midwestern association of forensic scientists … newsletters/winter 2013 combined.pdf · email:...

NEWSLETTER MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC SCIENTISTS

VOLUME 42 NUMBER 1 “A PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION”

2013

Anne Gierlowski, Member-at-Large Michigan State Police Crime Lab 42800 Merrill Rd. Sterling heights, MI 48314 Voice: (586) 726-6709 Fax: (586) 726-6661 Email: [email protected]

Susan Gross, Newsletter Editor Minnesota BCA 1430 Maryland Avenue East St. Paul, MN 55106 Voice: 651-793-2900 Fax: 651-793-2887 E-mail: [email protected]

Paul Hermsen, Secretary Iowa Division of Criminal Invest. 2240 Ankeny Blvd Ankeny, IA 50023-9093 Voice: (515) 725-1500 Fax: (515) 725-1520 Email: [email protected]

Lee Bender, Treasurer MAFS Treasurer Lee Bender P.O. Box 87 Seven Valleys, PA 17360 Voice: (717) 825-5367 Email: [email protected]

John Chester, Member-at-Large Indiana State Police Crime Lab 550 West 16th Street, Suite C Indianapolis, IN 46202 Voice: (317) 921-5396 Fax: (317) 921-5626 E-mail: [email protected]

Malinda Spangler, Member-at-Large Johnson County Crime Lab 6000 Lamar Mission, KS 66202 Voice: (913) 826-3270 E-mail: [email protected]

2012-2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Todd Welch, Past-President Michigan State Police Crime Lab 7320 N. Canal Rd Lansing, MI 48913 Voice: (517) 322-6100 Fax: (517) 322-6124 Email: [email protected]

Will Randle, President-Elect Missouri State Highway Patrol 1510 E. Elm Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 Voice: (573) 526-6134 Fax: (573) 751-9922 Email: [email protected]

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Brian Hoey, President Missouri State Highway Patrol 1510 E. Elm Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 Voice: (573) 526-6134 Fax: (573) 751-9922 Email: [email protected]

MAFS NEWSLETTER WINTER 2013 PAGE 1

The MAFS NEWSLETTER is the official publication of the MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FOREN-SIC SCIENTISTS, INC. (USPS# 023345) It is pub-lished four times per year in the months of January, April, July, and October. Deadlines for submissions are the first of the month before publication (Dec. 1st, March 1st, June 1st, and Sept. 1st). The MAFS news-letter is published quarterly by the Midwestern Asso-ciation of Forensic Scientists, 1430 Maryland Avenue East, St. Paul, MN 55106. Membership and mailing list records are maintained at 1430 Maryland Avenue East, St. Paul, MN 55106. Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rate is held at St. Paul, MN, Jefferson City, MO, Fulton, MO and other additional offices. Inclusion of a manuscript or advertisement in the MAFS NEWSLETTER in no way represents an endorsement or recommendation of any part of that article by the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, Inc. Contributing authors assume total responsibility for the contents and technical accu-racy of their submissions. Submissions for the newsletter should be made in the form of Microsoft Word compatible files. Files should be sent to the Newsletter Editor via email or CD. An accompanying hard copy of the file should be submitted along with the disk to illustrate the author’s preference for special emphasis.

EDITOR’S ADDRESS: Susan Gross MN BCA 1430 Maryland Avenue E. St. Paul, MN 55106 Voice: 651-793-2900 Fax: 651-793-2901 E-mail: [email protected] NEXT DEADLINE:

March 1st POSTMASTER Please send address changes to: MAFS Treasurer Lee Bender P.O. Box 87 Seven Valleys, PA 17360 Email: [email protected] MEMBERSHIP CHAIRPERSON: Will Randle Missouri State Highway Patrol 1510 E. Elm Street Jefferson City, MO 65101 Voice: (573) 526-6134 Fax: (573) 751-9922 Email: [email protected]

Table of Contents

Editor’s Message 2 President’s Message 3 Electronic Comm. Report 4 New Members 5 Treasurer Report 6 T & E Committee Report 7 ABC report 8 Meet the Membership 9 2013 Fall Meeting Hotel Info 10 2013 Fall Meeting Workshops 11 Section Notes Biology 12 Tox 13 Crime Scene 14 Trace 15 Drug Chemistry 16 Latent Prints 17 Firearms 18 2012 Fall Board Mtg Minutes 19 2012 Fall Meeting Summary 24 MAFS 2012 Memories 25 MAFS 2012 Workshop Photos 26 Fall Meeting Abstracts 34 Fall Business Meeting Minutes 49 Bloodspatter Training 53 Upcoming Meetings/Training 54 Job Opportunities 57 Ed Rhodes Scholarship 59 Membership Forms 60

MEMBERS—please send your CHANGE OF ADDRESS

to the Treasurer, Lee Bender!!!!!!!!!!!

MAFS Treasurer Lee Bender PO Box 87

Seven Valleys, PA 17360


Editor’s message...

Dear Members As you read this, the New Year will be upon us. As the quote above says, each new year will bring with it new opportunities and challenges. We should embrace them as we should embrace change! Often times easier said than done!! I think the older we get, the harder it is to change. But often times after we have accepted the change—we do find it well worth it! Speaking of change—this is my last year as Newsletter Editor—it has been a very rewarding and fun experience. Interested in getting more involved in MAFS? Maybe you want the fun of compiling the Newsletter together??!! Now is your opportunity to take on this new challenge!! Contact Todd Welch, the Nominating Committee Chair! Any great New Year’s Resolutions out there? I think one of mine will be short editorials! So here goes... And this issue’s joke comes from www.jupiterscientific.org: What is the chemical formula for candy? Carbon-Holmium-Cobalt-Lanthanum-Tellurium or CHoCoLaTe

Until spring!

fâx

Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New

Year will bring new opportunities. ~ Michael Josephson


As I sit down to compose my first message as president I am confounded by the conflagration of thoughts run-ning through my mind. I am so honored to have been given the trust of this position by the membership and colleagues. I am mindful of the forty men and women that have come before me. And above all, I am mindful of the meaning MAFS holds and the special place it has in the hearts of its members. I can only hope to be as good of a steward as those that have come before me. The objectives of this Association are clear and have been well documented by my predecessors in past Presi-dents messages, so I would like to focus on just the first words of the objects that are codified in Section 1B of our Bylaws. Encourage, Stimulate and Promote. Of course our by-laws capture the mission of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists and use these verbs to guide our collective principles in the Forensic Sciences; however, we can use these words to guide our everyday lives on the bench, doing the cases, communicating with our peers and testifying in court. I am old enough to remember being taught in school the phrase "sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me". Today my children are being taught the exact opposite, "sticks and stone may break my bones but words can really hurt me". Generally this is an anti-bullying campaign to point out that words can be hurtful, but it does have immeasurable implications in our adult lives as well. Where the "sticks and stones" quote focuses on how words can be negative, we often forget how powerful they can also be. Think of how good you feel when a supervisor or lab director tells you how good of a job you are doing. Perhaps the same words of encouragement to a peer would have a similar effect coming from you. A kind word of encouragement may stimulate or promote more case output or better quality. The words encourage, stimulate and promote are positive words that mean assist, help, excite, energize and motivate. If we encourage one another, are excited about what we do, assist or help our fellow scientist and motivate one another at the individual level, we will most certainly be successful as an association. The poem 'The Builders' By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow begins with the lines: All are architects of Fate, Working in these walls of Time; Some with massive deeds and great, Some with ornaments of rhyme. And in closing states Build today, then, strong and sure, With a firm and ample base; And ascending and secure Shall tomorrow find its place. We all are architects of fate; and the association that we build today, with a firm and ample base, will secure an ascending MAFS for to-morrow. In closing I want to thank all of the members of the association who have put their trust in my leadership for the next year. The Board of Directors and I look forward to working with you and look forward to a very productive year.


Electronic Communications Committee Report

Submitted by John Chester, co-chair

The Electronic Communications Committee is in the process of updating the website database

of our 1100+ members. This will be used to help send out dues notices and emails only to your specific forensic discipline.

A few regional and national forensic organizations have been contacted in an attempt to estab-

lish procedures for future advertising on MAFS.net. Several different options are currently being con-sidered. If you would like to receive email notifications when a post is made on the MAFS forum in your specific forensic discipline, click on the red “Sign Up” button on the MAFS homepage. On behalf of The Electronic Communications Committee I would like to welcome Angelo Bommarito to the committee and thank him in advance for helping out in maintaining the MAFS web-site.

All of the MAFS newsletters from 2003-present have been added to the Member’s Only sec-tion. If you haven’t already, please go to http://www.mafs.net and login to the Member’s Only sec-tion. If you experience any problems using the website, please use the “Contact Us” feature and some-one from the Electronic Communications Committee will contact you.


Membership Level Last Name First Name

Applying for Regular Callanan Ashley

Applying for Associate Campbell Jessica

Applying for Associate Davis Christel

Applying for Regular DeStaercke Benjamin

Applying for Associate Feldenkris Emily

Applying for Regular Groeblinghoff Kyra

Applying for Regular Hellquist Kirsten

Applying for Associate Hinton Nicole

Applying for Regular Kell Lisa

Applying for Associate Kester‐Florin Sara

Applying for Associate Kleine Nicholas

Promoting to Regular Kreikemeier Melissa

Applying for Associate Kulp Malorie

Applying for Associate Kuntz Stephanie

Applying for Regular LaCava Jennifer

Applying for Regular Latcham Shena

Applying for Regular Loren Melissa

Applying for Regular Massiello Autumn

Applying for Regular Miller Emily

Applying for Regular Nelson Laura

Applying for Associate Ozanick Sarah

Applying for Associate Picard Christine

Applying for Associate Pruneski Lindsey

Applying for Associate Rasmussen Amber

Applying for Regular Roller Robert

Applying for Regular Sager Tyler

Applying for Regular Santora Noel

Applying for Associate Schepeler Logan

Applying for Regular Schmidt Carrie

Applying for Associate Sears Cara

Applying for Regular Smith Shiao‐Mei

Applying for Associate Stevenson Aimee

Promoting to Regular Wagner Melanie

Applying for Associate Williams Thomas

Membership Level Last Name First Name

Applying for Associate Zakowski Cheryl

Applying for Regular Ziegler Carey

Applying for Associate Bugeja Monica

Applying for Associate DeCrans Roberta

Applying for Regular Dodds Abbegayle

Applying for Regular Flentye Kristin

Applying for Associate Hollabaugh Cedric

Applying for Regular Horine Stephanie

Applying for Regular Klontz Kara

Applying for Regular Koppenhaver David

Applying for Associate Macomber Meggan

Applying for Associate Malloure Lisa

Applying for Associate Olson Cassandra

Applying for Associate Orlowski Sandy

Applying for Regular Ryder Jeffrey

Applying for Associate Sinkuler Courtney

Applying for Associate Stang Katherine

Applying for Regular Tanner Joseph

Applying for Regular Detwiler Khody

Promotion to Regular Goff Mark

Applying for Regular Kramer Steve

Applying for Regular Pasternak Damion

Applying for Associate Hobson Michael

Applying for Regular Ray Tracey

Promoting to Regular Forbers Celeste

Applying for Regular Schwenk Lisa

Applying for Regular Dake Jeffrey

Applying for Regular Brinsko Kelly

Applying for Regular Wright Diana

Applying for Associate Groves Ethan

Applying for Regular Nytes Brendan

Applying for Regular Wise Carrie

Applying for Associate White Katie

Applying for Regular Herb Jennifer

Promoting to Emeritus Ballard Troy

Promoting to Emeritus Panhorst Frederick

New Members and Member Level Changes voted on at the Fall Business Meeting.

Congratulations and welcome new members!!


TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 23‐7132860

MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, INC. “A PROFESSIONAL SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION”

TREASURER REPORT-DECEMBER 2012

Current Assets Checking/Savings Capital One $64,655.15 MAFS ING account $25,840.67 Total Assets: $90,495.82 This report does not include any profits from the Milwaukee 2012 meeting, but, as you can see, financially we are doing well. I have sent out the 2013 invoices via email so if you did not get yours please contact me at [email protected] and I will re-send it or mail it through the ‘snail mail’. But, as always, our biggest asset is our membership. Thank you all for your continued support for MAFS!

Leanora Bender MAFS Treasurer


Training and Education Committee Report Hello MAFS Members, The Training and Education Committee will be gearing up to work on more workshop opportunities for the membership in the Spring/Summer, as well as working with the Fall Meeting Workshop Coordinators for the next few years. We hope to provide additional successful and valuable training. Your input can help us ensure that we are meeting the needs of all our members so please don’t hesitate to contact my-self or other members of the committee with your ideas! Workshop update:

Possible excavation school in May 2013, 2-2 ½ days with the Michigan State University Anthropol-

ogy Department; contact Jen Dillon if interested or look for more details in upcoming newsletters or on the website

Possible shooting reconstruction class- email the T/E Chair if interested Possible ABC prep workshop in Spring or Summer- email the T/E Chair if interested

Visiting Scientist update- who wants to volunteer for this great, expenses paid opportunity PLUS bonus incentive?

Funds up to $1000 were approved to be used at a future MAFS sponsored meeting and/or workshop within 2 years to the Visiting Scientist instructor- excellent opportunity to help your fellow MAFS members and enrich your own training experience!

Plus, MAFS pays for your travel, lodging, and per diem if you volunteer!

Three outstanding requests for Visiting Scientists- drug derivatization, trace FTIR for paint, and microspectrophotometry data interpretation/comparison, possibly to include bringing instrument online after relocation and system upgrade please contact me or a member of the committee if you are interested in participating as an instructor for any of these requests [update: the trace FTIR request may be filled in Spring 2013]

An additional request is currently being reviewed by the committee- look for details in an upcoming

email notification

Remember, please contact a committee member or myself with suggestions for future workshops or if you would like to host a Spring/Summer workshop. Hope everyone has a fabulous holiday season! Respectfully Submitted, T/E Chair- Danielle Hankinson [email protected]


Opportunities to take the ABC exams coming up! Exam date: Application Deadline: Location: February 20, 2013 January 3, 2013 AAFS Meeting Washington Marriott Wardman Park Washington, DC February 25, 2013 January 10, 2013 Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab Los Angeles, CA

Please submit a Request for ABC Examination Seat form (available at www.criminalistics.com/app_process.cfm) with the appropriate sitting fee to: ABC Registrar, P.O. Box 1358, Palmetto, FL 34220 Good luck to all test takers!

Kristin McDonald, F-ABC

[email protected] 651-793-2875

Completely useless but interesting facts

A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off.

FROM: www.world‐english.org/facts.htm


Submitted by Will Randle, Membership Chair

Kevin Brewer

Johnson County Crime Laboratory, Kansas Specialty area(s): Biology and DNA How long as a forensic scientist?: 16 years. Family: Married to Debra for 19 years. Daughter Kaylee is in college and daughter Krista is in high school.

Hobbies: Exercise/running, reading, and watching B rated movies on Netflix

I became a forensic scientist because: There is no better way of using a college education in biology

If I wasn't a forensic scientist I would be: Running a Zombie Survival School

Mentors: Reena Roy

Something people don't know about me: I am the second born fraternal twin, and my mother didn’t know she was carrying twins.

Ryan Campbell

St. Louis County Crime Laboratory, Missouri

Discipline/Specialty Area: Chemistry (Drugs/Clan Labs/Fire Debris) How Long as a Forensic Scientist: 12 years Family: Wife, Lisa, and our dog Alpine (a very large Great Pyrenees) Hobbies: Photography, Hiking, Snow Skiing, Scuba Div-ing, anything that involves outdoors and traveling. I became a forensic scientist because: I feel that it is great opportunity to serve my community every day. I also like the many aspects of the job (benchwork, testifying, teaching in the community, problem solving). If I was not a forensic scientist I would be: National Geo-graphic Photographer preferably underwater. Check out the work of David Doubilet and Brian Skerry. Mentors: Will Randle gave me an old MAFS Newsletter when I was at Mizzou. This was my first window into Foren-sics. Brandy Likes, Brooke Ehlers, Hailey Newton, David Koppenhaver, Bryan Hampton and Brian Krey are all great people and are always excellent resources. Something people don’t know about me: I collect WWII flight gear, and I have a couple of flight helmets mounted on foam heads in my home office. My wife thinks they are a little creepy.

Mike Auten

Nebraska State Patrol Crime Laboratory

Specialty area(s): Trace including Fire Debris

How long as a forensic scientist?: 39 years.

Family: Jan, 2 sons – Doug & Matt, 3 granddaughters – Broklyn 5, Emily 3 & Riley 1 ½.

Hobbies: Computer programming in Visual Basic and Agilent macros for Arson Analysis I became a forensic scientist because: I ran into the Lab Director & Trace Chemist for the NSP Crime Lab at a Perkin-Elmer trade show in Omaha and I was looking for a job.

If I wasn't a forensic scientist I would be: In a Chemistry related job somewhere. Mentors: Dietrich, he was my supervisor in Trace Evi-dence and eventual lab director at NSP Something people don't know about me: The statute of limitations has not run out on some things and as for the rest if I did tell you I would have to _____ .


42nd Annual Fall MAFS Meeting September 29 – October 4, 2013

Dayton, Ohio

Workshops Drugs/Toxicology Current Drug Trends/Updates FTIR Interpretation Organic Chemistry Refresher BS about LC/MS/MS Trace Wood Identification Vehicle Lamps Crime Scene Explosive Recognition (off‐site) Weapons of Mass Destruction Quality/Management Bias in Forensic Science Measurement Uncertainty Process Mapping Bridging the Generation Gap Biology/DNA Biological Screening Advanced DNA Interpretation Latent Prints Distortion Prints Questioned Documents TBA Advanced DNA/Trace Symposium “Who Gets It First?”

More workshops are in the early stages of development. Stay tuned for updated information!!!!


Biology Note Greetings from Indianapolis: My name is Julie and I am your new Biology Section Coordinator. I would like to thank Brian Hoey for this opportunity to serve MAFS. I have been with the Indiana State Police Laboratory since February 2005 as a nuclear DNA/serology casework analyst. I would like to also thank the meeting planners and coordinators for a very successful fall meeting in Milwau-kee. I had fun, and I hope you did too. Of course now it is time to start thinking about papers, posters, and roundtable discussion topics for the 2013 meeting in Dayton. There are no spring workshops currently planned, but feel free to pass along ideas for future meetings and workshops. Have you visited the new website? The Electronic Communications Committee has done a wonderful job of overhauling and adding new information. Please log in to the Member’s Only section and ensure your infor-mation is correct and you have selected biology as your primary section to receive email notifications informa-tion. Most processes are now paperless as well. The new forum is also up and running; this is now outside of the Member’s Only section to encourage all to participate in discussions. This is an excellent area to post questions or interesting/challenging situations you have come across in casework, training, or validations. Have a wonderful holiday season! Julie Mauer Biology Section Coordinator [email protected]


Good Day! I hope you all enjoyed the fall meeting in Milwaukee and are anxiously awaiting the next Annual Meeting in Dayton, Ohio. I have agreed to stay on as your Toxicology Section Coordinator for yet another year. As such, I would en-courage you all to send in any interesting cases or information that might benefit us all in the field. I would be happy to include them in this newsletter to help get the word out to everyone. Thinking along those lines, are there any topics you would like to suggest for the Annual 2013 MAFS meeting? They are well underway with their planning, but it’s not too late to send me your suggestions. We can always use your ideas and put them on the table for this meeting or another training opportunity. Happy Holidays! Sara Schreiber, FTS-ABFT Toxicology Section Coordinator Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory Milwaukee, Wisconsin 414-382-7500 [email protected]


To my fellow CSI’ers! I am honored and humbled to take the reins of the section from Jennifer Dillon! She has done a magnanimous job getting the roots of the CSI section to take hold and our section continues to grow. She has left big shoes to fill, but as I physically wear a size 17, I guess I have a head start in filling them. My name is Ryan Rezzelle and I am the Crime Scene Investigation Supervisor with the Johnson County Sher-iff’s Office Criminalistics Laboratory, located in Olathe, KS, within the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. I started my career over 12 years ago with the Kansas City, MO Police Department, as a Crime Scene Techni-cian and I joined the Sheriff’s Office in 2008 as the Section Supervisor. Through the years, I have seen and done many things, some wonderful, some terrible; but in my journey I have relished in being a part of the evo-lution and modernization of Crime Scene Investigation. At the outset of my career as a C.S.I., our industry was in the midst of a critical transition (thanks in part to the Hollywood-ization of our “glamorous” profession). Crime Scene Investigation was then and continues to come into its own as a unique discipline of the Forensic Sciences. In fact, I go so far to argue that a truly ef-fective Crime Scene Investigator, is evolving into more of a Crime Scene Scientist. The title Crime Scene Sci-entist is one that may be deemed more appropriate for all those in engaged in C.S.I. within a few years time thanks to the NAS report, ASCLD-LAB, and various recommendations for certification quickly becoming re-quirements for practice within C.S.I.. I am fortunate, along with my fellow lab-mates, to have just moved into a new crime lab facility here in John-son County, Kansas. If any of you are ever in town, please drop me a line and I’ll give you a tour (and brag a bit, for it is glorious J!). In the 6-months since our opening, many groups have toured our facility, some of which have been led by our Laboratory Director, Gary Howell. Director Howell always makes it clear with these groups that our C.S.I. section is a stand-alone discipline within our lab, under the umbrella of our ASCLD-LAB International accreditation and he follows that intro with this question: “Why should sound fo-rensic science begin at the front door to the crime lab?” Director Howell is exactly correct in this line of thinking. We, as those engaged in crime scene investigations, need not operate under the paradigm of “what I see, the lab shall get.” We need to approach crime scenes with our thoughts towards all evidence types, both apparent and latent. We must be knowledgeable about all labo-ratory techniques, of the lab for which we work and beyond. We have a responsibility to stay current in all facets of forensics, to foster experimentation with novel methods and verification and validation of those that are tried and true, and to ensure we are in the best position to be successful in our quest for evidence based truths. I look forward to sharing an adventure with you and I encourage you to write me with your thoughts and ideas pertaining to C.S.I.. I hope to find an on-line venue in which we can engage one-and-other in support and discussion, so please be on the lookout for more communiqués from me. Respectfully, Ryan M. Rezzelle Crime Scene Section Coordinator [email protected]


Trace Notes

Greetings Trace Evidence from all the way down here in Georgia, I am excited to be your Trace Section Coordinator for another year. This year I want all of you to help me with a theme. It is something that is important in my laboratory and should be in each and every one of your labs as well. This topic is coordination with the DNA/Serology Branch to ensure that we both work together. This topic has become a hot button topic in my laboratory as both the Trace Branch and DNA Branch work together in the ever improving field of DNA/Serology. We have to come to grips with the ultra-sensitivity that can now be achieved by DNA testing. DNA analysts are now work-ing with detection limits of the sub-picogram level. For illustration purposes, one nucleated cell contains approximately six pictograms of DNA. The coordinators of the 2013 MAFS Fall Meeting have asked me to host a workshop on this topic. I have asked Ms. Danielle Hankinson to co-host with me as the DNA side. It will be a symposium sort of workshop in which I envision experienced examiners from both Trace and DNA coming together to share how the two branches work together. We as Trace Evidence Examiners need to have a good working knowledge of DNA practices so that we can anticipate and prevent as many areas of contamination as is possible. DNA analysts, on the other hand, need to know how we as Trace Evidence Examiners work our magic so they can be more aware of all the possible analyses we perform. Keep up the great work and let’s make Dayton the best trace meeting ever! In the mean time, start thinking about what specific areas you would like addressed in this Trace/DNA Workshop. Ms. Hankinson and I are still in the organizing phase and welcome input as to what sort of topics would be preferred by the membership. Feel free to call or email me anytime with your com-ments, concern, or suggestions for this workshop. This newsletter I found a picture which begs the question: How many forensic scientists does it take to screw in a light bulb? Maybe just two….one to screw it in and a second to make sure it’s repeatable. Then you need a quality manager to make sure it followed an ISO guideline, a techni-cal leader to sign off that it is technically accurate, and an administrative reviewer to make sure there are none gram-mar mistakes (like how I threw that in there?). Looking forward to seeing everyone in Dayton!

J. Matney Wyatt Trace Section Coordinator


Drug Chemistry Greetings Fellow Drug Chemists, Welcome to 2013! What does the drug world have in store for us this year? Only time will tell. New drugs are entering the market faster than we can validate standards. Additionally, legislators are controlling new compounds just as quickly; sometimes consulting us and sometimes not. How is your lab handling these changes? I ask that each of you take a moment to reflect on your Standard Operating Procedures and ask yourself some questions. Why do you do things the way you do? In particular, focus on your pro-cedures for validating primary drug standards and making a positive identification. If the answer is, “Because we’ve always done it this way,” then dig a little deeper to find out why. The reason for this exercise stems from responses that I’ve heard while inquiring how other labora-tories validate standards. Some have commented that they use spectra from Forendex or other sources outside of published peer-reviewed articles. At least one person commented, that since the same spectra is found in multiple sources (i.e. Forendex, CLIC posts, SWGDRUG library) that it must be right. Let’s not turn into the woman on the State Farm commercial who believed everything on the inter-net was true. (If you haven’t seen it, check it out on YouTube by searching “State Farm- State of Disbelief (French Model)”!) The sources just mentioned were created to be tools. The spectra posted may not be confirmed, and they may not be peer reviewed. Yes, it is frustrating to find that your analysis has hit a roadblock when you do not have the research to support your identification. However, lax standards on what constitutes valid reference materials is a slippery slope that we as drug chemists should not head down. Unfortunately for us, the clandestine drug community generates new compounds faster than we can identify them. However, with sound scientific research and literature we, as drug chemists, can up-hold the integrity of our field; which, after all, is more important than just getting a case out the door. A post on this subject has been started on the MAFS Chemistry Forum. Feel free to comment on this topic with questions, concerns, or opinions. Bonjour! Jillian Baker Chemistry Section Coordinator DuPage County Forensic Science Center [email protected] 630-407-2103


Dear Fellow LPE’s, I hope this letter has found you all well and that you have enjoyed your holiday season with family. I have been talking to you about the Latent Print Examination and Human Factors publication recently. I wish to digress a bit and talk about a defense attorney conference I attended recently. I once worked for the state public defender’s office as a criminal defense investigator so I am aware that there are some misunder-standings about the crime lab. I also view that position very similar to the position I now have in the way I approach my work. Whatever the result on any given case, it is what it is. I sat and listened to the two speakers, one who described ACE-V as nothing more than the “five D’s of Dodgeball…dodge, dive, duck, dip and dodge…” If you’ve seen the movie Dodgeball…who is laughing now? A lot of what was discussed was aimed at those of us in Wisconsin (although originally…this course was de-veloped after a local attorney attended the national public defender conference in California), but some things to be aware of is that attorneys are paying close attention to whether or not a latent print examiner is certified. It was something they viewed like passing the bar for attorneys but also realized that it is not man-datory so you are taking that extra step and showing initiative in doing so. They know that there are stan-dards that you are held to when you attain certification and that it can be stripped from you as well. If you aren’t certified, they were told to ask how long you have been an examiner and why haven’t you taken the exam yet. The attorneys were encouraged to request full discovery of our notes to see exactly what we did and ques-tion it all. I even had a defendant who was pro se in federal court this past week make me go through my notes line by line explaining every single detail and abbreviation. In fact even he asked me about ACE-V. In the end, I felt that they only truly understood a part of what we do, they were still going to try and attack us as best they could. The positive note was that, at least in WI, Daubert challenges have not been as suc-cessful as they thought it would be. Attorneys were warned that if they do it too many times, judges become irritated and it may backfire on them. More often they are doing Daubert challenges on paper (like asking for CV’s, relying on affidavits, briefs and articles). I hope to see you all of you at the next MAFS conference. Sincerely, Julie Avila


FIREARMS

“Act of Terror” A month of shootings in Michigan Metro Michigan recently had a shooter that was causing havoc along the I‐96 and M‐52 routes in the southeast portion of the lower peninsula. In all, 24 shootings were documented along these roadways. The shooter’s MO was to drive along the highways and M‐routes and fire at passing motorists. These incidents started in the city of Wixom on 16 October 2012. The shooting spree started when a man was taking out the trash. He “felt the sensation that a bullet flew past the top of his head”. By the end of the day, up to five motorists reported that they had been fired upon in the area. So began the “Act of Terror, “as one Prosecutor stated. A Sherriff was quoted stat‐ing that this was “domestic terrorism”. The shootings continued all the way to 27 October 2012, where two more motorists reported being shot at. Thankfully, only one person was hit. A man who was shot in the left buttock, on his way to the Detroit Tiger World series. Unfortunately they lost, but he has a “trophy” as that bullet was not recovered from the effected area. Michigan State Troopers, Sheriff Deputies, Special Agents from the FBI and ATF were mobi‐lized (with over 70 personnel assigned) to begin a task force to stop the shootings as this inci‐dent greatly affected the daily lives of residents of four counties in southeast Michigan. This joint cooperative effort with the support of the Forensic Laboratories of the Michigan State Police and Oakland county Sherriff Department eventually linked some of the shootings through the evidence. The federal agencies then issued a $102,000 reward for the information leading to the shoot‐ers arrest. Over 2,800 tips began to roll in. These tips eventually resulted in developing a sus‐pect and he was arrested on 5 November 2012. No more shootings have been reported since. The suspect was arraigned in two different courts so far with 36 felony charges, and has a $2,000,000 bond! A case well done. D/Sgt. Rob Rayer, Firearms


I. CALL TO ORDER President Todd Welch called the meeting to order at 8:05AM on September 23, 2012 and welcomed everyone. The following Board Members were pre-sent: Past President Paul Bush, President-Elect Brian Hoey, Secretary Guy Nutter, Newsletter Editor Sue Gross, Treasurer Leanora Bender, Member-At-Large Danielle Hankinson, Member-At-Large Malinda Spangler and Member-At-Large John Chester. Also present at the meeting were incoming President-Elect Will Randle and incoming Secretary Paul Hermsen. II. SECRETARY’S REPORT Presented by Secretary Guy Nutter (Secretary’s written report available). The Secretary has undertaken the following activities since the Spring 2012 Board Meeting: Prepared and published the 2012 Spring Board Meeting Minutes in the Sum-mer 2012 MAFS Newsletter. The following email motions and discussions were recorded: On 5/3/2012, a motion was made by Lee Bender for the State of Michigan to host the 2015 MAFS Fall Meeting. The motion carried. On 6/5/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund Joe Oberlin of Four Eyes Media Solutions the second half of the payment for the new MAFS website ($900). The motion carried. Email discussions about the ABC Prep Workshop. On 6/6/2012, a motion was made by Lee Bender to go forward with the ABC Prep Workshop as described in the proposal (proposal submitted by T&E Chair Danielle Hankinson, proposal available for review). The motion carried. On 6/8/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund Joe Oberlin (Four Eyes Media Solutions) half of his quote for the proposed changes/upgrades to the MAFS website ($525). The motion carried. On 6/20/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to pay Adobe Business Catalyst $793.20 for hosting the new MAFS website for the next two years. The motion carried. Email discussion regarding the survey to the Membership concerning Ad-ministrative Rules and By-Laws changes. On 7/18/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund the second half of the website upgrades ($525). The motion carried. On 8/15/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund Silver Digital Media $3000 to provide video services for the 2012 Fall Meeting. The motion carried A motion was made by Danielle Hankinson to accept the Secretary’s Re-port; second by Malinda Spangler; motion carried. III. TREASURER’S REPORT Presented by Treasurer Leanora Bender (Treasurer’s written report avail-able). The financial report shows MAFS in good standing with the following finances: Total Income: $89,846.07 Total Expenses: $76,272.63 Net Income: $13,573.44 Additional finances available to the Association:

MAFS Checking Account: $83,806.77 MAFS ING Savings Account: $25,840.67 Many one-time expenses occurred this year such as upgrading the website and videotaping the Fall Meeting. A motion was made by Guy Nutter to accept the Treasurer’s Report; second by John Chester; motion carried IV. NEWSLETTER EDITOR’S REPORT Presented by Editor Sue Gross (Newsletter Editor’s written report available). Four sets of Newsletters have been published since the Fall 2011 BOD Meeting:

Fall 2011 Newsletters: 891 Winter 2012 Newsletters: 993 Spring 2012 Newsletters: 973 Summer 2012 Newsletters: 1006 A motion was made by Lee Bender to accept the Newsletter

Editor’s Report; second by Paul Bush; motion carried

V. COMMITTEE REPORTS A. Audit Committee Presented by Chair Malinda Spangler (Chair’s written report available). Nothing new to report, so report from the Spring Board of Director’s Meet-

ing was resubmitted. B. Electronic Communications/Newsletter Presented by Co-Chair John Chester (Chair’s written report available). The new website has been launched and is getting good reviews. New fea-

tures include: • New MAFS Forum is available in the “Member’s Only” section

and members (and nonmembers) can sign up to receive email notifications if any posts have been made to their discipline(s).

• Members can now update their personal information on the web-site which will also update this information on the MAFS Official Roster

• MAFS Membership applications can be completed and submit-ted online

• Payment for annual dues and workshops can now be made through PayPal using the online payment page

• Please contact the Chair for any news updates, announcements and employment opportunities to be posted on the website

• Forms were created for the 2012 Fall Meeting so that people could register for the meeting and special events online

• An online form is available for award nominations • Employment opportunities can be submitted online and posted

on the website The Board discussed issues with the Treasurer being bombarded with a lot

of notifications any time Members make any slight changes to contact information.

MAFS Board of Director’s elections may be held on the website in the fu-

ture, but the current method of using Big Pulse seems to work very well. The Committee would like to extend a thanks to Joe Oberlin and Eric Martin

from Four Eyes Media Solutions for their hard work on constructing the new MAFS website.

Discussion about getting updated photos of all Board of Director members,

Committee Chairs and Section Coordinators. President Welch thanked the Chair and his committee for their hard work in

updating the new website.

2012 FALL BOARD MEETING MINUTES

September 23, 2012 Milwaukee, WI


C. Membership Committee Presented by Chair Brian Hoey (Chair’s written report available). As of September 13, 2012, the Committee received, reviewed and approved

applications for the following categories: Students: 35 Emeritus: 2 (Troy Ballard and Fred Panhorst) As of July 1, 2012, the committee received applications for individuals

applying for: Associate Member: 31 Regular Member: 35 Promotion to Regular Member: 4 There were an equal number of applicants for Associate Membership in

2012 as there was in 2011. There was a 52% increase in Regular Mem-bership applicants in 2012. There were decreases in the number of promotions to Regular member (from 19 in 2011 to 4 in 2012) and Emeritus (from 9 in 2011 to 2 in 2012).

The Section Coordinator from Biology did not review the applications and

did not respond when inquiries were made so two of the Membership Committee Members that work in Biology evaluated and approved those new Members applying to this section.

All application were approved accept one General Section applicant (Dr.

Thomas Spudich, Maryville University). His sponsors were not MAFS Members. Members of the General Section were forwarded to him, but he did not respond.

Two Applicants (Mark Goff and Kristin Flentye) were left off the Commit-

tee Report in the Summer Newsletter due to minor discrepancies. The names of these two applicants were posted at the 2012 Fall Meeting with all of the other Applicants for review by the Membership and will still be voted on at the 2012 Fall Business Meeting.

Online submissions for membership seem to work well but need a few slight

changes. This year’s applications were digitized by Malena Jimenez (with a checklist

to make sure applicants met all requirements) which made it much easier to incorporate all of the Committee Members to participate in the review process.

D. Nominating Committee Presented by Chair Paul Bush (Chair’s written report available). On 7/5/2012 ballots were emailed out with a deadline of 8/3/2012. Emailed

ballots were sent and compiled utilizing web-based service “BigPulse”. Mailed ballots were sent by US Postal Service.

Initially, 767 ballots were emailed to voting Members. 36 of the emailed ballots were returned.

• 10 of these had the email address corrected and resent out • 12 Members with no email addresses were sent paper ballots by

US Mail (sent 7/11/2012) • The remaining 14 members could not be contacted

Thirteen Members without email addresses on file were sent paper ballots by

US Mail. An email reminder was sent out via Big Pulse on 8/1/2012. 371 email votes (48%) and 7 US Mail votes (28%) were received. Online and US Mail ballots were counted on 8/6/2012 by Paul Bush, Mike

Schmit and Amanda Kilgore (Paul Hermsen was a candidate so he was removed from participation in the counting process).

One US Mail ballot was not signed and was therefore deemed invalid.

Election Results of voting were as follows: President: Will Randle (371) Secretary: Paul Hermsen (125) Kristine Olsson (120) Danielle Hankinson (94) Lori Bruski (39) Members-at-Large: Anne Gierlowski (186) Katie Igowsky (108) Abigail Graham (83) E. Research Committee Presented by President Todd Welch (Chair’s written report available). No current research submissions. F. Training and Education Committee

Presented by Chair Danielle Hankinson. (Chair’s written report avail-able). Several workshops are being considered and discussed by the Commit-

tee: • Excavation Workshop at Michigan State University • Shooting Reconstruction at Johnson County Sheriff Office • ABC Prep Workshop – possibly a recurring workshop each year • Trace/DNA Symposium at 2013 Fall Meeting (Mat Wyatt and

Danielle Hankinson) MFRC collaborations are on hold due to loss of funding. The Committee is open to any suggestions from the Membership, so please

contact the Chair with suggestions.

There are still pending requests for Visiting Scientists. Advanced DNA Mixture Interpretation held in conjunction with MAAFS

was a success and very well received. Eight MAFS Members attended this workshop.

The ABC Prep Workshop was also a success and well received with 21

people attending the workshop. Board discussed possibly having the ABC Prep Workshop at the Fall Meet-

ing. G. Administrative Rules/By-Laws Committee Presented by President Todd Welch for Chair Kristi Evans (Chair’s written

report available). No current changes to Administrative Rules and By-Laws being proposed. The Committed compiled a survey regarding membership status of Educa-

tors, Doctors, Lawyers and Crime Scene Technicians. The surveys were sent out to voting Members and Associate Members with the MAFS Elections via Big Pulse. 880 total surveys were sent out. 36% of the surveys were returned by MAFS Members.

H. Awards Committee Presented by President Todd Welch for Chair Scott Hummel. (Chair’s writ-

ten report available). Nominations were received and selected for the following awards:

• Distinguished Service: Jay Siegel (IUPUI) • Outstanding Scientist: Dave Green (Lake County Crime Lab,

OH) • New Scientist: Brandon Good (Michigan State Police – North-

ville Laboratory) The Collegiate Student Development Fund was awarded to Jacqueline

Judy (Winona State University) for research titled “Development of Footwear Impressions Deposited on Various Surfaces with Blood”. Professional Development Funds were awarded as follows:

• Lisa Hansen (Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension Forensic Science Laboratory) “Examinations and Methods Used to


Verify that Alterations Were Made to a Once Authentic Jordanian Birth Certificate”

• Susan Gross (Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension Forensic Sci-ence Laboratory) “Some Sticky Situations – Sticky as in Duct Tape! Part I and II”

• Larry Olson (IRS National Forensic Laboratory) “A Crosscut Shredded Document Case Made Easier – Predicting Where the Pieces Go”

The Board discussed the awards and the amount for the monetary award to

be included with the plaque. A motion was made by Malinda Spangler to approve the award and mone-

tary payment of $100 to Brandon Good for the New Scientist Award; seconded by Sue Gross; motion carried.

A motion was made by Lee Bender to approve the award and monetary pay-

ment of $100 to Dave Green for the Outstanding Scientist Award; sec-onded by John Chester; motion carried.

A motion was made by Brian Hoey to approve the award and monetary pay-

ment of $100 to Jay Siegel for the Distinguished Service Award; sec-onded by Guy Nutter; motion carried.

I. Certification Committee Presented by President Todd Welch for Chair Kristin McDonald. (Chair’s

written report available). The Board of Directors and Examination Committee for the ABC met on

September 15, 2012 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Plans for updating ABC Manual of Policies and Procedures for: clarifica-

tion/simplification and preparation for ISO 17024 accreditation Plan to investigate revamping and modernizing the ABC website. Recertification credits were discussed and finalized regarding certification

credits for online courses. Online courses will be reviewed and recerti-fication points will be assigned by the Board.

The 2011 and 2012 Ed Rhodes Scholarships were awarded to Danielle Han-

kinson and Kimberly Hall respectively. The next ABC Board Meeting will be held in February 2012 in Washington

D.C. in conjunction with the AAFS Meeting. J. Ethics Committee Presented by President Todd Welch for Chair Cheryl Lozen (Chair’s written

report available). No current ethics complaints were reported. The ethics complaint process and procedures were re-examined by the Eth-

ics Committee. This review with input from the Board of Directors was completed and the adapted procedure is available. Some sections will need to be reviewed by an attorney before being finalized.

The Committee requested funds by allocated by the Board to pay an attorney

to review some of the sections. K. Historian/Librarian Presented by President Todd Welch for Historian Angela Nealand

(Historian’s written report available). No requests for records in the Historian’s possession were made. Docu-

ments are in good order and time has been set aside for maintenance. Electronic storage will be the next step in organizing.

L. Fall Meeting Planning Committee Presented by President Todd Welch for Chair Cheryl Lozen(Chair’s written

report available). The Committee met on March 3, 2012. They discussed what format the

manual should be in and decided to break it up into meeting planning topics with checklists for those responsible for each topic. A master timeline was also created.

Various topics were assigned to Committee Members. Remaining goals of the Committee:

• To complete, update and maintain a fall meeting manual • Be point of contact, mentor and reference for fall meeting plan-

ners • Keep past and present documentation pertaining to meetings for

reference materials • Be point of contact for meeting planners during their meeting • Standardize forms, letters, etc. to pass along to meeting planners

Recommendation to the Board: A Committee Meeting in the Spring to final-

ize the main content and work on standardized forms/letters. A motion was made by Lee Bender to accept all committee reports; second

by Paul Bush; motion carried. VI. MEETING REPORTS A. 2012 Wisconsin - Milwaukee A written report was received from the Meeting Planners and is available.

Report presented by the President Todd Welch. There will be 24 workshops spanning 7 disciplines that will be attended by

280 scientists. 220 individuals registered for the Plenary Session and Meeting. There will be Two plenary speakers, 45 presenters and 11 posters. A Student Forum will be held with 20 students registered. 38 vendors will be set up in the Exhibitors Area. B. 2013 Ohio – Dayton A written report was received from the Meeting Planners and is available.

Report presented by President Todd Welch. The meeting will be held at the Dayton Marriott with room rates locked in at $99/night (rooms can be booked starting 10/25/2012). This rate also applies 3 days before and after the meeting.

Several workshops confirmed:

• Wood Identification (Mike Trimpe) – 1 day • Vehicle Lamps (Richard Dinehart) – 2 day • Explosive Recognition for Crime Scene and Clan lab – 1 day

(off site, Mike Grimes) • Process Mapping Introduction (MFRC) – 1 day • Biology Screening (Dale Laux) – 3 day • Advanced Symposium – Trace and DNA “Who Gets It First?” –

1 day • FTIR Interpretation (Agilent) – 1 day • Bridging the Generation Gap (Wright State University) – ½ day

Several other workshops are in the planning stages. Theme will be “A Twist on Forensic Science” with a 50’s / 60’s Sock Hop

Gala at an off-site location. Vendor fee will be held at $850. The Meeting Planners have submitted a request for seed money to open a

bank account. C. 2014 Minnesota – St. Paul, Combined Meeting (MAAFS & ASTEE) A written report was received from the meeting committee and is available.

Report presented by President Todd Welch. Meeting dates set for October 5 – October 10 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in St.

Paul, MN. D. 2015 – Michigan Planning is underway but site yet to be determined. Possible locations are

Mackinac Island, Traverse City and Grand Rapids. Jennifer Dillon will


serve as the Program Chair and Mark Goff as the Local Arrangements Chair.

E. 2016 – Missouri - Branson A letter was received from the Missouri State Highway Patrol requesting the

opportunity to host the 2016 meeting. The Hilton of Branson at the Landing will be the location of the meeting.

VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Survey to the Membership Regarding Administrative Rules and By-

Laws Changes The Board of Directors discussed the survey questions and results. The

survey and results will be posted in the 2012 Fall Newsletter. The re-sults from the survey will be utilized by the Board and the Administra-tive Rules and By-Laws Committee to draft changes to the Administra-tive Rules and By-Laws to be presented to the Membership in the near future.

B. Video Taping Service at 2011 Fall Meeting Silver Digital Media will be at the Fall Meeting 9/25 through 9/28 to video

tape the Business Meeting, Wine and Cheese with the Exhibitors, Regis-tration Area, Past President’s Reception and Gala. Larry Olson will escort/assist Silver Digital Media with the videotaping service. The cost of this service was $3000 (which is half of their normal rate for this service).

C. Ethics Changes The updated Ethics Complaint procedure was provided to the Board. Sev-

eral areas need to be reviewed by an attorney. Larry Olson will deter-mine costs to hire an attorney and submit a request to the Board for approval.

D. Creation of the “Karen S. Runyon” Endowment Fund for QD Train-

ees This endowment fund will be called “Karen S. Runyon Scholarship Fund”.

The scholarships will be to assist funding trainees to become QD Exam-iners.

Scholarships will be awarded based on the following criteria:

• The recipient must have an undergraduate degree • The recipient must apply and be accepted for membership in the

Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists or already a member

• The recipient must live in the MAFS region OR be approved by the Committee

• The recipient must be training in an accepted private or govern-ment laboratory as determined by the Committee

• The recipient must be in the application process for the Ameri-can Board of Forensic Document Examiners or the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners

The MAFS Board of Directors and the QD Scholarship Committee will

oversee this fund. This fund will be under the MAFS 501C Non-Profit status so contributions will be tax deductible. No payouts will be made from this fund until it has reached a balance of $25,000.00.

The QD Scholarship Committee will research the creation and maintenance

of this fund further. E. Credit Card Information The Board discussed this issue (payments for dues, meeting/workshop regis-

trations, etc.) and the Treasurer will investigate it further to determine the best course of action.

F. MAFS Student Forum A student forum will be held on Wednesday (9/26) from 6 – 7 PM in the

Regency Room. This forum will consist of a panel of MAFS Members

from all of the sections to answer questions from students attending the meeting.

VIII. NEW BUSINESS A. Request to Host 2016 Fall Meeting A motion was made by Lee Bender to accept the Missouri State Highway

Patrol offer to host the 2016 Fall Meeting; seconded by John Chester; motion carried.

B. Linked Advertisements for the Website There is space available on the MAFS website that could be utilized for

advertisements. John Chester will consult with other organizations to get estimates for the potential fees to charge for these advertisements. For tax purposes, there may be some tax code associated with this ad-vertising and should be considered.

C. Retention Agreement The Patterson Law Firm provided documentation detailing the scope and

fees for the review of the Ethics Complaint Procedure (letter available for review, 7 pages).

D. STaCS DNA Advertisement STaCSDNA approached Brian Hoey about writing a paper in regards to

going paperless. His agency approved the letter. Brian was unaware this was going to be published in their ad in the MAFS Newsletter. It was his understanding it was just going to be referenced in a card that STaCSDNA would be handing out that would reference Brian’s paper. This paper was meant to provide clarification about going paperless and was not meant as an endorsement for STaCSDNA. Brian will ask STaCSDNA to remove his name from the advertisement and only in-clude the reference to the paper.

E. Rights of Published Materials in the MAFS Newsletter Mat Wyatt requested information about reprinting photos from the MAFS

Newsletter. Is it required to get MAFS permission or the submitter of the photograph? Our Newsletter is not under copyright, so permission is not required. Reprints of articles can be provided for a fee of $25.

F. Website – Change from .net to .com There was no interest from the Board in making this change. G. Research Funding Proposal A research proposal was submitted by Sarah Walbridge-Jones from the

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension entitled “Evidence To-wards Identification of Shoe Impressions Based on Class Characteristics and Wear of the Same Shoe Design Style”. The amount requested for the research was $1000. The Research Committee recommended fund-ing this request. The Board agreed with funding this request.

A motion was made by Danielle Hankinson to fund up to $1000 for the

submitted research project by Sarah Walbridge-Jones entitled “Evidence Towards Identification of Shoe Impressions Based on Class Characteristics and Wear of the Same Shoe Design Style”; seconded by Lee Bender; motion carried.

H. Donation to Milwaukee Charitable Organization ($500) This year’s $500 donation will be made to the Midwest Athletes Against

Childhood Cancer, Inc. I. Collegiate Student Development Fund / Fall Meeting Planning Manual Clarification is needed and may need to be added to the Fall Meeting Plan-

ning Manual about which account funds should be taken to cover the student’s expenses (MAFS general account or the Fall Meeting ac-count).


Student may not be able to put costs on credit card and be reim-bursed later

Possible solution would be to have the meeting planners cover the lodging

and meeting registration and the MAFS Treasurer will cover the travel and per diem.

J. Seed Money for the 2013 Fall Meeting A motion was made by Malinda Spangler to provide $5000 seed money to

the 2013 Fall Meeting planners; seconded by John Chester; motion carried

K. Motion to Destroy Ballots A motion was made by Paul Bush to destroy the ballots from the 2012

MAFS Board of Director’s elections; seconded by Lee Bender; motion carried

L. Approval of New Members A motion was made by Brian Hoey to approve memberships for the new

Student Affiliates (35), Associate Members (31), Regular Members (35) and promotion to Regular Membership (4); seconded by Guy Nutter; motion carried

M. Future Funding

i. President attending AAFS Meeting A motion was made by Sue Gross to approve funding for President Brian

Hoey for up to travel, transportation, registration, three nights lodging and four days per diem to attend the 2013 AAFS Meeting; seconded by Paul Bush; Motion carried

ii. 2012 ABC Reps attending AAFS Meeting A motion was made by Brian Hoey to approve funding for up to travel,

transportation, two nights lodging and three days per diem (less the stipend from ABC) to attend the ABC Board Meeting at the 2013 AAFS Meeting; seconded by Lee Bender; Motion carried

iii. Internet Access

A motion was made by Danielle Hankinson to approve funding for one year

internet access for the Treasurer, Newsletter Editor and Webmas-ter up to $720/each; seconded by Malinda Spangler; Motion carried

iv. Spring Committee Meetings

A motion was made by Malinda Spangler to approve funding for up to;

travel, meeting costs, 2 nights lodging, and 3 days per diem for the Training and Education Committee meeting, The Audit Committee Meeting, Fall Meeting Planning Committee Meeting; seconded by Danielle Hankinson; Motion carried

v. Spring Board Meeting

A motion was made by Malinda Spangler to approve funding for up to;

travel, meeting costs, 2 nights lodging and 3 days per diem for the 2013 Spring Board of Director’s Meeting (site to be determined); seconded by John Chester; motion carried

vi. Tax Preparation

A motion was made by Sue Gross to approve funding for payment up to

$1500 for MAFS taxes to be prepared for FY 2012; seconded by Danielle Hankinson; motion carried

IX. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Sue Gross to adjourn the Fall 2012 MAFS Board of Directors Meeting; seconded by Lee Bender; motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 3:02PM on September 23, 2011.

Todd Welch, President

Guy Nutter, Secretary


MAFS Fall Meeting 2012 Summary

It’s hard to believe after all the planning and organizing and of course, stressing that the 2012 MAFS meeting has come and gone. First, we are forever grateful to all of our volunteers that helped to make the meeting a success, thank you! We would also like to thank all of the attendees who participated in our Milwaukee meeting. We sincerely hope that each of you had a great educational experience while also getting a chance to interact with your peers in the forensic community. By all appearances, the meeting was a great success! There were 230 meeting attendees with an additional 70 workshop only attendees. In keeping with MAFS commitment to education, the week started off with 24 dif-ferent workshops spanning seven disciplines, including management. All of the workshops received favorable reviews. Thank you to all of the instructors for providing us with an excellent educational experience. The meeting also included 45 presenters in the scientific sessions and 11 poster presentations. A special thanks to the attendees who imparted valuable information with their presentations. The plenary speakers, Steven D. Benjamin and Brian L. Peterson, M.D., were not only educational but captivating with their presentations, “So you Think You Can Testify” and “Surviving the High Profile Case”. New to the meeting this year was the student forum. The forum included the participation of eight current fo-rensic scientists from different forensic disciplines and more than 20 students from 11 different colleges and universities throughout the Midwest. We received many favorable comments on the forum. Additionally, we were able to utilize student volunteers from the University of Wisconsin Platteville to help during the meeting. And finally, we would like to thank the 38 vendors that participated and helped to sponsor our meeting through donations, workshops, and presentations. This sponsorship was important to the success of our meeting. Although the Fall meeting account has not been closed yet, the meeting is in the black financially. We antici-pate completing our finances by the end of the year. Respectfully submitted,

Sandy Koresch and Chiara Wuensch 2012 Fall Meeting Chairs


New in 2012—Student Forum The student forum gave students a chance to learn more about what it really means to be a forensic scien‐tist, advice on how to get a job and tips on their resume.

Meeting Planners Chiara Wuensh and Sandy Koresch with President

Todd Welch MAFS 2012

Registration

Wine & Cheese with the Vendors

Hospitality


Challenging Signatures Wednesday September 26, 2012

Courtroom Testimony—A Defense Perspective Wednesday September 26, 2012

Courtroom Demeanor for Latent Print Examiners Wednesday September 26, 2012

MAFS 2012 Fall Workshops


Daubert Workshop for Footwear and Tire Evidence Wednesday September 26, 2012

Drug Symposium Monday & Tuesday September 24—25, 2012

Documenting ACE‐V in Bench Notes Tuesday September 25, 2012



Examination of Facsimile Copies Wednesday September 26, 2012

Fast GC and Hydrogen Mobile Phase Conversion Wednesday September 26, 2012

Familial DNA Searching Wednesday September 26, 2012



Footwear Comparisons—Challenging Impressions Tuesday September 25, 2012

Leadership is not Management Monday September 24, 2012

Forensic DNA Mixture Interpretation Tuesday September 25, 2012



Microscopical Examination of Some Modern Eco‐friendly Fibers Tuesday September 25, 2012

Photographing and Casting Footwear Impressions at the Scene Monday September 24, 2012

Pharmacology of Synthetic Cannabinoids Wednesday September 26, 2012



Promega’s YSTR Analysis Seminar

Scientific Writing for Dummies and Smarties Too Monday September 24, 2012

Reasoning and Methodology in Bloodstain Analysis Wednesday September 26, 2012



Write On 2.0 Tuesday September 25, 2012

The Analysis of Low Explosives Monday September 24, 2012

Testimony for DNA Analysts—A Prosecutor’s Perspective Monday September 24, 2012



Paid advertisement

MEMBERS Please send your

CHANGE OF ADDRESS to the Treasurer, Lee Bender!!!!

MAFS Treasurer Lee Bender PO Box 87

Seven Valleys, PA 17360


Biology Paper Abstracts

Cold Cases, Missing person, and NamUs NIJ Programs and Successes Chuck Heurich, Program Manager - National Institute of Justice, Washington, DC

When people think of NIJ, they think of the Research and Development, DNA Backlog Reduction, and Paul Coverdell grant pro-grams but, since 2005 NIJ has been able to develop other grant programs to assist in solving violent cold cases and missing persons cases. Along the way, many high profile cases have been resolved with the help of NIJ funding. This funding has also been instru-mental in the development and execution of the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, NamUs. This presentation will discuss the development of these programs, their current status, and several success stories. The 21st Century Laboratory: The Challenge of Going Paperless Tim Stacy, Director - U.S. Sales, Forensics, STaCS DNA Brian Hoey - Missouri State Highway Patrol

The goal of this presentation is to examine the benefits and challenges of attaining the paperless DNA laboratory. This presentation will impact the forensic science community by presenting the progress DNA labs in the US have made in their efforts to reduce their dependence on paper, the process a laboratory can use to determine the highest value processes to migrate to paperless and the role of software systems in saving a lab money while maintaining or even improving performance levels on their path to paperless.

With the advent of computers, scanners and increasingly shrinking storage devices, we have felt the need to eliminate paper from our lives. Where it is virtually impossible to eliminate paper completely, it is reasonable to plan to reduce paper from the process. Labo-ratories can successfully balance paper and paperless. A laboratory should endeavor to understand where it is the most appropriate, efficient and cost-effective to migrate to paperless. The laboratory must seek to understand where the value is for them and not predicate their decisions on what others have done or what they perceive to be a paperless-path.

This presentation will examine the levels and degrees of being paperless of several laboratories. DNA laboratories have a wide range of goals with regards to becoming paperless. Some have developed their own software or spreadsheets while others have im-plemented a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) and DNA processing software, which they may have customized to meet their requirements. These solutions are designed to create and store informatics effec-tively; however it is still up to the laboratory to decide how efficient and cost-effective they want to be. Labs often look at the initial cost of a software solution and balk at the price without analyzing the total cost. Metrics must be captured to understand the invest-ment in current processes so that the potential savings resulting from migrating to a LIMS can be quantified. The removal of steps which provide questionable value can lead to significant savings in salary-hour alone. A case study will be presented describing the use of DNA processing software and its effect on DNA laboratories in achieving a desired level of paperless.

It is possible for a DNA lab to achieve its desired degree of paperless and many labs are experiencing success. Instrument mainte-nance, quality control testing, and sample processing are all tracked using software. This eliminates the need for paper log forms. As samples move through the lab, the processes and scenarios are tracked and recorded. An audit trail is associated with each sample. These audit trails can be assembled into reports. The information is maintained in the software and can be recalled at any time. DNA labs can have a complete 360° solution that eliminates the need for printing. Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Heteroplasmy in Human Hair from Twins Using Probe Arrays and Next-Generation Se-quencing Amy Yam, BS1,2*, Sarah Stuart, BS1, and Cassandra D. Calloway, PhD1 1Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA 2 Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is useful in forensic cases where nuclear DNA is limited. However, the biological phenomenon of heteroplasmy and its variable presentation in different tissues may give ambiguous results. This project analyzed the frequency of heteroplasmy across hair, buccal and blood specimens in twins at mtDNA mutation hotspots (i.e. 16093, 189, 523/524) using a mul-tiplex PCR and probe panel. 150 shed hair specimens were analyzed from 30 female Caucasian twins that had exhibited hetero-plasmy in buccal and/or blood samples. It was found that in individuals who demonstrated 523/524 heteroplasmy in blood and/or buccal samples, 100% of the hair samples were heteroplasmic, displaying complete conservation of heteroplasmic frequencies across tissues. However, in individuals who demonstrated 16093 heteroplasmy in blood and/or buccal samples, only 64% of the hair sam-ples were heteroplasmic; 36% of the hair samples exhibited complete homoplasmic shifts using a probe based linear array assay (5-10% detection limit). Using a more sensitive next-generation sequencing assay (1% detection limit), heteroplasmy was detected in blood samples and a subset of hair samples previously undetected by the less sensitive methods (probe array and Sanger sequencing) at position 16093. Because the heteroplasmic frequency may vary extensively among tissues in an individual, the type of tissue should be taken into consideration when interpreting mtDNA typing results as well as method of analysis. We show that next-generation sequencing is a more sensitive, quantitative method for detecting heteroplasmy compared to standard methods and has the potential to improve detection and resolution of mixtures often encountered in forensic samples.


Development of a "Global" STR Multiplex for Human Identification Analysis April Orbison* - Life Technologies, Foster City, CA Dennis Wang, Julio Mulero, Siddhita Gopinath, Matthew Ludeman,Wilma Norona, Lisa Calandro, and Lori Hennessy

National DNA databases are one of the most efficient and effective tools to provide intelligence about unknown perpetrators in criminal investigations. Due to its overwhelming success in solving crimes, governments around the world have implemented an ongoing expansion of DNA databases. For examples, the European community expanded their set of standard loci in 2008 and the CODIS Core Loci Working Group have published recommendations to expand the CODIS core loci set in the United States in 2011. In addition to the DNA database expansion, countries are attempting to establish a legal basis for exchanging DNA database profiles between countries in criminal investigations.

Life Technologies is responding to these initiatives by developing a new generation of STR chemistry that incorporates as many of the loci utilized in different DNA databases as possible into a single amplification reaction. This “Global” STR multiplex is larger and more discriminating. It can reduce the likelihood of adventitious matches, increase international compatibility and improve dis-crimination power to assist missing person cases. The “Global” STR multiplex concept features two kits, one optimized for case-work samples and the other for database applications while sharing the same configuration. The new chemistries will enable un-precedented capabilities in terms of robustness, concordance and overall ability to recover information from forensic samples. Some key features are expanded allelic ladders at certain loci to assist genotyping of rare alleles, inclusion of the DYS391 marker to pro-vide gender confirmation in amelogenin Y-deficient males, and the addition of extra primers to reduce rare instances of false homo-zygosity. The Recovery of DNA from Gun Casings Using the Automate Express DNA Extraction System Katie Roche, MSFS - Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

In response to current literature articles and a court case in Ramsey County, MN in which a defense expert testified to the recovery of DNA from cartridge cases, the current method of processing fired and unfired cartridges and cases was re-evaluated. Currently at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, few cartridges and/or cases are swabbed in the Biology Section, most are forwarded to the Latent Prints Section for further processing and no DNA testing is performed. After using the AutoMate Express DNA Extraction System to extract swabs from the entire cartridge and/or case, along with the Minfiler amplification kit, a significant number of com-parable profiles were obtained. A Novel, Universal DNA-based Method for Full Sibship Detection of Flies for Inferring Postmortem Movement of a Corpse Christine J. Picard, Ph.D - Department of Biology, Indiana University – Purdue University

Powerful genetic methods exist for inferring relatedness, unfortunately most of them require extensive genomic knowledge of the species of interest and are therefore only available for a minuscule fraction of the earth’s biota. Amplified fragment length polymor-phisms (AFLP) are capable of generating hundreds of polymorphic loci in the absence of such sequence information. These complex genotypes can be used to estimate relationships between individuals, and can be used for across all taxonomic groups, and in this case, Phormia regina, one of the most commonly encountered forensic flies. This study generated AFLP genotypes for 4 different sets of full siblings (a total of 60 full siblings) of P. regina, as well as a large number of unrelated P. regina individuals, to obtain distributions of relatedness coefficients. Values obtained were in agreement with theoretical values (full sibs: R=0.5, unrelated: R=0), and a likelihood ratio test was done in order to differentiate between full siblings and non-relatives. Ranges of likelihoods for the two competing hypotheses (full siblings vs. unrelated) were generated. Based on the resulting probability distributions, two indi-viduals are 100X more likely to be full siblings if a value of R>0.36 is obtained. I report herein a test based on an empirically gener-ated data of full siblings and known unrelated individuals to distinguish between full siblings and non-relatives. An applied use of such a test would be in the event of possible postmortem movement of a corpse with larvae detected in a location other than the loca-tion the body was found. The detection of full siblings between individuals of the same age class would tie the two locations to-gether. Estimating Genetic Ancestry Using SNP Analysis Camilla Green* - Sorenson Forensics, Salt Lake City, Utah Jason Bryan, BS, Marc Bauchet, Ph.D., Victoria Vance, MS, Dan Hellwig, MFS, Lars Mouritsen, BS

The utilization of many worldwide DNA databases, such as CODIS, can be an essential tool in modern criminal investigations. Un-fortunately, when an evidentiary DNA profile does not provide a viable suspect subsequent to a database search, the investigator may be left with little forensic direction. The use of ancestral testing can be a potential option to obtain additional information regarding the donor of DNA left at a crime scene. However, there are limitations to ancestry testing due to the potential that a person’s overall ancestry may be wrongly assumed with the use of haplogroups. To assist in these critical situations, Sorenson Forensics developed Investigative LEAD℠; a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based DNA test designed to estimate genetic ancestry against a model of 5 genetically distinct, putative parental populations. The populations and the reference samples representing them are as follows: Western European (HapMap CEU, Northwest European descent residing in Utah), West Sub-Saharan African (HapMap YRI, Yoruba from Ibadan, Nigeria), East Asian (HapMap CHB from Beijing, China), Indigenous American (Compilation of samples identified as being from populations indigenous to North, Central, and South America including Maya, Pima, Karitiana, Surui, and


Arawak descent), and the India Subcontinent (HapMap GIH, Gujarati Indian descent residing in Houston, TX). Our method uses 190 SNP Ancestry Informative Markers (AIMs) chosen from their scored ability to specifically differentiate between the 5 reference populations using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) as the comparative analysis tool and includes some markers identified as informative in previous genetic ancestry estimation publications. The method uses fluorescence-based polymerase chain reaction reagents to provide qualitative detection of targets using post-PCR endpoint analysis. As a modified approach to standard genotyp-ing, this system miniaturizes the reactions down to 33 nanoliters for cost efficiency and high throughput. Using the program FRAPPE and uniquely designed algorithms, the method compares an unknown individual sample to at least a hundred randomly selected subsets of individuals from the reference populations. Background interference is calculated simultaneously and is used to estimate confidence intervals based on a calibration that was effected using thousands of worldwide individuals. The effects of in-hibitors, species specificity, sensitivity, and a comparison of extraction methods from the developmental validation will be presented to demonstrate that the test is robust and viable for the forensic sample types frequently encountered in criminal investigations. The test is capable of providing valuable information regarding the genetic ancestry of the donor of crime scene DNA evidence, which can subsequently aid in reducing a pool of suspects in the investigation. Initial Investigation of the Erase Sperm Isolation Kit Sarah Ozanick, Ph.D*, Nicole Hinton, M.S., Stephanie Kuntz, M.S., and Gretchen DeGroot, M.S. Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory – Milwaukee

The Erase Sperm Isolation Kit from PTC Laboratories is a differential extraction system that uses a nuclease to selectivity degrade epithelial cell DNA prior to sperm cell lysis. This method reportedly provides single source male autosomal profiles from samples that would be expected to yield mixtures due to the presence of high concentrations of epithelial cell DNA. We have processed du-plicate samples using either the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory protocol for a differential extraction or the Erase Sperm Isolation Kit protocol. Substantial differences in the amount of DNA recovered and the profiles generated by the two methods will be pre-sented. Peak Emission Wavelengths of Luminol Reactions Mayna Muenchow - Ripon College, Wisconsin

The luminol chemiluminescence test that is generally used to detect the presence of blood has been found to also produce false posi-tive tests when reacted with several metal salt solutions. It was proposed by Terrance Quickenden that when luminol is mixed with colored salt solutions with absorption wavelengths in the visible range that the peak emission would be present at a different wave-length than that of luminol and hemoglobin. A luminol solution also containing sodium hydroxide was reacted with a 15 g/L hemo-globin solution the peak emission wavelength was found to be 431 nm. When the same luminol solution was tested with six different metal salt solutions combined with hydrogen peroxide, five of these solutions produced peak emissions at roughly the same wave-length. Potassium Ferricyanide produced a spectrum that showed evidence of color filtering with a λmax at 462 nm. This was con-firmed when concentrations of the iron solution with different absorption wavelengths were found to give λmax values at 462 nm, 450 nm, and 366 nm. A luminol solution containing sodium carbonate and sodium perborate was tested with the hemoglobin solution and an altering λmax was found at 450 nm. Microcon® DNA Fast Flow and Vivacon® 500 ETO filters: A Product Replacement Study Rebecca Ciske and Amy Buscher - Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Madison

In this study, EMD Millipore’s new Microcon® Centrifugal Filters DNA Fast Flow were compared against Vivaproduct’s 100K and 125K Molecular Weight Cut-off (MWCO) Vivacon® 500 filters to determine a suitable replacement for the discontinued Micro-con® Centrifugal Filters Ultracel® YM-100 filter. To make this determination, average quantitation values for four different sample types (blood, semen, saliva, and vaginal swabs) were compared. On average, the results showed the DNA Fast Flow filters recov-ered slightly more DNA than the Vivacon filters and were determined to be the best replacement product for our lab. How’s It Glowin? New Kits and Sperm Isolation Projects Using SPERM HY-LITER™ Karl Reich, Ph.D. - Independent Forensics, Lombard, Illinois

The analysis and processing of sexual assault evidence (SAE) takes advantage of the unique characteristics of spermatozoa including their unusual tadpole-like shape and their resistance to lysis by proteolysis. Despite these characteristics, the forensic processing of SAE is still time consuming, expensive, and less successful than most practitioners would want. Recently we have developed an im-munologically based stain for the identification of spermatozoa from sexual assault evidence, SPERM HY-LITER™. This method relies on the specificity of anti-sperm head monoclonal antibodies. This test has been validated by a number of forensic DNA labo-ratories and is in daily use in forensic laboratories all over the world.

More recently we have developed additional versions of this staining method which include a variation of the kit with faster staining time (SPERM HY-LITER™ EXPRESS), kits for laser capture microdissection and micromanipulator isolation of spermatozoa (SPERM HY-LITER™ PI), and most recently for the cell-sorter mediated isolation of spermatozoa. These methods have the capa-bility of supplanting and superseding the traditional differential extraction technique for the isolation of spermatozoa: this presenta-tion will describe these new kits and their use for the forensic isolation of spermatozoa from SAE.

Biology Paper Abstracts


How to Improve Sexual Assault Sample Analysis using Novel Tools: Differential Wash and Human:Male Quantification Matt Kramer – QIAGEN, Applied Testing, Central Region

Sexual assault samples pose particular challenges to the forensic laboratory. The analysis success rate of samples containing a tiny amount of the male contributor can be improved in different ways such as using an effective lysis and careful separation of the sperm and epithelial fractions or through the accurate quantification of the male and human DNA components or combining both methods.

Here we present effective solutions for such complex sample handlings. An automated differential separation and wash protocol for sexual assault samples on the QIAcube will be presented. This new protocol provides differential fraction separation and sperm pel-let lysis of up to 6 samples in 1 hour and up to 12 samples in 90 minutes with a highly reduced hands-on time. Moreover, the proto-col ensures standardized sample processing to reduce run-to-run variability and a high process safety thanks to reagent volume and plastics checks.

Moreover, we will introduce the first data to the novel human and male DNA quantification assay, the Investigator Quantiplex HYres Kit. It provides fast and accurate quantification of human and male DNA in forensic database and casework samples with a high sensitivity and high accuracy due to the newly identified autosomal multi-copy target 4NS1C and the multi-copy target on the Y-chromosome. The accurate estimation of the male:female DNA ratio in mixtures also helps in the selection of the optimal down-stream STR analysis. Moreover, detection of inhibitors is ensured by a balanced internal amplification control. This quality sensor is designed to show the presence of inhibitors without affecting the DNA quantification results. The Investigator Quantiplex HYres Kit utilizes a novel PCR fast-cycling technology and Scorpion primers that enable rapid results. Using the Rotor-Gene Q system, quanti-fication can be performed in 51 minutes.

Crime Scene/Latent Prints Abstracts

More Than Just Standards: NIST Law Enforcement Standards Office Forensic Science Program Update John Paul Jones II, Program Manager -National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST), Law Enforcement Standards Of-fice (OLES)

A recent survey revealed crime laboratory management is familiar with standard reference materials produced by the National Insti-tute of Standards and Technology (NIST), such as the Human DNA Quantitation Standard. Yet there is so much more activity tak-ing place on the NIST campus than standards creation. The Forensic Science Program (FSP) at the Law Enforcement Standards Of-fice (OLES) within NIST conducts and coordinates research and provides technical services to address the needs of the forensic sci-ence community. The FSP focuses on creating new material standards; initiating metrology research; evaluating technologies; and establishing expert working groups to facilitate knowledge exchange and identify best practices. These activities have been used to support forensic science disciplines such as: arson; digital and multimedia forensics; DNA; fingerprints; firearms and toolmarks; odontology; controlled and dangerous substances; toxicology and trace analysis. Topics that will be covered during this lecture in-clude:

· Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Latent Print Analysis · Personnel Selection Tool for Latent Prints · Expert Working Group on the Preservation of Biological Evidence · 3D Topography Correlations of Bullets and Casings · Photo scales and Forensic Photogrammetry · Computer Forensics · NIST OLES’s Research on the Scientific Working Groups

Deadly Doodle: How One Sketchy Sketch Led to Murder Kimberly Zebrowski - Michigan State Police, Sterling Heights

On Friday Nov. 12, 2010 in the small town of Yale, Michigan the parents of a seventeen year-old girl were brutally attacked with knives by two masked suspects. It was later revealed that the suspects not only knew the girl, but she was dating one of them. The story gets stranger when a hand drawn map is found only steps away from the home and it is titled “My House”. During this presen-tation you will relive the astonishing story of how one girl paid to have her parents killed and how she orchestrated the entire murder during youth group meetings and over text messages. Trace Evidence – The Bad Guys Still Don’t Know About It… Guy Nutter - Michigan State Police, Northville Forensic Laboratory

As the criminals get smarter (some of them), they can take precautions so they don’t leave latent prints and biology behind. But as Edmond Locard taught us all, there is much more that the criminals can’t control. This paper presentation will provide the audience with techniques of how to collect trace evidence and what they may want to collect from crime scenes; vehicles and autopsies on a regular basis to help their Trace Evidence Analysts back at the lab break the case. Topics to be discussed will include proper collec-tion and packaging of tape lifts, post-it note lifts, other trace evidence and collection of different types of known samples. Interesting case studies will also be presented to reinforce how trace evidence can be crucial to bringing a suspect to justice.


Crime Scene Collaboration Elaine Dougherty - Michigan State Police, Bridgeport

Flint, Michigan was the most violent city in the nation in 2011, according to FBI crime data. With a population of approximately 100,000 people and a police force of 122, Flint had over 60 homicides in 2011 and is on pace to beat that number this year. On July 1, a Major Case Detective Bureau was put into action, combining the resources of the Michigan State Police and the Flint Police De-partment. Progress of this team, along with pros, cons, and issues discovered, will be discussed. Introduction to Death Investigation: What the Body Can Tell Us Bill Wilson, Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, Chicago, IL

An unfortunate fact seen today is the breakdown of communication between the lab personnel and investigators, prosecutors, and evidence technicians, resulting in the lack of complete evidence analysis, meaningful conclusions, and solutions to cases. Before, the laboratory's goal was solving the crime and arresting the perpetrator, not reducing backlogs, getting cases out, and following SOPs to maintain accreditation. Emphasis in this presentation will be on using all available information (lab results, investigative leads, crime scene data, and photographs) to bring a case to a successful conclusion. The objective for government-employed forensic sci-entists today should be to support law enforcement personnel in their mission to solve a crime. Included in this presentation will be additional case studies that deal with crime scene documentation and reconstruction, combined with trace, plaster casts, bloodstain pattern analysis, and firearms identification. Bed Bugs at the Crime Scene and in the Forensic Laboratory Diana G. Johnson, M.S.* & Louis N. Sorkin, B.C.E. - Criminal Justice Department, University of Wisconsin, Platteville

The United States has seen a resurgence of bed bugs since the 1990’s, and they have become a well-established pest. Bed bugs can be found wherever humans frequent including, but not limited to, hotels, homes, apartments, offices, and public transportation. Con-sidering the ubiquitous status of this pest, it is logical to assume that emergency responders, crime scene investigators, evidence han-dlers, and forensic scientists could encounter bed bugs while performing their work duties. Such incidents have, in fact, been re-ported. Exposures often go undetected, however, increasing the risk of transporting bed bugs to the office or home and creating a new infestation. This presentation will review the biology of bed bugs and discuss the threat that bed bugs pose to these profession-als. The description of Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, often is described as a flat, wingless, reddish-brown, 5-10 mm long, insect. Unfortunately, this provides a not-so-perfect search image. The bed bug begins life in the egg stage and the pale-colored first stage nymph hatches. Bed bugs feed exclusively on warm vertebrate blood. There are 5 immature stages or nymphs and each one requires at least one blood feeding. Unfed bed bugs and those that have digested their blood meals are flat, but fed bed bugs are plump and are colored red to brown depending on digestion. 75% of a bed bug population is composed of extremely small, pale-colored, immature individuals that often escape detection until infestations increase. Suggestions for detection, preventative meas-ures and treatment options will also be offered. 2011 Sniper murder of Officer Craig Birkholz – Fond du Lac, WI Detective Lee Mikulec & Joe LeFevre - Fox Valley Technical College

Fond du Lac Police Officer Craig A. Birkholz, Badge #67, was responding to assist an offi-cer who had been shot while conducting an investigation on March 20, 2011. Shortly after his arrival on scene, the suspect fired numerous rounds with a large caliber weapon. Officer Birkholz, age 28, was shot in the chest and died as a result of injuries he sustained. Officer Craig Birkholz was survived by his wife Ashley, brother Paul and parents Bill and Gay. Officer Ryan Williams and his K9 Partner Grendel were also shot and recovered from their injuries. A total of five squad cars and two ambulances were damaged by gunfire. After a six-hour standoff, the 30-year-old suspect died at the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Fond du Lac Detective Lee Mikulec will discuss the events that unfolded that day and the crime scene that had to be processed both inside and outside the home on that tragic day. In addition to Detective Mikulec, Joe LeFevre from Fox Valley Technical College will be demonstrating the Leica 3D Scanner that was used to document this crime scene. Development of footwear impressions deposited on various surfaces with blood *Jacqueline Judya and J.F. Dor Kochb ,a Departments of Chemistry and Sociology: Criminal Justice, Winona State University, Winona, MN, b Chemistry Section-Trace Area, Forensic Science Service, Minnesota BCA Historically, many footwear examiners relied on methods used for processing bloodied fingerprints to enhance bloodied shoeprints. Little published research has been done regarding the enhancement of footwear impressions deposited in blood. Recent literature has highlighted optimal ways of chemically enhancing footwear impressions made in blood on fabric in a systematic manner. Those methods were emulated in this research and were expanded by adding further test surfaces and a depletion series for each test run.


Three different protein stains and one peroxidase reagent were used to enhance the footwear impressions. The protein stains were prepared using an ethanol based formulation to quantify if the effectiveness of using ethanol outweighs the safety risks of using methanol. The blood was applied to a shoe worn by the student researcher and the impressions were deposited onto various surface types, including vinyl and laminate flooring, cotton, and denim. The impressed surfaces were separated into specific groupings by color and/or porosity and processed with one of the four reagents, depending on the surface type. The processing was implemented with one of two application methods; one method utilizing a regular garden variety sprayer and the other method utilizing a Bluestar Ecospray® sprayer. The outcome of this research will be presented to supply further insight into optimal conditions for the enhance-ment of bloody footwear impressions on various surfaces.

Drug Chemistry Abstracts Review of a Research Project on Emerging Drugs of Abuse Jeremiah Morris - Johnson County (KS) Sheriff’s Office Criminalistics Laboratory

With the emergence of synthetic cannabinoids in 2009 and substituted cathinones in 2010, the number of drugs of abuse found in case submissions and found for sale by online vendors has exploded. This has caused a number of analytical problems for forensic drug chemists. This presentation reviews the work of a research project funded by the Midwest Forensics Resource Center which focuses on obtaining analytical data and reference standards for these emerging drugs of abuse. The presentation will review the problems faced by forensic drug chemists, the sources for research samples, analytical data obtained to this point, as well as methods for dissemination the data and possible methods of providing analytical standards to forensic drug laboratories. Differentiation Between Three Structurally Similar Indoles Bethany Poyner* & Jeremiah Morris - Johnson County (KS) Sheriff’s Office Criminalistics Laboratory

Two structurally similar indoles have recently emerged as potential drugs of abuse – alpha-methyltryptamine (aMT) and 5-(2-Aminopropyl)indole (5-IT). These two compounds are often sold by the same online vendor. 5-IT, aMT and a third compound, N-methyltryptamine (NMT), are close enough structurally that successful differentiation between the three is problematic in case sub-missions. Retention times and mass spectra for all three under standard GC/MS conditions are indistinguishable. An analytical ap-proach is proposed which successfully differentiates between these three structurally similar indoles. Detecting and Distinguishing 5-MeO-DIPT from Ropinirole in Wisconsin Drivers William Johnson* & Amy Miles - Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, Toxicology Section, Madison, WI

5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT, Foxy, Foxy Methoxy) is a tryptamine derivative, structurally similar to psilo-cybin and psilocin, used for its hallucinogenic effects. Acting as a 5-HT2 agonist, primary effects include dilated pupils, euphoria, hallucinations, visual and audio distortions, emotional distress, nausea and vomiting. Psychedelic effects occur 20 - 30 minutes fol-lowing a 6 - 20 mg oral dose. Peak effects following oral administration occur within 1 - 1.5 hours of use while duration of effects last from 3 - 6 hours, yielding an overall experience similar to LSD or psilocybin. Use via insufflation and smoking has been re-ported, but users note these routes require a larger dose to achieve the same effect as oral dosing. Users also report marijuana miti-gates the more intense visual and audio distortions of 5-MeO-DIPT. The compound was classified as Schedule I under the United States Controlled Substance Act in 2004 and is currently listed in Wisconsin's Restricted Controlled Substance (RCS) statute.

Structural similarities and nearly identical mass spectra shared between 5-MeO-DIPT and ropinirole (Requip) pose an analytical challenge and potential risk for misidentification. 5-MeO-DIPT was first flagged as an unknown at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) in an Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) blood specimen in July 2011. Further investigation narrowed the identification to either 5-MeO-DIPT or ropinirole, commonly used for Parkinson's disease and Restless Leg Syndrome. Synthetic Cannabinoids in Trace Evidence and Biological Samples by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Samantha Stegeman, MS* & Michael E. Caplis, PhD. - DABFT, Great Lakes Labs

Northwest Indiana (Lake and Porter Counties) is considered to be a major drug trafficking zone. Our region comprises one of the 28 designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA). HIDTA’s mission is to reduce drug trafficking in the most critical areas of the country, thereby reducing its impact in other areas. The local Drug Task Force Units and Law Enforcement Agencies submit-ted trace evidence (plant material) to Great Lakes Labs which forensic analysts were unable to identify. Due to increased usage and federal and state bans of synthetic cannabinoids, the demand for laboratory confirmatory testing has increased. Law Enforcement Agencies, Drug Task Force Units, Prosecutors, and Probation Departments requested identification and assistance. The staff had to overcome budget issues and develop a method utilizing instrumentation available on site which varied from that of published re-search. The laboratory staff developed a protocol identifying the synthetic cannabinoid(s) in confiscated plant material. This re-sulted in mostly AM2201 being identified using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). The isolation and identification of parent compounds in oral fluid and blood samples using GC/MS, was also possible by developing a suitable extraction method. The publication of Agilent Technologies Synthetic Cannabinoids Compendium was a valuable resource in the development of our methods.


Mitey Medicine: The Spider Mite Defense Kimberly Zebrowski* & Lauren Tenglin - Michigan State Police, Sterling Heights

In June of 2011, several teens broke into a Sterling Heights home and stole marihuana and money. A few days later the homeowner, Vincent Bosca, 46, convinced his teenage son to lure the teens back to his home. Bosca and some of his friends, also in their 40s, waited for the teens to break into the home a second time to bind and terrorize them. After a few hours the teens were released and the police were called. Bosca, a medical marihuana caregiver and patient, not only faced assault charges, but also was charged with manufacture or delivery of marihuana and maintaining a drug house. Prosecutors claimed that the amount of marihuana in Bosca’s home exceeded what he was allowed to have under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act. During this presentation you will learn the details of this case and how the defense attempted to use spider mites to relieve Bosca of the drug charges. Implementation of Fast Gas Chromatography Coupled with Hydrogen Mobile Phases in Drug Identification Charles R. Cornett1*, Leah Macans2, Chelsea Johnson1, Rebecca Hansen1, and Dirk Janssen2

1Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Platteville; 2Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory – Milwaukee

This presentation will cover the implementation of a fast gas chromatography (Fast GC) unit with hydrogen mobile phase in the Wis-consin State Crime Laboratory-Milwaukee. This project was funded through the Midwest Forensic Resource Center and included the conversion of a conventional GC to Fast GC. The project examined the chromatographic effects of the conversion as well as the use of hydrogen and assessed potential effects on the mass spectra by analyzing a library of twenty illicit drugs. Further work covered the validation needs of the new technology. Results will be presented. Benefits of the Parker Hannifin Hydrogen Generators Corky Belobraybich – Parker Hannifin Corporation

A presentation and discussion on the benefits, solutions, and types of hydrogen generators offered by Parker Hannifin. Parker Han-nifin manufactures and offers two distinct types of hydrogen generators depending on the use and needs of the end user. Hydrogen generators offered for both carrier and fuel gas applications will be discussed. Forensic Determination of a New 2-CI Analog, 2,5I-NBOMe Terée Warren - Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Milwaukee

Over the course of five months a series of suspected Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) cases were submitted to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory (WSCL) Controlled Substances Unit for analyses. This task in the Controlled Substances Unit (CSU) of the WSCL has become increasingly difficult due to the numerous suspected analogs appearing on the scene, seemingly all at once, re-quiring more research into each substance including finding literature references for spectral analyses. This paper focuses on the analysis of several cases in which there was little to no literature on the substance of interest. Basic Introduction to SMILES, InChI, and Literature Searching by Structure Dr. Raja Annamalai - University of Wisconsin, Platteville Chemistry

A very basic overview of SMILES and InChI will be given along with an introduction to the useful databases SciFinder and Reaxys. Raman Spectroscopy – An Indispensable Tool for the Forensic Laboratory Forrest Weesner, Ph.D - ThermoFisher Scientific

Raman spectroscopy is particularly well suited as a technique to meet the variety of demands that the forensic laboratory faces. Ra-man spectroscopy is a fast non-contact, nondestructive technique that provides highly specific information about a sample under in-vestigation. This presentation will discuss the state of the art Raman instruments and available reference libraries that allows for the unambiguous identification of unknown liquids, solids, and powders. This will include the unveiling of the new LeNs Library , a comprehensive collection of library reference spectra covering, prescription drugs, explosives, and illicit drug precursors . This pres-entation will cover a number of examples where Raman can be used effectively to meet the challenges encountered in illicit drug detection, trace evidence, and questioned documents.


Documents Abstracts Current Bank Check Scanning Practices Jane A. Lewis, MFS, Forensic Document Examiner, Milwaukee, WI

Current bank check scanning practices will be discussed. Attendees will learn about the history of Check Clearing for the Twenty-First Century, also known as Check 21. The examination of images of checks with current bank check scanning practices will be described. Implications of scanned low resolution versus higher resolution images of checks as they relate to forensic document ex-amination will be presented.

Forensic document examiners will receive information about the existing bank check scanning practices. They will be made aware of the resolution and image types used by banks to scan and save images of checks. Images of bank check scanning equipment will also be presented.

Scanning parameters of resolution and image type used by banks (including black and white versus grayscale or color) and their lim-iting effects precluding a thorough examination by a forensic document examiner will be discussed.

Forensic document examiners in the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe were asked to contact their banks. They asked their banks five questions:

1. What resolution are checks scanned at your bank? 2. Is the image type black and white or grayscale? 3. Are the images saved as JPEGs or TIFFs? 4. What is the make and model of the scanner? 5. What is the name of your bank?

Results were analyzed to determine the current bank practices for scanning checks since implementation of Check 21 in 2004.

The most common scanning resolution in the banks surveyed was 200 dpi. These banks most often saved images in black and white rather than grayscale or color. Files of check images were saved mainly in TIFF formats.

The author will present a case study of a sample check scanned at 100 dpi, 200 dpi, 300 dpi and 600 dpi.

Forensic document examiners benefit from the best quality images of questioned checks. The better the resolution the more hand-writing details are available for examination. Images with resolutions of 300 dpi are superior to lower resolution images. It is rec-ommended that the banking industry consider adopting a standard for scanning checks of 300 dpi or higher resolution and grayscale or color rather than black and white settings.

Forensic document examiners will appreciate the current state of bank check scanning practices in the United States and internation-ally.

The Examination of Suspected Artificially Aged Paper Kristen Singer, MFS* & Gerald LaPorte, MSFS – Department of Veterans Affairs, OIG

The artificial aging of paper is a popular activity among hobbyists and specialty paper-makers who seek to reproduce the appearance of genuinely antiqued paper, and the plethora of craft books and websites that provide methods that can be easily applied at home attest to its popularity. These same, easy to use methods, however, are also employed by those who seek to create fraudulent docu-ments that appear to have been produced from another time.

Determining the purported age of a questioned document is among the myriad examinations that can be conducted by a forensic document examiner. These examinations include establishing the introduction dates of various writing inks and machine printing processes, such as ball point pen, typewriting and inkjet printing that may be present on the document in question, and whether the introduction dates comport with the alleged date of the document’s production. Other dating determinations can be made by examin-ing the actual paper for coded watermarks or whether the constituents of the paper’s composition were available on its purported date. Numerous forensic texts and published articles have described many of these kinds of examinations for decades. The focus of this study, however, is on widely-available methods that are used to artificially age paper for fraudulent purposes.

Forensic Analysis of Printing Inks and Plastic Identity Documents Using Chemical Characterization and Microscopic Exami-nation Techniques Stephanie A Kingsbury - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Dept. of Homeland Security, McLean, Virginia

The examination of commercial printing inks, including toner and inkjet media, is important in forensic analysis for the classification and authentication of ink used in the production of questioned or counterfeit documents. Inkjet inks and toners were investigated using a variety of analytical techniques including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS), elemental analyses including laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and energy-dispersive (X-ray) spectroscopy (EDS), thin layer chromatography (TLC), and several microscopic methods. The spectral profiles obtained from these analyses may then be compared with known standards for document authentication or used to potentially link other counterfeit documents. In addition, the evaluation of plastic identity cards provides a unique perspective of their layered construction, and the location of encased security features, such as optically variable devices, laser engraving, and radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, may be elucidated.


A Crosscut Shredded Document Case Made Easier – Predicting Where the Pieces Go Larry Olson - IRS National Forensic Laboratory, Chicago, IL

This presentation outlines a procedure used by the presenter while attempting to reassemble a bag of shredded documents. The bag contained "chad" (shredded pieces) of some twenty or more documents shredded by a crosscut shredder. The documents were of a variety of paper colors and types, some ruled, some unruled, some bearing handwriting, and some bearing machine print-ing only. Several of the documents were Post-It notes, and some of the notes had apparently been stuck to each other before shred-ding, while others were attached to other documents. Although the documents’ reassembly was begun on a trial-and-error basis, a number of things were learned along the way that facili-tated the process, including: 1) How to estimate how many documents are present, 2) How to associate the chad by document by means of their edges, 3) How to prepare for the reassembly by sorting the chad by size and shape, and most importantly, 4) How to determine the manner in which each document was shredded (that is, the precise pattern formed by the chad). A Comparison of the Class Characteristics among Several Cross-cut Shredders Matt McDonald - IRS National Forensic Laboratory, Chicago, IL

There have been several studies completed on the appropriate process of which to assemble shredded documents. However, little is known about how shredders of different make and model operate. The purpose of this project is to distinguish cross-cut shredders of a different model by determining the manner in which they shred. A total of seven shredders have been evaluated by means of chad (paper shred) and shredder characteristics. Several of these characteristics are mean width and length of the chad, number of chad per standard document, physical appearance of the chad, width of the shredder throat and the type of cutting mechanism within the shredder. Three shredders are of a different model and two pairs of shredders are from the same manufacturer. The primary objec-tives of this research were to analyze the seven shredders, determine and compare the class characteristics of each individual shred-der. Jordanian Birth Certificate Lisa Hanson, D-ABFDE - Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Forensic Laboratory, MN

The evidence submitted to the MN State Forensic Laboratory was the result of an aggravated assault on a pizza delivery man with a machete. The victim was in critical condition and the subject was claiming to be a juvenile. However, there were inconsistencies between the subject’s MN DL which documented him as 18.5 years of age and his “original” Jordanian Birth Certificate that docu-mented him as 16.5 years of age. The Hennepin County Attorney for the Juvenile Courts contacted me with his request to find out which of the subject’s two identification documents were authentic which would also decide which MN Court would charge the de-fendant and to what degree. This attorney had already contacted the Jordanian Consulate in Chicago, who claimed the birth certifi-cate in question was authentic. This presentation will cover the examinations that were conducted, the conclusions reached and the testimony given in court. Overcoming Obstacles and Hurdles While Working on a Research Project Funded by a Grant Lisa Hanson, D-ABFDE - Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Forensic Laboratory, MN

In the spring of 2010, I applied for a grant through the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) being offered to scientists who were inter-ested in doing fundamental, validation research in the areas of Pattern Impression Evidence. Upon receiving news in August, that I had been awarded the grant, I was truly excited to get started gathering data for my research project.

During this presentation, I will share information and helpful hints I have learned during the last couple years. I will share the hur-dles that have needed to be cleared because of dealing with human subjects (children); how to move forward when Letters of Intent cannot be fulfilled; and other things that may be helpful when one takes on this type of endeavor.

In closing, I will give an update about the current status of this research project and its future time line for the remainder of 2012-2014. Elemental Analysis of Document Papers Using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy Emily G. Riddell*, BS & Ruth Waddell Smith, PhD

Questioned document analysis has recently begun to use elemental profiles to differentiate paper based on type (e.g., inkjet, multi-purpose, office, etc.). This presentation will focus on the elemental analysis of different paper types and investigate the ability to differentiate the paper types based on the elements present. To do this, samples of four paper types produced by the same manufac-turer were microwave-digested and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). This tech-nique was chosen due to its multi-element analysis capabilities and relatively low limits of detection for most elements. The element profiles generated were further investigated using multivariate statistical procedures. All profiles were subjected to prin-cipal components analysis (PCA), which is a procedure used to identify sources of variance within a data set. The PCA scores plot


was used to investigate association of samples of the same type and differentiation of the different types. The loadings plot was used to identify those elements that were most variable among the paper types and hence, responsible for the discrimination observed. Differentiation of the four paper types was possible while samples of the same type were positioned closely. The positioning of the paper types could be explained by differences in the concentration of three elements.

Although further research is warranted, multivariate statistical analysis of document papers based on element profiles has the poten-tial to provide an objective method for the analysis and comparison of questioned documents. Photographic Subtractions Using Adobe Photoshop Gary Licht - Iowa DCI Crime Lab, Ankeny, IA

Image subtractions are a part of the forensic document examiner’s duties. While color subtractions are routine in diminishing the effects of obliterations, a lesser used technique is to subtract obscuring information in images visualized using electrostatic detection devices. EDD lifts can prove difficult to read, particularly when there is more than one set of writings in near registration. Prior to digital imaging, photographic techniques were used to subtract interfering images. The subtraction of interfering EDD images was well described in 1989 by Linda Hart and Robert Hart. Since that time, the use of Adobe Photoshop to subtract images has been taught as a useful tool. In this presentation, casework samples will be discussed, focusing on the techniques used, and necessary preparations for the subtractions that yielded the best results. Attendees can bring laptop computers and work with provided digital images to practice subtractions.

Trace Chemistry Abstracts

The Explosives Investigation of the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco Texas Dave Green - Lake County Crime Laboratory, OH

It been almost 20 years since the Branch Davidians burned down their own Mount Carmel Compound located in Waco, TX resulting in the deaths of many members of the cult including David Koresh, their leader. In 1999, the presenter was requested to assist the Office of Special Counsel’s investigation into the government’s handling of the standoff, which resulted in a 1 year project. There were several accusation being made about the government’s actions, however, the presenter will be exclusively speaking about ques-tions involving the use of explosive materials by the agencies involved. The presenter will discuss how the evidence was collected, analyzed and what conclusions were reached 7 years after the actual incident occurred. Some Sticky Situations – Sticky as in Duct Tape! Part I and II Sue Gross, MSFS - Forensic Science Supervisor, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

Part I: Is PyGC a useful tool for tape adhesives? Good question! Enquiring minds wanted to know. A very small study was done to evaluate various duct tape adhesives after the typical tape analysis of Physical Characteristics and FTIR. Twenty-four duct tape adhe-sives were analyzed via Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography utilizing 2 different columns and FID detectors. Some of these tapes were completely indistinguishable prior to the PyGC analysis. Results of this small study will be presented.

Part II: A duct tape case that went from routine to “Hmmm – that is strange…” And now a mini research project (typical trace case – eh?) is in order. The case history is presented, the analysis and the mini project completed to explain why a tape backing was fluo-rescing. The Forensic Analysis of Paint Evidence Using Micro-Raman Spectroscopy – Development of Libraries and Application Methods Jason Beckert* & Christopher Palenik, Ph. D. - Microtrace LLC

Although the benefits and advantages of Raman spectroscopy have long been recognized and utilized in academic and industrial fields, this method has yet to make a significant impact in the forensic laboratory. Indeed, Raman spectroscopy has sparked interest from forensic laboratories for only a few years. The Raman technique has demonstrated important advantages such as its non-destructive nature, its fast analysis time, and the opportunity of performing microscopical analyses in situ. These advantages make this method suitable for the forensic examination of paint evidence, especially considering the ability of micro-Raman spectroscopy to selectively detect organic and inorganic pigments. This presentation will focus on the development of a Raman micro-spectroscopy pigment reference collection and its application to a collection of 300 recent and vintage automotive paint samples. Two Case Studies Involving Fraud:

Cover-up: The Truth is Under There Nick Gerhardt - Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory

The owner of a stolen kerosene heater could point to the area where he wrote the company's name in black marker but the name was now covered with spray paint. The burglar probably wasn't trying to be clever by covering ink with paint but it presented a challenge to remove the spray paint without damaging the marker ink beneath it to identify the owner. When scratching one's head over a problem, it's often useful to involve other disciplines in the laboratory. In this case the latent print section provided part of the solu-tion that helped uncover the truth.


Counterfeit Casino Chips Nick Gerhardt - Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory

"Hitting it big" may be a game of chance for some, but others may venture to strike it rich by nefarious means. This was the case when fake $100 chips showed up at a local casino. Casino chips are manufactured with various features that make counterfeiting difficult and the casino was able to determine that the chips in question were indeed fakes. But law enforcement wanted to know the specific differences between the genuine and counterfeit chips and juries always want pictures (really big pictures). Although it was-n't necessary to prove that these chips were (really good) fakes, documenting similarities and differences is what trace does, and it made an interesting case study.

Is it a Hair or a Fiber? Microscopic and Instrumental Analysis of Synthetic Wig Fibers Sarah Walbridge-Jones1*, Holly Long1 and Kacie Lundgren2 1Forensic Scientist – Trace Evidence Section, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, St. Paul, MN 2Department of Chemistry and Forensic Science Program, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND

Synthetic wig fibers have recently been encountered in casework samples submitted to the trace evidence section of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension laboratory. Samples have been submitted as suspected human hairs, as fibers and as a known “head hair” sample. DNA suitability examinations and/or hair comparisons have been requested on these evidentiary samples. A literature search on wig examinations revealed limited information on an analytical scheme for examining wig fibers. This research project was designed to examine different techniques, used in hair and fiber examinations, and apply them to collected wig fiber samples. This project also evaluated the discriminating power of the techniques themselves. The techniques were Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM), scale casts, cross sections, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) and Visible Microspectrophotometry (MSP). At the conclusion of analysis, it was found that all but a few groups of the wig fibers were distinguishable using the tech-niques listed above. It was also determined that a combination of the techniques could be utilized by a hair examiner to distinguish a hair from a fiber. This is useful for those cases in which the submitting agency has requested that the “hairs” be examined for DNA testing and/or hair comparison and an individual only trained in hairs receives the case.

The results of this research project will provide the trace evidence community with information regarding the construction of modern wigs, a method for analysis and the significance of associations and non-associations.

Two Case Studies in Collecting Trace from Weapons Prior to Additional Examinations Jeremiah Morris - Johnson County (KS) Sheriff’s Office Criminalistics Laboratory

Evidentiary items with multiple exam requests are routinely submitted to forensic laboratories. In these situations, examiners from different disciplines must work together closely to process the evidence in a manner to collect evidence for one discipline without contaminating, altering, or removing evidence for another discipline. This presentation will discuss two separate cases where fire-arm evidence was processed for trace evidence prior to being examined by analysts from other disciplines. The goal of the presenta-tion is to reinforce the importance of considering trace evidence collection on weapons prior to processing for fingerprints and DNA.

Portable Mass Spectrometers Capable of Direct Sample Analysis: Characterization and Implication of Usage in Forensic Science Kyle E. Vircks1*, Jamie R. Wieland2, and Christopher C. Mulligan1 1Department of Chemistry, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4160 2Department of Technology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-5100

One of the leading causes for crime laboratory backlogs is the immense amount of chemical evidence being collected for analysis. A portion of this surplus arises from the collection of evidence that yields redundant analytical results or no usable information whatso-ever. This is a problem since the naked eye cannot usually determine the relevance of physical evidence based on a simple glance. One method of combatting this issue would be to accurately screen evidence on-scene and decrease the number of samples being sent for laboratory analysis, dramatically reducing the potential for backlogged casework. Presumptive color tests for illicit drugs are readily available, but the nature of these tests result in numerous false-positives, leading to vast amounts of non-essential chemi-cal evidence being sent to crime laboratories for time-consuming analyses. Such screening methods would not only need to be capa-ble of accurately detecting a broad array of common chemical species, but also be robust enough to adapt to the ever-increasing number of emerging compounds, such as synthetic cathinones or bath salts.

In an effort to provide a rapid, yet sensitive screening alternative for bath salts and other forensic chemicals of increasing interest, we investigate the use of desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) coupled to a portable mass spectrometer for use in chemical evidence screening on-scene. Characterization of this instrument using bath salts and related compounds was ini-tially performed. Illicit drugs in mock samples, as well as authentic evidence, were successfully detected and identified in a matter of seconds with no need for sample preparation prior to analysis. Practical aspects of these studies, including sampling techniques and method optimization, will be discussed. Feasibility of incorporation into current crime scene investigation protocols and possi-ble economic impact of implementation will also be considered.


Trace Chemistry Abstracts continued

Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence in Criminal Forensics Andrew Lee and Laurie Krupa* - EDAX Inc., Mahwah, NJ 07430

With the ability to analyze solids, powders, and liquids, and samples of many sizes and shapes, µXRF is an ideal tool for the forensic science laboratory. Some common applications of µXRF within forensics are glass characterization, analysis of explosive powders, mapping gun-shot residue on fabrics, and trace analysis of a variety of unknown materials. The purpose of this presentation will be to discuss how µXRF can increase laboratory capability for a variety of forensics disciplines. The presentation will be supplemented with relevant µXRF applications data.

Paint: The Key in Solving a Cold Homicide? Katherine Igowsky – Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

A body was found in a ditch along a road in 1994. The remains were badly decayed. Since then no suspects could be connected with this crime. Recently, a paint chips found amongst the debris on and near her body were analyzed to determine what type of paint this might be, if it could have come from a car or other automobile, and to see if this paint could provide leads for investigators. Is the paint evidence the key to solving this case? Fireworks Construction, Compositions and Testing Roger Louis Schneider, Ph.D. - Co-owner and President of RHO SIGMA Associates, Inc.

Poster Abstracts

Continued Advances in a Polymer System for Lifting Imaged Latent Fingerprints from Irregular Surfaces

Danielle Kielhofer, Emily Dames, Lindsey Sprangers, James Hamilton, and Charles R. Cornett Department of Chemistry, Univer-sity of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville, WI 53818.

This project continued the development of a novel polymer for lifting imaged latent fingerprints from irregular surfaces such as plas-tic beverage containers, fired ammunition brass, and other curved surfaces. In addition to measuring the performance of aerosol and pump applicators, experiments were performed to quantify the amount of polymer needed for lifting with an assisting device such as tape and for the amount needed to lift independent of assistance. Level 1 and Level 2 detail were easily recovered with no distortion in all tests. Level 3 detail, where available in the imaged latent, was also recovered.

Effect of Time and Temperature on Extraction of Ignitable Liquids from Fire Debris Andrew DeJarnette, BS*, Ruth Waddell Smith, Ph.D & Victoria McGuffin, Ph.D Michigan State University

For passive headspace extraction of fire debris evidence, ASTM International recommends extraction times between 2 and 24 hours at temperatures between 50 and 80°C. In this research, the effect of time and temperature on the compounds extracted was investi-gated. To do this, a standard solution containing alkane and aromatic compounds was prepared and aliquots were spiked onto sepa-rate kimwipes. The samples were then placed in separate nylon bags containing activated carbon strips and subjected to the passive headspace extraction. To investigate the effect of temperature, samples were extracted, in replicate, for 4 hours at 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, and 80°C. The resulting extracts were then analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), following standard proce-dures.

Peak areas of the alkane and aromatic compounds in the resulting chromatograms were determined. For replicate extractions, the mean peak are and relative standard deviations (RSD) were calculated for each compound. The optimal extraction temperature was then determined based on a combination of the abundance of each compound extracted, as well as the precision in the extraction. From the temperatures considered, extraction at 60°C was deemed optimal. To investigate the effect of extraction time, additional samples were prepared, again in replicate, and extracted at 60°C for 4, 8, 16, and 24 hours. Based on mean peak area abundance and corresponding RSDs, a 16 hour extraction was deemed optimal. Finally, the optimal extraction parameters were then compared to those used in our laboratory (4 hour extraction at 80°C). To do this, samples of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel were spiked onto kimwipes, placed in nylon bags, and extracted using the passive head-space procedure, using both extraction parameters. Extracted ion profiles were generated for the characteristic compounds of each ignitable liquid. For gasoline, the 16-hour extraction at 60°C showed higher peak areas for the C2- and C3-alkylbenzenes, but showed higher RSDs for these compounds that the 4-hour extraction at 80°C. For the normal alkanes in diesel and kerosene, the 16-hour ex-traction at 60°C showed both higher peak areas and lower RSDs than the 4-hour extraction at 80°C. Therefore, for more volatile liq-uids, the shorter extraction may be optimal due to the improved precision, while the longer extraction may be optimal for less vola-tile liquids.


Poster Abstracts continued

Ignitable Liquid Retention on Clothing S. Sieger1, L. Erita1, N. Thomas1, A. Smet1, R. Bennett2, R. Hurchins2, C. Chasteen2, and C. Cornett1

1Department of Chemistry and Engineering Physics, University of Wisconsin, Platteville 2Bureau of Forensic Fire and Explosives Analysis Division of State Fire Marshal, Department of Financial Services, State of Florida

The project presented examines the retention of ignitable liquids in clothing through laundry cycles. In many cases, the clothing of arsonists may come into contact with ignitable liquids; however gasoline is the most common ignitable liquid encountered on a rou-tine basis by law abiding citizens. These observations lead to the research question focused on the retention of gasoline and E-85 (85% ethanol) on clothing as a function of wash and dry laundry cycles. Experiments demonstrated that the extraction (activated charcoal strip) and analysis (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) techniques are sufficiently sensitive to detect “callable” gaso-line and E-85 spectra after repeated cycles. The results of these experiments and discussion of future direction will be presented.

Functional Verification of Hamilton ID Starlet Robotic System – a New Generation of Tools for Human Identification Labo-ratories Lois Tack1, Bill May1, Yogesh Prasad2, Andreas Schmid3 and Laurent Baron3 1Hamilton Robotics, Reno NV 2HID Professional Services, Life Technologies, Paisley PA4 9RF, United Kingdom 3Hamilton Robotics, Bonaduz GR, Switzerland

Forensic laboratories worldwide have seen an increased demand for processing more samples. As a result, most laboratories have focused their efforts on streamlining their workflow and improving sample traceability through various steps. Robotic systems offer a number of benefits to laboratories, including capacity increase and traceability. Furthermore, they enhance process reliability and repeatability and offer natural scale-up should demand further increase. This allows laboratories to focus more time on evidence recovery and data reporting.

One challenge, however, is integrating the robotic process in the laboratory. Studies have shown that laboratories take time and use precious resources to develop and optimize robotic methods that fit their needs. In most laboratories, these steps are complemented with a validation study before deploying the robot in a production environment. This process can take months. There is a genuine need to decrease development and optimization time, as well as instill confidence that the robotic system is capable of running the desired chemistries. Forensic laboratories, therefore, look for solutions that are easy to implement; i.e., installed, functionally veri-fied and validated. To respond to this need, Hamilton Robotics, in close collaboration with Life Technologies, has developed the ID STARlet, a new platform that streamlines the entire Human Identification workflow (DNA Extraction, Quantitation and Normaliza-tion/STR set-up) . In this poster, we will describe this robotic system, present functional verification results and outline the HID Verification protocol – including use of novel reference materials and experiments that will verify that the ID Starlet is capable of reliably and consistently processing forensic samples using Applied Biosystems Human Identification kits. This combined approach of instrument and functional verification will allow laboratories to significantly reduce time and resources required to fully imple-ment automated forensic and other human identification applications.

Initial Investigation of the Erase Sperm Isolation Kit Sarah Ozanick, Ph.D*, Nicole Hinton, M.S., Stephanie Kuntz, M.S., and Gretchen DeGroot, M.S. Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Milwaukee

The Erase Sperm Isolation Kit from PTC Laboratories is a differential extraction system that uses a nuclease to selectivity degrade epithelial cell DNA prior to sperm cell lysis. This method reportedly provides single source male autosomal profiles from samples that would be expected to yield mixtures due to the presence of high concentrations of epithelial cell DNA. We have processed du-plicate samples using either the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory protocol for a differential extraction or the Erase Sperm Isolation Kit protocol. Substantial differences in the amount of DNA recovered and the profiles generated by the two methods will be pre-sented.

Preliminary Results Showing the Effects of Road Salt on Latent Fingerprints Placed on an Aluminum Surface Justin T. Peterson*, Diana G. Johnson, M.S. & Charles R. Cornett, Ph.D. University of Wisconsin, Platteville In this work, we present our observations of the interaction between latent fingerprints left on a dry aluminum surface and a 3 molal salt solution introduced to the print in various methods. Good quality fingerprints were observed in both the control samples and distilled water samples, and significant print degradation was observed in the experimental samples. It was found that the 3 molal salt solution had degrading effects on the latent fingerprints when placed on an aluminum surface.


Presumptive Color Test for Piperazines Joseph Wu1, Chelsea Johnson1, Charles Cornett1, Terée Warren2 1University of Wisconsin, Platteville 2Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Milwaukee

Presumptive color test for drugs has helped investigators to narrow the possible identities of a substance. It is a quick and inexpen-sive chemical test which is commonly performed by police officers on the street and prior to the use of costly confirmative tests in the crime lab. This test is done to determine quickly on the scene if the police officer has enough probable cause for an arrest. Using our new technique an investigator can place the questioned substance in a disposable test tube containing ampoules of chemical re-agents necessary for the presumptive identification of piperazine drugs such as benzylpiperazine (BZP) and 3-trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP).

Benzylpiperazine (BZP) and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP) are synthetic phenylpiperazine analogues, which have stimu-lant and amfetamine-like properties. As a result, they are commonly used as a recreational drug and were legally available in a num-ber of countries, particularly in New Zealand. The drug was temporarily classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States in 2002 because of its high abuse potential and lack of accepted medical use or safety.2 On March 18, 2004, the DEA pub-lished a Final Rule in the Federal Register permanently placing BZP in schedule I. Several states have placed BZP in schedule I: Iowa, Tennessee, Wyoming, Mississippi, Louisiana, Idaho, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

According to Office of Diversion Control, law enforcement official submitted 48 drug items/exhibits to federal, state and local foren-sic laboratories identified as BZP in 2004.2 The number of BZP items/exhibits increased from 437 in 2007 to 6,088 in 2008. BZP items/exhibits submitted to forensic laboratories increased 127% from 6,088 in 2008 to 13,822 in 2009. BZP was smuggled as pow-der through drug trafficking organizations internationally. The bulk powder is then processed into capsules and tablet. BZP is en-countered as pink, white, off-white, purple, orange, tan, and mottle orange-brown tablets. These tablets bear imprints commonly seen on MDMA tablets such as housefly, crown, heart, butterfly, smiley face or bull’s head logos and are often sold as “ecstasy.” BZP has been found in powder or liquid form which is packaged in small convenience sizes and sold on the Internet. From the increasing trend in the distribution and abuse cases, the presumptive test for piperazine drug plays an important role for law enforcement to identify the controlled piperazine substances within a minute on the street.

Both BZP and TFMPP appear as a colorless solution when dissolved in deionized water. In our experiment, the BZP and TFMPP aqueous solution in the presence of our reagents will yield a yellow solution as a positive result. However, this positive result was severely interfered by the organic molecules containing primary amine functional group. In our presentation, we will present the re-sults of our method and our future plan to study this test method.

Synthetic Cannabinoids Identified in Packaged Products Madison Kniskern*, Michelle Gee, Katie Hoffmeyer, and Billie Robbins Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Wausau

The identification of synthetic cannabinoids has presented many challenges over the past few years at the Wisconsin State Crime laboratory in Wausau. Between the ever changing variety of compounds, lack of standards, and absence of color tests, these unique cases slow processing. The laboratory is not alone in the challenges presented by the emergence of synthetic cannabinoids in the society. Law enforcement agencies have expressed interest in discovering if the same compounds are found in particular brand. As a result, the laboratory has compiled information regarding the product brands and their identified compounds. The brand names and compounds present were not found to be consistent in all cases. The laboratory has identified approximately 22 different synthetic cannabinoids and some considered structurally similar. Validation of Fast Gas Chromatography and Hydrogen Mobile Phase in Drug Identification Chelsea Johnson1, Leah Macans2, Rebecca Hansen1, Dirk Janssen2, and Charles Cornett1

1Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin, Platteville 2Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Milwaukee

This presentation examines the validation of Fast GC and hydrogen mobile phase in drug identification. Given the increases in chromatography performance and decreases in costs, switching to hydrogen mobile phase from helium offers criminalists a clear path forward as helium becomes a more scarce commodity. Fast GC offers decreases in retention times that are well suited to drug identification. The Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory-Milwaukee participated with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in a Midwest Forensics Resource Center funded grant which implemented the aforementioned concepts by converting a conventional GC to a Fast GC with hydrogen mobile. Results of validation will be presented.

Validation of IrisPlex in the United States: a DNA-based Tool for the Prediction of Eye Color Gina Dembinski1, BSC. & Christine J. Picard2, PhD. 1Forensic and Investigative Sciences, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 2Department of Biology & Forensic and Investigative Science, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis DNA phenotyping is the ability to determine physical external characteristics based solely on genotype analysis. Iris color is a com-plex genetic trait determined by several different genes and resulting in highly polymorphic phenotypes. The IrisPlex system was


developed in the Netherlands and is a SNP genotyping assay combined with a statistical model for predicting eye color. The system targets six eye color informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and using the genotype data, a multinomial logistic regres-sion model was developed and is used for predicting the probability of eye color into three categories: brown, blue, and intermediate.

This work focuses on the developmental validation of the IrisPlex system, the evaluation of the accuracy of the system’s prediction component on a North American population, and the exploration of additional models for prediction. Validation was done amplify-ing the same SNPs using the SNaPshot® chemistry single base extension method and capillary electrophoresis was performed on the ABI 3500 genetic analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Inc.).

The results of the original IrisPlex study indicated predictions with greater than 90% accuracy of blue and brown eye color based on a European (Dutch) population. The prediction results based on the North American sample population using the same parameters in the IrisPlex model do not have the same level of accuracy or prediction power, notably with the blue eye color where the highest prediction probability was only 56% and overall predictions had greater error in accurately identifying the color correctly. These results are reasonably expected as North America is a highly admixed population compared to the European population, which is where most eye color variation originates. The parameters of the statistical model need to be adjusted for the differences in the alle-lic and genotypic frequencies between the two populations, and this is one of the goals as a way of improving the prediction accuracy for the admixed population samples.

This work will prove valuable for forensic casework where DNA from biological evidence is limited in providing probative informa-tion for the investigation. Physical characteristics of the donor such as hair, skin, or eye color, may present investigational leads when the conventional STR profile of the unknown DNA sample does not match any suspects or victims nor hits a DNA database. It may also be useful for the identification of missing persons or victims of mass disasters to provide investigators with the most likely appearance of the unknown individual.

In addition to validating the method using a North American population, other methods for prediction and quantitation of iris color, possibly to achieve more accuracy with the intermediate color category, are considered and evaluated.

Variability of Class Association in Footwear Impression Evidence Susan Gross1*,MSFS; Dane Jeppesen2, and Cedric Neumann3 PhD 1Forensic Science Supervisor, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 2Student Worker, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension 3Professor, Forensic Science Program, Eberly College of Science, The Pennsylvania State University

Crime scenes often contain footwear evidence and have been generally used by the forensic and legal communities for many years. This project was an effort to better demonstrate the variability and measure the weight of evidence carried by class associations in footwear examinations. The trace section of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has collected 402 known foot-wear impressions from the past 20 years of casework. These impressions originated from 127 different manufacturers. All impres-sions were compared to each other for a total of 80,601 pairs that were evaluated. The class characteristics used in these compari-sons included general design element, general sole design, design element size/relationship, and wear. The goal of this study was to determine the variability of class associations in footwear impression evidence and to demonstrate that class characteristics alone carry high evidentiary value.

Poster Abstracts continued


I. CALL TO ORDER President Todd Welch called the meeting to order at 11:50AM on September 27, 2012 and welcomed everyone. President Welch introduced the present Board Members. Regular Members were asked to raise their hands to confirm a quorum was present. II. RECOGNITION OF PAST PRESIDENTS President Welch recognized the Past Presidents in attendance. III. RECOGNITION OF CHARTER MEMBERS President Welch recognized the Charter Members present. Voting Members were asked to raise their hands to confirm a quorum was present. IV. SECRETARY’S REPORT Presented by Guy Nutter. (Secretary’s written report available). The Secre-tary has undertaken the following activities since the Spring 2012 Board Meet-ing: Prepared and published the 2012 Spring Board Meeting Minutes in the Sum-mer 2012 MAFS Newsletter. The following email motions and discussions were recorded: On 5/3/2012, a motion was made by Lee Bender for the State of Michigan to host the 2015 MAFS Fall Meeting. The motion carried. On 6/5/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund Joe Oberlin of Four Eyes Media Solutions the second half of the payment for the new MAFS website ($900). The motion carried. Email discussions about the ABC Prep Workshop. On 6/6/2012, a motion was made by Lee Bender to go forward with the ABC Prep Workshop as described in the proposal (proposal submitted by T&E Chair Danielle Hankinson, proposal available for review). The motion carried. On 6/8/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund Joe Oberlin (Four Eyes Media Solutions) half of his quote for the proposed changes/upgrades to the MAFS website ($525). The motion carried. On 6/20/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to pay Adobe Business Catalyst $793.20 for hosting the new MAFS website for the next two years. The motion carried. Email discussion regarding the survey to the Membership concerning Ad-ministrative Rules and By-Laws changes. On 7/18/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund the second half of the website upgrades ($525). The motion carried. On 8/15/2012, a motion was made by John Chester to fund Silver Digital Media $3000 to provide video services for the 2012 Fall Meeting. The motion carried A motion was made by Ben Perillo to accept the Secretary’s Report; second by Bill Chapin; motion carried.

V. TREASURER’S REPORT Presented by Lee Bender (Treasurer’s written report available). Total Income: $89,846.07 Total Expenses: $76,272.63 Net Income: $13,573.44 Additional finances available to the Association: MAFS Checking Account: $83,806.77 MAFS ING Savings Account: $25,840.67 Many one-time expenses occurred this year such as upgrading the website and videotaping the Fall Meeting. A motion was made by Ben Perillo to accept the Treasurer’s Report; sec-ond by Bill Chapin; motion carried. VI. NEWSLETTER EDITOR’S REPORT Presented by Sue Gross (Newsletter Editor’s written report available). Four sets of Newsletters have been published since the Spring 2012 BOD Meeting:

Fall 2011 Newsletters: 891 Winter 2012 Newsletters: 993 Spring 2012 Newsletters: 973 Summer 2012 Newsletters: 1006

Total cost for printing and mailing was $23,303 with the ads bringing in $3600. A motion was made by Cheryl Lozen to accept the Newsletter Editor’s Report; second by Scott Stoeffler; Motion carried. VII. COMMITTEE REPORTS Committee Members and Chairs asked to stand and be recognized. A. Audit Committee Presented by President Welch for Chair Malinda Spangler (Chair’s written report available). Audit was conducted of MAFS books for September 1, 2010 through August 30, 2011 year and the 2011 Fall Meeting (Lombard) account. General books for MAFS and the 2012 Fall Meeting were in good order. Some receipts were missing from the general books but these receipts were provided by Brian Hoey during the audit. Some clarifications were needed and noted in the books. A visa charge of $8.62 for hotel business center had no receipt and the receipt could not be located. Also an error of not making payment to Palmer Printing for Invoice 110788 was noted. Palmer Printing was contacted and waived this payment. Checking balance: $54,022.31 ING Savings Balance: $25840.40 2011 Fall Meeting books had no errors and were easy to audit because they were well organized, but the Audit Committee would prefer to have hard copies of the paperwork in addition to the electronic copies. The meeting profited $11,766.91. B. Electronic Communications/Newsletter Presented by John Chester (Chair’s written report available). The new website has been launched and is getting good reviews. New fea-

2012 FALL BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES

September 27, 2012 Milwaukee, WI


tures include: New MAFS Forum is available in the “Member’s Only” section and members

(and nonmembers) can sign up to receive email notifications if any posts have been made to their discipline(s).

Members can now update their personal information on the website which will also update this information on the MAFS Official Roster

MAFS Membership applications can be completed and submitted online Payment for annual dues and workshops can now be made through PayPal

using the online payment page Please contact the Chair for any news updates, announcements and employ-

ment opportunities to be posted on the website Forms were created for the 2012 Fall Meeting so that people could register

for the meeting and special events online An online form is available for award nominations Employment opportunities can be submitted online and posted on the website President Welch presented John and Sean Brooks certificates for serving as the Co-Chairs. C. Membership Committee Presented by Chair Brian Hoey (Chair’s written report available). Commit-tee members present recognized. The Committee reviewed and approved the following membership applica-tions

35 Student Affiliates 2 promotions to Emeritus 31 Associate Members 35 Regular Members 4 promotions to Regular Member

Asked new members to stand and be recognized. President Welch presented Brian with certificate for serving as the Chair. D. Nominating Committee Presented by Chair Paul Bush (Chair’s written report available). On 7/5/2012 ballots were emailed out with a deadline of 8/3/2012. Emailed ballots were sent and compiled utilizing web-based service “BigPulse”. Mailed ballots were sent by US Postal Service on 7/11/2012.

Initially, 767 ballots were emailed to voting Members.

36 of the emailed ballots were returned.

10 of these had the email address corrected and resent out 12 Members with no forwarding email addresses were sent paper

ballots by US Mail (sent 7/11/2012) The remaining 14 members could not be contacted

Thirteen Members without email addresses on file were sent paper ballots by US Mail.

An email reminder was sent out via Big Pulse on 8/1/2012. 371 email votes (48%) and 7 US Mail votes (28%) were received.

Online and US Mail ballots were counted on 8/6/2012 by Paul Bush, Mike Schmit and Amanda Kilgore (Paul Hermsen was a candidate so he was re-moved from participation in the counting process).

One US Mail ballot was not signed and was therefore deemed invalid. Election Results of voting were as follows:

President: Will Randle (371) Secretary: Paul Hermsen (125) Kristine Olsson (120) Danielle Hankinson (94) Lori Bruski (39) Members-at-Large: Anne Gierlowski (186) Katie Igowsky (108) Abigail Graham (83)

New Board Members in attendance asked to stand for recognition. President Welch presented Paul with a certificate for serving as Chair.

E. Research Committee Presented by President Welch for Chair Tara Reinholz (Chair’s written report available). A research proposal was submitted and reviewed: Sarah Walbridge-Jones from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehen-sion entitled “Evidence Towards Identification of Shoe Impressions Based on Class Characteristics and Wear of the Same Shoe Design Style”. The amount requested for the research was $1000. The Research Committee recom-mended funding this request. The Board agreed with funding this request. F. Training and Education Committee Presented by Chair Danielle Hankinson (Chair’s written report available). Working on several potential workshops including and excavation work-shop, shooting reconstruction and ABC Prep workshop. Two successful workshops this year:

• The DNA Mixture Interpretation workshop held in conjunction with the MAAFS Meeting

• The ABC Prep Workshop held in Indianapolis in August Still three outstanding Visiting Scientist requests with all expenses paid by MAFS and also $1000 to be used at future MAFS events. Thank you to all the Committee Members. Thanks to those that helped coordinate the DNA Mixture Interpretation workshop and ABC Prep Workshop. President Welch presented Danielle with a certificate for serving as Chair. G. Administrative Rules/Bylaws Committee Presented by Paul Bush for Chair Kristi Evans (Chair’s written report avail-able). There are no Administrative Rules or By-Laws changes to report. The Committee sent out a survey to the Membership (voting and Associate) in conjunction with the 2012 Board of Director’s elections. The results of the survey were compiled and are currently being reviewed by the Board of Di-rectors and the Committee. H. Awards Committee Presented by Todd Welch for Chair Scott Hummel (Chair’s written report available). The Collegiate Student Development Fund was awarded to Jacqueline Judy

(Winona State University) for research titled “Development of Footwear Impressions Deposited on Various Surfaces with Blood”. Three PDF awards were awarded for paper presentations to: Lisa Hansen, Sue Gross and Larry Olson Awards for New Scientist, Outstanding Scientist and Distinguished Service will be announced later in the meeting. I. Certification Committee Presented by Chair Kristin McDonald (Chair’s written reports available). The Board of Directors and Examination Committee for the ABC met on September 15, 2012 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Plans for updating ABC Manual of Policies and Procedures for: clarifica-tion/simplification and preparation for ISO 17024 accreditation.

Plan to investigate revamping and modernizing the ABC website.

Discussion regarding certification credits for online courses. Online courses will be reviewed and recertification points will be assigned by the Board. Reminder about the availability of the Ed Rhodes Scholarship. The 2011 and 2012 Ed Rhodes Scholarships were awarded to Danielle Han-kinson and Kimberly Hall respectively.


The next ABC Board Meeting will be held in February 2012 in Washington D.C. in conjunction with the AAFS Meeting. Any questions or suggestions, please contact Kristin. President Welch presented Kristin with a certificate for serving as Chair. J. Ethics Committee Presented by Chair Cheryl Lozen (Chair’s written report available). No ethics complaints were received over the last year. Committee has reviewed and revamped the Ethics complaint procedures. An attorney will be consulted to review the updated procedures. President Welch presented Cheryl with a certificate for serving as Chair. K. Fall Meeting Planning Committee Presented by Chair Cheryl Lozen(Chair’s written report available). This is an ad-hoc committee that is creating/updating the fall meeting man-ual. The Committee met on March 3, 2012. The manual is almost completed. They discussed what format the manual should be in and decided to break it up into meeting planning topics with checklists for those responsible for each topic. A master timeline was also created. Future meeting planners can use the manual in its current form before it if organized and finalized.

President Welch presented Cheryl with certificates for serving as chair of the Ethic Committee and Fall Meeting Planning Committee.

L. Historian/Librarian Presented by President Welch for the Chairs (Chairs’ written reports avail-able). No requests for records in the Historian’s possession were made. Docu-ments are in good order and time has been set aside for maintenance. Elec-tronic storage will be the next step in organizing. The Chair would like ideas/suggestions for putting the documents in electronic form and database. A motion was made by Dan Bergman to accept all committee reports; sec-onded by Anne Gierlowski; The motion carried. VII. SECTION CHAIRS REPORTS Section Coordinators in attendance asked to stand and be recognized. A. Biology Scott Hummell was not in attendance. B. Crime Scene Jennifer Dohring was presented with a certificate by President Welch C. Documents Gary Licht was presented with a certificate by President Welch. D. Drugs Jillian Baker was not in attendance. E. Firearms Robert Rayer was not in attendance. F. Latent Prints Julieanne Avila had comment to thank Lesley Hammer for presenting work-shops in footwear and tire examination at the meeting and was presented with a certificate by President Welch. G. Management Bryan Hampton was not in attendance.

H. Photo/Imaging Ray Lenz asked the Membership to continue to submit photographs for the Newsletter and was presented with a certificate by President Welch. I. Toxicology Sara Schreiber was presented with a certificate by President Welch. J. Trace Evidence Mat Wyatt was not in attendance. IX. MEETING REPORTS A. 2012 Wisconsin - Milwaukee Presented by Sandy Koresch and Chiara Wuensch from the Wisconsin State Crime Lab.

Over 300 attendees for the workshops and meeting.

Over 220 registered for the Plenary and Meeting.

46 paper presentations and 11 posters.

24 workshops spanning all disciplines.

Thank you to all the meeting planners that helped make the meeting a suc-cess and people from their organization that helped pick up the slack while the others were planning the meeting

Plaques of appreciation presented to both Sandy and Chiara. B. 2013 Ohio – Dayton Presented by Brooke Ehlers and Jennifer Watson from the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab.

A PowerPoint presentation was given highlighting the meeting.

Theme is “A Twist on Forensic Science”

Similar schedule to the 2012 meeting. It is being held at the Dayton Mar-riott with room rates locked in at $99/night (rooms can be booked starting 10/25/2012). This rate also applies 3 days before and after the meeting. Complementary parking will also be available. Lots of entertainment avail-able within walking distance to the hotel.

Several workshops confirmed:

• Wood Identification (Mike Trimpe) – 1 day

• Vehicle Lamps (Richard Dinehart) – 2 day

• Explosive Recognition for Crime Scene and Clan lab – 1 day (off site, Mike Grimes)

• UV-IR Photography

• Process Mapping Introduction (MFRC) – 1 day

• Biology Screening (Dale Laux) – 3 day

• Advanced Symposium – Trace and DNA “Who Gets It First?” – 1 day

• FTIR Interpretation (Agilent) – 1 day

• Bridging the Generation Gap (Wright State University) – ½ day Several other workshops are in the planning stages.

The gala will be a 50’s / 60’s Sock Hop at an off-site location.

C. 2014 Minnesota – St. Paul, Combined Meeting (MAAFS & ASTEE) Presented by Kristin McDonald

Meeting dates are set for 10/5/2014 – 10/10/2014.

Joint meeting with MAAFS and ASTEE.

Several area forensic laboratories are assisting with the planning of the meeting.

Save the date flyers are available in the Exhibitors Area.


D. 2015 – Michigan Presented by President Welch for the planners.

Planning is underway but site yet to be determined. Possible locations are Mackinac Island, Traverse City and Grand Rapids. Jennifer Dillon will serve as the Program Chair and Mark Goff as the Local Arrangements Chair. Ex-pect to have the site determined by the Spring 2013 Board of Director’s Meet-ing.

E. 2016 – Missouri - Branson

A letter was received from the Missouri State Highway Patrol requesting the opportunity to host the 2016 meeting. The Hilton of Branson at the Landing will be the location of the meeting. This request has been accepted by the Board. X. VOTE TO ACCEPT BYLAWS CHANGES No Bylaws to be voted on. XI. OLD BUSINESS No old business. XII. NEW BUSINESS A. Survey to the Membership

President Welch discussed the survey sent out to the membership in regards to membership. The results of the survey will be posted in the Fall Newslet-ter for the Membership to review and comment. Comments will be discussed at the Spring Board of Directors Meeting and changes may be forthcoming. XIII. AWARDS Collegiate Student Development Fund awarded to Jacqueline Judy of Wi-nona State University for her presentation titled “Development of Footwear Impressions Deposited on Various Surfaces with Blood”. Not present to accept award. The New Scientist Award and monetary award was announced for the winner, Brandon Good from the Michigan State Police. He was not in atten-dance to receive the award due to a court conflict, so Guy Nutter accepted the award on his behalf. The Outstanding Scientist Award and monetary award was presented to Dave Green from the Lake County Crime Laboratory. The Distinguished Service Award and monetary award was announced for the winner, Dr. Jay Siegel (retired). A letter of acceptance was read by Dr. Christine Picard.

XIV. Recognition of Outgoing Board Members Plaques presented to the following: Member at Large: Danielle Hankinson Secretary: Guy Nutter Past President: Paul Bush A check for $500 was presented to the local charity “Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, Inc” XV. PASSING THE GAVEL President Welch spoke about the honor of being selected and serving as the MAFS President. The President’s Gavel was passed to President Brian Hoey. President Hoey presented a plaque to Todd Welch for his service as Presi-dent. An attempt was made to give a presentation in honor of Past President Welch but technical difficulties reared their ugly head like the do every year around this time of the Business Meeting. President Hoey gave an acceptance speech and asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. XVI. ADJOURNMENT A motion to adjourn was made by Tony Tambasco and seconded by Clarke Mercer. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 1:40PM. Eventually the presentation in honor of Past President Welch played and proved to be very entertaining. And later at the Gala a MAFS tradition con-tinued with President Hoey presenting a Viking hat to Past President Welch…

Todd Welch, President Guy Nutter, Secretary


loodspatter Training Chemical Searching and Enhancement Workshop

February 4—8, 2013 Olathe, Kansas Contact: Paul Kish [email protected] (607) 962-8092

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis I1 February 18-21, 2013

Contact: Craig Gravel (405) 706-8489 [email protected] www.bevelgardner.com

Basic Bloodstain pattern Analysis Workshop March 4—8, 2013, Miami-Dade Public Safety Training Institute in Doral, FL

Contact: Toby L. Wolson, MS, F-ABC (305) 471-3041 [email protected]

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis I1 April 8—12, 2013 Peoria, AZ


Bloodstain Pattern Analysis II September 16—20, Albuquerque, NM


Basic Bloodstain pattern Analysis Workshop December 9—13, 2013, Miami-Dade Public Safety Training Institute in Doral, FL

Contact: Toby L. Wolson, MS, F-ABC (305) 471-3041 [email protected]


January 28—February 1, 2013

Shoeprint Examination Course

St. Paul, MN

For more information contact Bill Bodziak: [email protected]

February 18—23 , 2013

American Academy of Forensic Sciences Annual Meeting

Washington DC

For more information: www.aafs.org

March 4—8, 2013

Facial Comparison and Identification Training

FBI CJIS Division, Clarksburg, WV

For more information: www.theiai.org/education/

March 11—13, 2013

Crime Scene Photography—Phase 1

Youngsville, NC

For more information: www.sirchie.com/training/training-programs/cirmescenephotograph-phase1.html

March 25—27, 2013

Footwear & Tiretrack Evidence: Effective Crime Scene Collection

Tacoma, WA

For more information: http://www.theiai.org/education/20130325_ftte.pdf

April 8—12, 2013

Advanced ACE-V Applications for Fingerprint Examiners

Chula Vista, CA

For more information: http://www.theiai.org/education/20130408_acev.pdf

April 15—April 19, 2013

Facial Comparison and Identification Training

FBI CJIS Division, Clarksburg, WV

For more information: www.theiai.org/education/

April 23—26, 2013

Fingerprint and Trace Evidence Collection on Skin

Sarasota, FL

For more information: http://www.theiai.org/education/20130423_ftecs.pdf


April 29—May 3, 2013

Essential Ridgeology Concepts

Denver, CO

For more information: http://www.theiai.org/education/20130429_erc.pdf

April 29— May 1, 2013

Advanced Palm Print Techniques

Olathe, KS

For more information : http://www.theiai.org/education/20130429_appct.pdf

May 13—15, 2013


Youngsville, NC


May 13-18, 2013

Forensic Entomology

Saint Joseph, MO

For more information: [email protected]

June 3—5 , 2013

Advanced Palm Print Examination Techniques

San Luis Obispo, CA

For more information: http://www.theiai.org/education/20130603_appet.pdf

August 19—23, 2013

Essential Ridgeology Concepts

Sandy, UT

For more information: http://www.theiai.org/education/20130819_erc.pdf

September 29—October 4, 2013

MAFS Fall Meeting

Dayton, OH

For more information: www.mafs.net

October 8—10, 2013


Youngsville, NC



Year-Round Courses

California Criminalistics Institute www.cci.ca.gov

Hooke College of Applied Sciences www.hookecollege.com

McCrone Research Institute www.mcri.org

WV University On-line Continuing Education Forensic Courses www.elearn.wvu.edu/Continuing.index.htm

Professional Analytical and Consulting Services (PACS) Short Courses www.pacslabs.com

2014 St. Paul, MN

X

2016 Branson, MO

X

X

2013 Dayton, OH

2015 Michigan

Upcoming MAFS Meetings!

??


Job Opportunities

Production Scientist - Genetic Identity Closing Date: none given Posted: December 3, 2012

Central Ohio Technical College—Forensic Science Instructor

For more information: https://jobs.cotc.edu

Global Technical Support and Training Manager—Forensics/Genetic Identity Closing Date: none given Posted: November 30, 2012

Promega

For more information: www.promega.com

Forensic Specialist II (Crime Scene Technician) Closing Date: not posted Posted: November 12, 2012

Kansas City Missouri Police Department Lab

Send resume to: Kansas City Police Crime Lab

c/o Captain Helen Schultz 6633 Troost

Kansas City, Missouri 64131

Forensic Regional Account Manager—Genetic Identity Closing Date: January 31, 2012 Posted: December 9, 2012

Promega Corporation

For more information:

www.promega

Laboratory Director Closing Date: January 31, 2013 Posted: January 2, 2013

MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

CONTACT:

www.mmb.state.mn.us

Latent Print Examiner Closing Date: February 5, 2013 Posted: December 7, 2012

Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations

CONTACT:

http://statejobs.state.wy.us/JobSearchDetail.aspx?ID=19206

DNA Technical Lead Closing Date: none listed Posted: December 4, 2012

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

CONTACT:

https://lvmpd.peopleadmin.com/postings/1555


Job Opportunities

Forensic Chemists Firearsm Examiner: Toolmark Examiner (Quantico, VA) (TS Clearance) Closing Date: February 10, 2013 Posted: December 12, 2012

Ideal Innovations, Inc.

CONTACT:

[email protected]

Forensic Toxicology Supervisor Closing Date: February 10, 2013 Posted: December 12, 2012

Milwaukee County Medical Examiners Office

For more information: https://milwcnty.recruitingcenter.net/clients/

milwcnty/publicjobs/controller.cfm

Forensic Analyst Closing Date: February 9, 2013 Posted: December 11, 2012

Sorenson Forensics


www.sorensonforensics.com

DNA Technical Lead Closing Date: July 1, 2013 Posted: December 5, 2012

Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab


Acgov.org/hrs

Analytical Chemist Closing Date: February 2, 2013 Posted: December 4, 2012

Atlantic Diagnostic Laboratories in Bensalem, Pennsylvania

CONTACT:

[email protected]

Toxicology Laboratory Manager Closing Date: January 31, 2013 Posted: November 29, 2012

Washington State Patrol

CONTACT:

[email protected]

Latent Print Examiner Forensic Technicians (US Bases in Afghanistan—21 Day Tour) Closing Date: February 16, 2013 Posted: December 18, 2012

Ideal Innovations, Inc.

CONTACT:

[email protected]


ED RHODES SCHOLARSHIP

In memory of Edward Rhodes, a pioneer in forensic education and certification. The American Board of Criminalistics, Inc. is offering a complimentary examination sitting for one representative from the following organizations: CAC, MAAFS, MAFS, NEAFS, SAFS, AAFS, ASTM-30 and ASCLD per calendar year. Tests can be taken at any time of the year. To the Candidate: Please fill out the form below and submit it along with a copy of the ABC application to MAFS President by April 1 for consideration. Application Fee is the responsibility of the candidate. MEMBER ORGANIZATION: (Please circle one) CAC MAAFS MAFS NEAFS SAFS AAFS ASTM-30 ASCLD NAME: ADDRESS: PHONE: FAX: E-MAIL: To the Organization: For the Candidate your Organization has selected please fill out the form below and for-ward it to: ABC Board of Directors c/o ABC Registrar P.O. Box 1358 Palmetto, FL 34220 MEMBER ORGANIZATION: PRESIDENT: ADDRESS: PHONE: FAX: E-MAIL: ________________________________________________________________

Deadline April 1


MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, INC. “A PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION”

SPONSOR REFERRAL FORM

APPLICANT’S NAME APPLICANT’S MAILING ADDRESS ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ PLEASE STATE APPLICANT’S PRIMARY WORK DUTIES ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN THE APPLICANT?

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN HIS/HER CO-WORKER?

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN HIS/HER SUPERVISOR?

CAN YOU VERIFY THE INFORMATION ON HIS/HER APPLICATION? YES NO. PLEASE EXPLAIN ________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ DESCRIBE THE SPECIFIC TRAINING THE APPLICANT HAS RECEIVED TO QUALIFY

HIM/HER FOR FORENSIC WORK? __________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ DO YOU RECOMMEND, WITHOUT QUALIFICATION, THAT THIS APPLICANT BE GRANTED MEMBERSHIP?

YES NO. PLEASE EXPLAIN

__________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

SPONSOR’S COMMENTS __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________

SPONSOR INFORMATION (PLEASE INDICATE TO WHAT SECTION(S) YOU BELONG 1 = PRIMARY (>50% OF YOUR JOB DUTIES) 2 = SECONDARY

Biology Chemistry Documents Firearms Latents Crime Scene

Management Photography Toxicology Trace General

SPONSOR’S NAME (PLEASE PRINT) ______________________________________________ ADDRESS _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ TELEPHONE _______________________ E-MAIL ______________________________________ SIGNATURE _______________________________________________ DATE _________________ (Note: Must be a Regular or Emeritus MAFS member to sponsor an applicant.)


MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, INC. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM (Regular and Associate Membership)

Name:________________________________________Title:______________________ Affiliation/Laboratory______________________________________________________ Address:________________________________________City:__________________________________

State:_________ Zip Code:__________ Phone:________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________ Fax:_________________________________________

* * Membership level to which you are applying: Regular Associate

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP:

A. Be of good character with no adult felony convictions and currently working in good standing in the forensic science field. B. Regular Member. 1) Working, as described in Paragraph A of this section, full-time in a forensic science laboratory doing or having done examinations and interpretations of physical evidence or full time in forensic science education. A forensic science laboratory is defined as one that has, as its primary function, service to the criminal and/or civil justice system by the examination and interpretation of physical evidence. Forensic science education is defined as one that has as its primary function, education in the examination and interpretation of physical evidence. 2) Who must possess a 4-year Baccalaureate Degree or 10 years experience working in a forensic discipline. 3) Have completed two years full-time forensic lab experience or have taught five years full-time forensic science education, at an accredited college or university. 4) Must have completed a documented training program in a forensic discipline and/or its equivalent: Proof of successfully completed professionally designed and administered proficiency exams, OR Worked in a laboratory accredited by the ASCLD/LAB or ISO 17025, OR Certified by a recognized certifying body in which competency testing is part of the certification process. C. Associate Member. Any of the following: 1) Working as described in Paragraph A of this Section but not meeting the requirements of Paragraph B of this Section. 2) Working in good standing in a scientific discipline and occasionally called upon to do forensic analysis in that discipline 3) Working in good standing as a criminal justice professional with an interest in forensic science

**Please attach Curriculum Vitae (listing education/employment (with dates)/professional societies/specialized training) and if applying for Regular Membership, one of the following: (**CV required)

Please state your Primary Work Duties: ____________________________________________________ MAFS Section(s) to which you are applying: 1 = Primary (> 50% of your job duties) , 2 = Secondary

__ Biology __ Chemistry __ Crime Scene __ Documents __ Firearms __ Latents __ Management __ Photography __ Toxicology __ Trace __ General

SPONSORS REQUIRED FOR REGULAR OR ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP * Please list the names of two current voting (Regular or Emeritus) MAFS members who have agreed to sponsor your application and whose sponsorship forms/letters of sponsorship are enclosed. * At least one sponsor must be a primary section member of the MAFS Section(s) to which you are applying (i.e. > 50% of your job duties). NOTE: Until June, 2011 the crime scene section can have secondary section member sponsorships.

Sponsor: ___________________________________________Sponsor: _____________________________________________ Have you ever been convicted of, or pled guilty to a felony? Yes No * Have you attached your curriculum vitae (required)? Yes

Should this application be acted upon favorably, I agree to adhere to and support the By-Laws, Code of Ethics, and Rules and Guidelines of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, Inc..

Signature: ________________________________Date: __________ Deadline for all application materials is June 1st of each year. Note: Upon membership approval, members will be invoiced $50.00 by the MAFS treasurer for annual dues. Do not send payment at this time.

Mail all applications to the Membership Chairperson.

Application Received on _______________ Reviewed by Section Coordinator(s), (Initials/Date) ______________________ Acted on (Initials of Membership Committee Member and Date) _____________________Denied on/reasons_____________

1) Letter from employer/trainer stating you completed a training program of (number of) months in your primary discipline as of (date), OR 2) Letter from employer stating that you have successfully completed proficiency exams in (list subjects) within two previous years, OR complete one of the following statements:

3) Your employer is currently accredited by ASCLD/LAB as of (date): _____________ , OR 4) Your employer is currently accredited by ISO 17025 as of (date): ________________, OR 5) You have been certified in your discipline by: (what body) __________________________ as of (date): _______________

Send Completed Form to: Will Randle - Membership Chair Missouri State Highway Patrol

1510 E. Elm Street Jefferson City, MO 65101

Voice: (573) 526-6134 Fax: (573) 751-9922

Email: [email protected]


MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, INC.

STUDENT MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

(Is this a re-application? yes no) Student Affiliate. A student engaged in science studies with forensic science being considered as a career goal. Such membership must be renewed annually by reapplying.

Name: _____________________________________________________________ Mailing Address: ____________________________________________________ City: _______________________________________ State: _________ Zip Code: __________ Phone:____________________________ Email: ______________________________________________ College/University: ______________________________________________________________________

University Web Site (or link for student enrollment verification): _____________________________________

Academic Major(s): _________________________________ Expected Graduation Date: _____________ Forensic Courses Taken: ___________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________

Forensic Areas of Interest: (check all that apply)


Have you ever been convicted of, or pled guilty to a felony? Yes No

Should this application be acted upon favorably, I agree to adhere to and support the By-Laws, Code of Ethics, and Rules and Guidelines of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, Inc..

Signature: ____________________________________________________________Date: _______________ Dues will be ten dollars ($10.00) per year, due with the application. All student affiliate memberships will terminate one year after approval, at which time you may re-apply if you are still a student.

Mail application to the Membership Chairperson listed above.

Please include the dues fee of $10.00 made out to “MAFS”.

Application Received on ____________________________ Fee Received Acted on (Initials of Membership Committee Member and Date) ______________ Accepted on __________ Denied on /reasons_____________

Department Head (please print): ___________________________________________________________

Signature: __________________________________________ Date: __________

Phone Number: ____________________________________________________ Email Address: _____________________________________________________

Send Completed Form & $10 fee to: Will Randle - Membership Chair Missouri State Highway Patrol


Voice: (573) 526-6134 Fax: (573) 751-9922



MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION OF FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, INC. MEMBERSHIP PROMOTION FORM Promotion to Regular or Emeritus Membership

Name: ________________________________________Title:______________________ Affiliation/Laboratory: ______________________________________________________

Address:

______________________________________________City:_______________________________________ State:_________ Zip

Code:__________ Phone:________________________________

Email: ____________________________________________ Fax:_________________________________________ * * Membership Status Sought: Regular Emeritus

Applicants for Promotion to Regular Member Only: Qualifications: A. Be of good character with no adult felony convictions and currently working in good standing in the forensic science field. B. Regular Member. 1) Working, as described in Paragraph A of this section, full-time in a forensic science laboratory doing or having done examinations and interpretations of physical evidence or full time in forensic science education. A forensic science laboratory is defined as one that has, as its primary function, service to the criminal and/or civil justice system by the examination and interpretation of physical evidence. Forensic science education is defined as one that has as its primary function, education in the examination and interpretation of physical evidence. 2) Who must possess a 4-year Baccalaureate Degree or 10 years experience working in a forensic discipline. 3) Have completed two years full-time forensic lab experience or have taught five years full-time forensic science education, at an accredited college or university. 4) Must have completed a documented training program in a forensic discipline and/or its equivalent: Proof of successfully completed professionally designed and administered proficiency exams, OR Worked in a laboratory accredited by the ASCLD/LAB or ISO 17025, OR Certified by a recognized certifying body in which competency testing is part of the certification process.

**Please attach Curriculum Vitae (listing education/employment (with dates)/professional societies/specialized training) and One of the following: (**CV required)

Please state your Primary Work Duties: ____________________________________________________ MAFS Section(s) to which you are applying: 1 = Primary (> 50% of your job duties), 2 = Secondary


Applicants for Promotion to Emeritus Member Only: (check all that apply)

Emeritus. Having been a Regular Member at least ten years prior to application, and be retired from all full time employment or have reached the age of sixty-five. All Emeritus members will be placed in the General Section.

I have been a Regular Member of MAFS for at least ten years I am/will be at least 65 years of age Birth date: _________ I am/will retire from full time employment Retirement date: ________________

Please Note: Emeritus applicants are responsible for payment of dues in the calendar year their application is submitted. * If you are applying for promotion to Regular Member, have you attached your curriculum vitae (required)? Yes

Should this application be acted upon favorably, I agree to adhere to and support the By-Laws, Code of Ethics, and Rules and Guidelines of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists, Inc.

Signature: _______________________________________________Date: __________ Upon membership approval, members will be invoiced $50.00 by the MAFS Treasurer for annual dues. Do no send payment at this time.

Deadline for promotion to Regular is June 1st of each year. Emeritus applications can be submitted and approved at any time.

Mail application to the Membership Chairperson listed above.

Application Received on _______________ Reviewed by Section Coordinator(s) (Initials/Date) ______________________

1) Letter from employer/trainer stating you completed a training program of (number of) months in your primary disci-pline as of (date), OR 2) Letter from employer stating that you have successfully completed proficiency exams in (list subjects) within two previ-ous years, OR complete one of the following statements:

3) Your employer is currently accredited by ASCLD/LAB as of (date): _____________ , OR 4) Your employer is currently accredited by ISO 17025 as of (date): ________________, OR 5) You have been certified in your discipline by: (what body) _________________________ as of (date): ______________

Send Completed Form to:

Will Randle - Membership Chair Missouri State Highway Patrol


Voice: (573) 526-6134 Fax: (573) 751-9922



AUDIT Malinda Spangler* 913-826-3270 Email: [email protected] Leanora Bender 717-825-5367 Email: [email protected] Chiara Wuensch 414-382-7500 Email: [email protected] Jennifer Watson 937-225-4990 Email: [email protected] Lori Bruski 517-819-3660 Email: [email protected] Bethany Stone 913-826-3252 Email: [email protected] Kristin McDonald 651-793-2874 Email: [email protected]

BYLAWS/ADMIN RULES Kristi Evans* 515-725-1500 Email: [email protected] Lori Bruski 817-718-7904 Email: [email protected] Paul Bush 515-725-1500 Email: [email protected] Heidi Young 402-471-8950 Email: [email protected] HISTORIAN/LIBRARIAN

Angela Nealand* 708-338-7800 [email protected] Curtiss Jones 216-721-5610 Email: [email protected]

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS John Chester* 317-921-5396 Email: [email protected] Sean Brooks* 573-526-6134 [email protected] Kathy Boone 317-921-5397 Email: [email protected] Angelo Bommarito 312-433-8000 Email: [email protected] Susan Gross 651-793-2900 Email: [email protected] Ray Lenz 414-382-7500 Email: [email protected]

CERTIFICATION Kristin McDonald* 651-793-2900 Email: [email protected] Kristine Olsson 913-826-3223 Email: [email protected]

AWARDS Anne Gierlowski* 586-726-6709 Email: [email protected] Kimberly Zebrowski 586-726-6709 Email: [email protected] Sean Brooks 573-526-6134 [email protected] Elizabeth Cheesman 702-828-3955 Email: [email protected]

ETHICS Paul Bush* 515-725-1500 Email: [email protected] Ted Manasian 419-353-5603 Email: [email protected] Ruth Montgomery 573-526-6134 Email: [email protected] Fredericka Laux 312-353-3640 Email: [email protected] Jenny Smith 573-526-6134 Email: [email protected]

NOMINATING Todd Welch* 517-322-6100 Email: [email protected] Lisa Ramos 517-636-5269 Email: [email protected] Heather Clark 517-819-8457 Email: [email protected] Karl Suni 517-322-6564 Email: [email protected] Kristen Welch 703-285-8660 Email: [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP Will Randle* 573-526-6134 Email: [email protected] Abigail Graham 573-526-6134 Email: [email protected] Malena Jimenez 573-526-6134 Email: [email protected]

FALL PLANNING Paul Hermsen* 515-725-1500 Email: [email protected] Cheryl Lozen 248-380-1000 Email: [email protected] Mark Ahonen 317-921-5393 Email: [email protected] Doug Saul 630-407-2105 Email: [email protected] Sandy Koresch 414-382-7500 Email: [email protected] Brooke Ehlers 937-225-4990 Email: [email protected] Jennifer Watson 937-225-4990 Email: [email protected] Jen Dillon 248-380-1019 Email: [email protected] Kristin McDonald 651-793-2875 Email: [email protected] Leanora Bender 717-825-5367 Email: [email protected]

TRAINING & EDUCATION Danielle Hankinson* 703-335-8100 Email: [email protected] Jill Baker 630-407-2103 Email: [email protected] Matney Wyatt 404-469-7068 Email: [email protected] Sara Schreiber 414-382-7500 Email: [email protected] Susan Gross 651-793-2874 Email: [email protected] Ryan Rezzelle 913-826-3268 Email: [email protected] Julie Mauer 317-921-5341 Email: [email protected]

RESEARCH Abby Graham* 573-526-6134 Email: [email protected] Rebecca Dian 651-793-2900 Email: [email protected] Other members pending.

MAFS 2011—2012 COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Interested in getting more involved in MAFS and/or being on a committee next year?! Contact President‐Elect Will Randle

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Susan Gross Newsletter Editor c/o Minnesota BCA 1430 Maryland Ave East St. Paul, MN 55106

2012/2013 Board of Directors President Brian Hoey 573-526-6134 [email protected] Past-President Todd Welch 517-322-6100 [email protected] President-Elect Will Randle 573-526-6134 [email protected] Treasurer Lee Bender 717-825-5367 [email protected] Secretary Paul Hermsen 515-725-1500 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Susan Gross 651-793-2900 [email protected] Member-at-Large John Chester 317-921-5396 [email protected] Member-at-Large Anne Gierlowski 586-726-6709 [email protected] Member-at-Large Malinda Spangler 913-826-3270 [email protected]

2012/2013 Section Coordinators Biology Julie Mauer 317-921-5341 [email protected] Crime Scene Ryan Rezzelle 913-826-3268 [email protected] Documents Mark Goff 517-719-5473 [email protected] Drug Chemistry Jillian Baker 630-407-2103 [email protected] Firearms N/A Latent Prints Julieanne Avila 414-382-7500 [email protected] Management Bryan Hampton 636-949-7488 [email protected] Photo/Imaging Ray Lenz 414-382-7500 [email protected] Toxicology Sara Schreiber 414-382-7500 [email protected] Trace Matney Wyatt 404-469-7068 [email protected]

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