Hidden Evidence

by Owen, David

• ISBN13: 9781552094839
• ISBN10: 1552094839
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd

Summary

Hidden Evidence takes you to the scenes of 40 infamous crimes and into the heart of the forensic investigations. These are the true crime shockers that have grabbed headlines and aroused public passions. David Owen explains the scientific procedures that helped crack every one of these cases -- from the gathering of elusive physical clues to the examination of weapons and bodies, to the use of sophisticated scientific analysis.Threaded throughout the book is the history of forensic science and the technologies that support it, including: fingerprinting, autopsies, handwriting analysis, ballistics, hair sampling, blood typing, DNA testing, dental records, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, compound and electron microscopes, and toxicology.The high-profile cases David Owen used to illustrate forensic developments are from as early as 1775, when Paul Revere used dentures to identify a slain soldier, to the latest developments in the Oklahoma bombing. Most will be familiar to readers, such as: The Lindbergh Kidnapping, Pan Am Flight 103, The Kennedy Investigation, The Hitler Diaries, Wayne Williams, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey MacDonald, Dr. Josef Mengele, Robert Maxwell's suicide, Tsar Nicholas II, and The World Trade Center bombing.David Owen presents the facts, steering clear of speculation. Comprehensive in scope, thoroughly researched and expertly compiled, Hidden Evidence is, in the words of former Los Angeles County Coroner Thomas T. Noguchi, "a fascinating book ... [and] an excellent mini-encyclopedia of widely discussed, high-profile cases."

Author Biography

David Owen, a graduate in engineering, moved from the aerospace industry into scientific writing and journalism. His works include publications on military deception and air accident investigations plus radio and television documentaries on electronic intelligence and computer crime.

Thomas T. Noguchi, M.D. was Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles, where he was involved in the investigations of the deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, Sharon Tate and Janis Joplin. He is Professor Emeritus of Forensic Pathology at the University of Southern California.

Kathy Reichs is author of the best-selling murder mysteries "D+¬j+á Dead" and Death du Jour. She is forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaries et de M+¬decine l+¬gale, Qu+¬bec. She is also on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences

Table of Contents

Foreword	6	(8)
Preface	8	(1)
The Trail of the Ripper	9	(3)
SECTION ONE INTRODUCTION
In the Beginning	12	(14)
On the Scene	26	(18)
A Question of Identity	44	(18)
SECTION TWO WEAPONS OF THE CRIMINAL
Pure Poison	62	(18)
Knives and Blunt Instruments	80	(8)
Strangulation and Suffocation	88	(12)
Drowning and Burning	100	(10)
The Smoking Gun	110	(20)
Fire and Explosives	130	(16)
SECTION THREE UNMASKING THE CRIMINAL
Frauds and Forgeries	146	(14)
Fingerprints and Footprints	160	(14)
Trace Elements	174	(14)
Blood	188	(12)
DNA: the Ultimate Identifier?	200	(18)
The Future for Forensic Science	218	(18)
Glossary	236	(2)
Index	238	(2)
Bibliography and Acknowledgments	240