Resumen de Trajectory reconstruction through analysis of trace evidence in bullet–intermediate target interaction by SEM⁄EDX
Sunlin Hu, Hui Shen, Songcai Wang, Chao Fang
A young male was shot to death by a police officer with a Chinese Type 64 7.62 mm pistol when he was dealing with an aggra-vated assault arising from a traffic accident. By using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM ⁄ EDX) , tracedeposits on the discharged bullet and the intermediate target, i.e., a concrete telegraph pole at the scene, were identified to be from each other. Theresult demonstrated the bullet causing the death ricocheted from the concrete telegraph pole before striking the victim, thus indicating the incident wasaccidental. The case report illustrates the evidential value of trace materials derived, respectively, from discharged bullets and intermediate targets inbullet–intermediate target interaction for trajectory reconstruction. In addition, it indicates that the SEM ⁄ EDX method with its nondestructive nature,compared to other methods, may be more helpful in certain situations in determining the origins of trace evidentially valuable deposits on substrates
