequently frozen for 9-18 months; however, rno-miR-124-3p was not detected in whole blood. Proof-of-principle was demonstrated by the ability to distinguish bloodstains from a gunshot wound to the head versus bloodstains from a gunshot wound to the chest, by the testing of otherwise identical bloodstains from the two patterns for the presence of the marker. The results suggest a viable approach to a longstanding problem in casework.

Language: en