Forensic Magazine

Investigators need the ability to gather evidence insights across a variety of data sources. This can include location data, chat messages and email stored on the device and deleted content. Yet the tools designed to extract their data are in a constant race against app updates, which can lead to evidence getting missed. Uncovering the most amount of device data in digital investigations is often critical to finding the evidence needed for successful prosecutions.

On Nov. 28, 1981, passersby gathering firewood in the mountainous area near Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Pinyon Crest community discovered what appeared to be a shallow grave. They observed skeletal remains partially exposed through the soil and immediately notified authorities.

A new analysis published in the journal Prevention Science calls for a major shift in how the United States approaches substance misuse prevention strategies and programs. The findings argue that the current strategy for providing prevention services may not be reaching enough people or providing a worthwhile return on investment. Implementation efforts should instead focus on direct integration into schools, healthcare systems and digital technologies Americans already use every day.

Lt. Col.

Credit: Aaron Boutwell via Loyola Loyola University Maryland has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal funding to create a forensic science training center to support forensic science innovation and training through the University’s partnerships with local law enforcement agencies and the City of Baltimore. Resources provided through the $965,000 in federal funding will enable cutting-edge research in areas like DNA analysis, toxicology, digital forensics, and pattern analysis.

by John Bryant, Forensic Meterologist Expert Witness Weather conditions show up in legal disputes more often than people expect. Vehicle accidents and infrastructure failures, for example, can hinge on what the sky was doing at a specific place and time. When a case depends on those facts, attorneys turn to weather experts to reconstruct historical atmospheric conditions and clarify whether weather played a role in what happened.

On Dec. 27, 2024, skeletal remains of an unidentified individual were discovered at Arapahoe Bar Gold Panning Park in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office responded and began collecting evidence and investigating. Investigators determined the remains likely belonged to an adult White male between the ages of 50 and 70 years old.

Suspect mugshot. Credit: Warren County Prosecutor On Oct. 16, 1985, John Warren was a guest at the Holiday Inn in Middletown, Ohio near I-75 in Warren County. The hotel has long since been torn down. Warren was a traveling salesman for an auto parts company and was in the area for sales meetings. The next morning, Warren was found deceased in his hotel room. A number of his personal items as well as his 1985 Oldsmobile were taken.

Thermo Fisher Scientific's Applied Biosystems RapidINTEL Plus Cartridge has received approval from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National DNA Index System (NDIS) for use with qualifying forensic crime scene samples. The law enforcement milestone makes Thermo Fisher's Rapid DNA workflow on the RapidHIT ID System the first eligible to generate DNA profiles that can be searched against the national CODIS database network when FBI requirements are met.

Individuals subject to extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), or “red flag” laws, were significantly less likely to be arrested—including for violent and firearm-related offenses—while the orders were in effect compared to the six months prior. Strikingly, the drop in arrests did not end when the orders expired and continued for months afterward. Those are the results of a study published in PNAS Nexus.