Forensic Paper

Forensic imaging is an emerging field of specialization which has been in the works ever since chalk and achromatic photography. Even before the personal computer, it was clear to law-enforcement and investigators that they needed help when ransacking through a crime-scene to gather useful information which might provide clues to “who did it.” As time went on, more resources were allocated to investigators cataloging information so that it could be reviewed as many times and by as many people without its recursive degradation. Essentially, technology has enabled us not only to derive more data from a given location, but also preserve more data as the process of investigation continues. Today, many inconsequential data are recorded in fear anything might be missed after it is too late to retrieve certain aspects of it. This is the bread and butter of forensic imaging, even as it branches out toward providing new insight to investigators, in addition to enabling them to simply review their work.


On July 21, 1957 at 11:45 p.m Roy Jones parked his 1949 blue Ford Sedan In “Lover’s Lane” in the oil field on Van Ness in Hawthorne, California. The car contained 4 teenagers, 2 boys ages 16 and 17, and to young girls who were 15. The car was approached on the driver’s side by a white male carrying a revolver. He took the victim’s car with them in it and then drove to a more secluded area in the Hawthorne oil fields. Using the shirts taken off the two boys, he bound the teenagers' hands behind their backs and began taping with adhesive tape, the eyes and mouths of three of the minors; both of the boys and one of the young girls, The boys were forced to lie on the rear floorboards of the car, and the girl in the backseat was ordered to lie back. The suspect then proceeded to rape the second 15-year-old girl who was sitting in the front seat. At 12:50 a.m. he told all of the victims to undress. He then collected the adhesive tape and their bindings and fled the location with the vehicle. About an hour later the suspect ran a red light and was engaged in a police chase in which shots were fired striking both officers were hit and then eventually died from the injuries on the scene.

The murder brought shock the people in the town of Hawthorne and wanted to whom and why would somebody do such a horrific crime. Mr. Tuley from Manhattan Beach found two watches in august of 1957, and then put them in his garage. In the course of a year the Tuley family found a revolver’s frame and cylinder, and it had one live round, 6 shells and two empty chambers. After Mr. Tuley found the objects he finally called the El Segundo Police Department. The evidence was shown to the robbery victims and they identified the watches. The ballistics of the gun identified that the gun was used to kill the police officers and the serial number was then traced to Shreveport, Louisiana to a man using the false name, G.D. Wilson and the address of a grave. The evidence tracks lead to a YMCA that the man singed in as George Wilson and a copy was made of the registration to be added to the evidence. Unfortunately when the case was reviewed again in 1997 and has become cold again with no other leads. Two main forensic techniques were used to solve the case. They were fingerprint analysis and forensic document examination (Edholm). The investigators in the case used IAFIS or Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System to identify the fifty year old fingerprints. IAFIS is the world’s largest biometric database created by the FBI to help solve cases. IAFIS can identify fingerprints, search criminal history, and store and distribute documents across its database. IAFIS has well over 55 million fingerprints stored to help solve crimes (Federal). The investigators compared two different documents to prove that the same man purchased a gun under a false name and visited a YMCA under a false name near the scene of the crime (Edholm). The American Board of Forensic Document Examination believes that forensic document examination is “The application of allied sciences and analytical techniques to questions concerning documents is termed forensic document examination. The examination of questioned documents consists of the analysis and comparison of questioned handwriting, hand printing, typewriting, commercial printing, photocopies, papers, inks, and other documentary evidence with known material in order to establish the authenticity of the contested material as well as the detection of alterations (FAQs).”