LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
That’s hard to say. It depends not only on how old the stain is but how old or how sensitive the reagents are. I’ve had old known semen stains not react with relatively new reagents so it is possible.
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So the victim was killed and put in a freezer, then moved to another state and put in another freezer? I have no idea how that would be figured out, unless they leave some compelling clue frozen with the victim.
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Sure, I'll email you.
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I couldn’t. I don’t know if a pathologist or biologist could.
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I'm sorry but that's a very broad question. What kind of pattern and impression evidence are you talking about?
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Sorry for the delay, I’ve been on vacation. I guess it depends where the activity took place. If it all took place in bed and they washed the sheets, then there may not be any to find. An alternate light source can look for possible spots of semen, but the problem is many things can fluoresce, such as vaginal secretions, sweat, saliva, cleaners, certain fibers, etc.
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You can cut off a sample of the tampon or sheet (if you don't want to cut a hole in your sheet, just take a clean cotton swab, dampen with water, and rub on the stain until some of the stain transfers...do that before you wash the sheet or it probably won't work well). Let it air-dry, if necessary, and package in a clean envelope. Then rub a clean cotton swab on the inside of your own mouth for your own standard and seal in a separate clean envelope. Don't put anything in plastic. You should be able to get those tested at a lab, such as LabCorp, though it might take some explaining since they usually do parent-child comparisons. This will cost you anywhere from $250 to $600, according to their website. Of course all that will do is tell you if the blood is yours. It won't tell you whose it is. PS if it's a tiny amount on the sheets it could also be from him--shaving nick, shin scrape, that sort of thing. We bleed a lot more than we realize.
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