CSI:
Gettysburg
It
is well documented that the Shriver's attic was used as a Confederate
sharpshooters’ nest during the Battle of Gettysburg and at least two soldiers
were killed there. During the
restoration of the Shriver's home several large, black discolorations were
discovered on the attic floor immediately adjacent to the portholes through
which sharpshooters took aim on their adversaries on Cemetery Hill.
We have been approached by a Crime Scene Investigation Unit from New York
wanting to conduct an experiment to determine these stains are in fact,
blood. The secondary objective of the unit's Bloodstain Pattern Analyst
will be to determine that age may not diminish the detection of blood
particles. In this case, over 140 year old blood.
Sample areas will be exposed to BlueStar® Forensic in order to attempt to produce
luminescence of latent bloodstains as cameras record the results.
Much
of crime scene investigation is based on the notion that nothing vanishes
without a trace. A murderer can
dispose of a victim's body and mop up pools of blood,
but without some heavy-duty cleaning chemicals, some evidence will remain.
Tiny particles of blood will cling to most surfaces for years and years,
without anyone ever knowing they're there. Today
investigators use a product called “luminol” to reveal these traces with a
light-producing chemical reaction between several chemicals and hemoglobin, an
oxygen-carrying protein in the blood. Investigators
spray a suspicious area, turn out all the lights and block the windows, and look for a bluish-green light. If
there are any blood traces in the area, they will glow.
This
experiment will take place in late February so be sure to check back for the
results.
|