New Fingerprint Technology (?)

DNA is often referred to as "DNA Fingerprint"- however, I do think there is something new that is being developed in Canada about extracting DNA from actual latent fingerprints. I found this article which discusses it. It's hard to tell from the case article what they are referring to. But in the article below it explains how minute --REALLy minute quantities of DNA can be extracted to form profiles. Makes you kind of wonder how come the DNA in the JonBenet case was SO minute if it was, in fact, freshly left by the killer!

http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030730-040600-4102r

Anyway, and most people don't know this, the patterns on fingers, hands and feet are formed when the fetus in in the mother's womb -- they are formed by motion -- that's why there are no two alike and identical twins would not have the same prints.

 

Saw a program last night,

on the TV called "48 hours". They told of solving a 45 year old case using "new" type of fingerprint id. They still had the actual fingerprint cards from the original case of 45 years earlier but the cards were falling apart. However somewhere along the line a photo had been taken of the fingerprints early on. So that was what was used. What they did was to digitize the whorls and loops of the actual fingerprint and then submit that digitized picture to the Codis system and bingo they got their man. It was quite a shock and relief to see that by doing that it worked. Of course it would only work if there was someone to match a print to.

The crime was murder of 2 young cops in El Segundo (near LA) in So CA 45 years ago. But before the guy killed the cops he raped a young teen and stole her boyfriends car. He got away and wasn't heard from until this match of a digitized print of his from a burglery he had committed the year previous to the cop killing.

Just having the matched print wasn't enough to arrest him yet so they got all of necessary things together about him like his whereabouts at the time and the ownership of the gun and things like that then they knocked on his door in South Carolina (I think). There was a tape recording of the LA cops telling him he was being arrested for the cop killing of 45 years previous. And the man's response was total surprise and he said something like "You are arresting me for THAT?". Anyway the ending was that the guy pled guilty and tried to apologize for the killing and he will be released from prison in 2018. After the killings he lead a completely crime free life, married, has children and grandchildren. When asked why he did this he has no explanation.

The actual case was the coldest in the cold case file. ( I was wondering still about the Black Dahlia case and how old that one is. I think that one is the oldest on file).

Anyway I wonder if this is what might be called the new fingerprint technique.

 

I saw that show too, Zoomama. Amazing.

But I missed the aritcle where this was said, Elle: "It was an incident between friends, that's it."

I figured it was different in Canada.

 

This was just in our local paper on Monday JC - from "The Review" ... I did type the whole article in if you go back a few posts above, you can read it.

I wish I had seen that 48 Hours show ZM. That was incredible. Don't know if it's the same fingerprint technique, but I guess the fingerprints have to be on hand for the match.

Looks like progress has been made after all.

 

Thanks for the url, Sabrina. I'll read this tomorrow. I didn't have enough time
to keep on researching, and I never found anything like this. So ...they were working on this in 2003, and must have progressed? Great!.

Interesting information about the fetus. You learn something new every day.
Thank you. I may be an oldie but I'm still learning.

Was just thinking . The Ramsey prints would need to be on the garrote cord, brush shaft, duct tape, ransom note, pen, or the flashlight, and there were no prints because everything had been wiped clean. Their prints are everywhere else. Of course, John Ramsey did rip the duct tape off JonBenét's mouth, and that takes care of his prints being on it. I just don't know what to think of right now (?).

 

I don't know if they ever disclosed if there were prints on the tape. The only thing I recall are Patsy's fibers on the tape. Anyway, just because you touch something does not mean you will leave a print. Since sweat and oil constitutes if a print will be left, I guess it's only logical they could pull out DNA, I just never really heard of this technique before.

I know the case Zoomania is speaking of. It's amazing they ever solved any cromes before computers.

It WAS very odd that certain things like the mag light appeared to be wiped clean. Even the batteries. One would expect Ramsey prints to be on surfaces of objects such as that, since it belonged to them and was in the house.

 

I think the mag light was determined to belong to the Ramseys. Well, more or less. The answer was somethng like "John Andrew gave us one that looked like that for Christmas a few years ago" but "I don't remember."

Personally,I think it was what caused the head injury.

 

In Chapter 33 " The Murderer - Death of Innocence" John Ramsey talks about a "black mag-light type of flashlight being found on the kitchen counter."

There is no mention in the Ramsey book that this was their own flashlight, but I do remember Sabrina's statement that they did have a flashlight given to them with the famous "I don't remember" statement from both of them.

N.B. This was the only mention in the ACandyRose index. I know there is a lot of flashlight data in other books and documents.