Centre of Applied Research Technology

Using case specific experiments to evaluate fingermarks on knives given activity level propositions

Article

Bayesian networks have shown to be a useful tool for the evaluation of forensic findings given activity level propositions. In this paper, we demonstrate how case specific experiments can be used to assign probabilities to the states of the nodes of a Bayesian network for the evaluation of fingermarks given activity level propositions. The transfer, persistence and recovery of fingermarks on knives is studied in experiments where a knife is either used to stab a victim or to cut food, representing the activities that were disputed in the case of the murder of Meredith Kercher. Two Bayesian networks are constructed, exploring the effect of different uses of the experimental data by assigning the probabilities based on the results of the experiments. The evaluation of the findings using the Bayesian networks demonstrates the potential for fingermarks in addressing activity level propositions.

Reference de Ronde, A., Kokshoorn, B., de Puit, M., & de Poot, C. J. (2021). Using case specific experiments to evaluate fingermarks on knives given activity level propositions. Forensic Science International, 320, Article 110710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110710
Published by  Faculty of Technology 1 March 2021

Publication date

Mar 2021

Author(s)

Bas Kokshoorn
Marcel de Puit

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