Dutch researchers develop blood spatter time technique

DutchNews, January 12, 2016

Researchers at Erasmus University’s teaching hospital have discovered a method to determine when a drop of blood was left at a crime scene to within eight hours, broadcaster Nos says on Tuesday.

‘A drop of blood can tell us more about the time a crime was committed,’ Manfred Kayser, head of the genetic identification department, said. ‘This can help investigations into alibis, for example.’ 

The researchers use biomarkers such as hormones to establish when blood was left behind. The level of these biomarkers in blood changes over a 24-hour period, allowing their age to be more closely determined. 

The researchers are now trying to identify other time-based biomarkers so they can narrow the time frame down further, Nos says. ‘We know there are a lot of them. We just have to find them,’ Kayser said. 

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