A moving person who is losing blood will leave blood stains that provide information about the direction in which the person is traveling. A number of factors may determine if an investigator can follow a victim's trail.
Parameter
Gives Insight
Gives No Insight
shape of blood stains
oval (with long axis indicating axis of motion)
round
spines and satellite splashes
obvious and on one side
none or all around the stain
number of stains
many
few
surface stained
smooth
rough and irregular
The direction of a victim's movements can usually be determined if several of the features giving insight are present.
Footprints and other evidence may provide additional support for the interpretation.
One method of using this data is to assign points to the results (0 if no information, 1 if some information, 2 if informative) then summing the value.
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