Research Progress on Biological Evidence Identification in Fire Scenes

Fa Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2024 Feb 25;40(1):64-69. doi: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2022.520501.
[Article in English, Chinese]

Abstract

Biological evidence is relatively common evidence in criminal cases, and it has strong probative power because it carries DNA information for individual identification. At the scene of fire-related cases, the complex thermal environment, the escape of trapped people, the firefighting and rescue operations, and the deliberate destruction of criminal suspects will all affect the biological evidence in the fire scene. Scholars at home and abroad have explored and studied the effectiveness of biological evidence identification in fire scenes, and found that the blood stains, semen stains, bones, etc. are the main biological evidence which can be easily recovered with DNA in fire scenes. In order to analyze the research status and development trend of biological evidence in fire scenes, this paper systematically sorts out the relevant research, mainly including the soot removal technology, appearance method of typical biological evidence, and possibility of identifying other biological evidence. This paper also prospects the next step of research direction, in order to provide reference for the identification of biological evidence and improve the value of biological evidence in fire scenes.

生物物证是刑事案件中的常见证据,因其携带可供个体身份识别的DNA信息而有较强的证明力。在涉火案件现场,复杂的热环境、被困人员逃生、灭火救援行动,以及犯罪嫌疑人的故意破坏等,都会对火场生物物证造成影响。国内外学者对火场生物物证识别的有效性进行了探索和研究,发现在火场中能够有效回收DNA的生物物证主要有血迹、精斑、骨骼等。为了分析火场生物物证的研究现状和发展趋势,本文对相关研究进行了系统梳理,主要包括火场典型生物物证的烟尘清除技术、显现方法和识别其他生物物证的可能性,并对下一步研究方向进行了展望,以期为火场生物物证的识别、提升火场生物物证的证据价值提供参考。.

Keywords: biological evidence; fire scene; forensic genetics; individual identification; review.

MeSH terms

  • Blood Stains*
  • Body Fluids*
  • DNA / genetics
  • Fires*
  • Humans
  • Semen

Substances

  • DNA