EXAMINATION AND EVALUATION OF VEHICLE TRACE EVIDENCE IN FORENSIC CASES

Abstract

Vehicle paint chips found at the crime scene are commonly used evidence in forensic cases. Paint samples are transferred from vehicle to vehicle/victim in theft or hit-and-run cases. In this study, paint samples of five different vehicles obtained from the auto industry were pulverized and analyzed using FT-IR Spectrometry and SEM/EDX methods. As a result of the analysis, it was observed that the vehicles differ from each other according to brand, model and production year. When the paint samples of 5 different vehicles were examined, it was determined that the molecular structures of vehicles with different colors, brands, models and production years were different from each other. It has been determined that the microscopic images and FT-IR bands of two red vehicle paints that appear to be the same color are different. A paint database can be created by using paint analysis, which is one of the trace evidence frequently encountered in forensic cases.

Keywords

• vehicle paint
• forensic science
• FT-IR
• SEM-EDX
• trace evidence

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