UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — To a common observer, a crime scene may seem like an impossible puzzle; but in the eyes of a forensic scientist, it is a complex and incomplete record of past events — difficult to interpret, but decipherable through science.
"A lot of times, we're dealing with highly fragmented information," said Penn State Forensic Science Program Director Jack Hietpas. "Very rarely do we have a lot of information to work with. We must rely on rigorous scientific principles as the basis for our analysis and interpretation of the physical evidence, if we are going to reconstruct such complex crime events."
From bullet fragments and cartridge cases, entrance and exit holes, particles of gunshot residue, and blood spatter patterns, a forensic expert elicits details of shooter and firearm, shot sequence and trajectories; develops, tests and reevaluates hypotheses; and painstakingly pieces the scene together through a meticulous, scientific process.