Would touch DNA still be viable on any clothing after 6 months?
Not a direct answer, there are a number of variables, imo speculation.
Julie Valentine, a professor of nursing at Brigham Young University, is at the forefront of research and education on
www.ksl.com
''According to
research Valentine published with other researchers recently in the Journal of Forensic Nursing, men between the ages of 18 and 45 are considered "high shedders" of DNA through touch. Those with dry, sweaty or unclean hands also shed a higher amount of skin cells. Touch DNA yields better results when collected from porous or rough surfaces like wood or fabric, according to the research.
Before 2011, touch DNA was mainly an experimental tool used in laboratory settings — until a Utah case.
A woman was "very violently" groped and attacked by someone who had already assaulted several other women at the University of Utah the same day. Law enforcement needed to identify the perpetrator to stop the assaults — but they lacked any apparent evidence, Valentine recalled.
"And the only thing that could be collected was where the women had been touched, there weren't any bodily fluids," she said.
Without knowing whether anything would come of it, a forensic nurse collected evidentiary swabs from spots where the victim had been touched by the groper, including on her clothing.
"This was not standard practice at all, this was merely: 'This is all we've got, so can we develop any kind of meaningful information?'" Valentine said.
When the evidence got sent to the state crime lab, the forensic nurse told those at the lab: "You're going to think I'm nuts, but this is what I had," according to Valentine
It worked.''
DNA traces on clothes of drowned bodies can provide important evidence for police investigations, especially in cases of suspected suicides or homicides. However, it is generally assumed that the water "erodes" a large part of the DNA depending especially on the exposure time. In forensic...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
'' All in all, the results demonstrate that DNA could still be recovered from clothes exposed to water for more than 1 week.''
PhD student Francesco Sessa and his colleagues at the University of Foggia, Italy have determined that adhesive tape is the best method for retrieving touch DNA left on clothing- even after only 2 …
forensicbites.org
“Touch DNA” is DNA obtained from biological material transferred from a donor to an object or a person during physical contact. This particular kind of evidence could play an essential role in forensic laboratory work and is considered an important tool for investigators. Even though the...
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