Highlights
- •Recent handlers of a knife are prominent in DNA profile.
- •Last handler of a knife not always major contributor to DNA profile.
- •Hands readily pickup DNA on objects left by others and transfer it to other objects.
- •Quantity of foreign DNA deposited by a hand diminishes as more objects are handled.
- •Take caution when considering how DNA transferred to an object.
Abstract
The presence of DNA in a criminal investigation often requires scrutiny in relation
to how it came to be where it was found. There is a paucity of data with respect to
the extent to which one can assume that the last person handling an object, which
has previously been touched by others, will contribute to the DNA profile generated
from it. There are limited data in detailing the extent to which any foreign DNA is
picked-up from a previously touched object and transferred to subsequently touched
objects. This study focuses on DNA transfer and persistence on a knife handle after
multiple handlings with the knife by different individuals soon after each other,
as well as handprints left on flat DNA-free surfaces immediately after touching a
knife handle with a known history of prior handling.
The profiles of later handlers of a knife are more prominent than earlier handlers;
however, the last handler is not always the major contributor to the profile. Proportional
contributions to the profiles retrieved from knife handles vary depending on the individuals
touching the knife handle. They can also vary when knife handles have been handled
in the same manner by the same individuals in the same sequence on different occasions.
Hands readily pickup DNA left on objects by others and transfer it to subsequently
touched objects. The quantity of foreign DNA picked up by a hand and deposited on
subsequently touched objects diminishes as more DNA-free objects are handled soon
after each other.
Caution is advised when considering how DNA from different individuals may have been
transferred to the object from which it was collected.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Forensic Science International: GeneticsAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Forensic trace DNA: a review.Invest. Genet. 2010; 1: 14
- DNA fingerprints from fingerprints.Nature. 1997; : 767
- Secondary DNA transfer of biological substances under varying test conditions.Forensic Sci. Int.: Genet. 2010; 4: 62-67
- Investigation of secondary DNA transfer of skin cells under controlled test conditions.Legal Med. 2010; 12: 117-120
- The influence of substrate on DNA transfer and extraction efficiency.Forensic Sci. Int.: Genet. 2013; 7: 167-175
- DNA transfer: the role of temperature and drying time.Legal Med. 2014; 16 (2013): 161-163
- The transfer of touch DNA from hands to glass, fabric and wood.Forensic Sci. Int.: Genet. 2012; 6: 41-46
- The propensity of individuals to deposit DNA and secondary transfer of low level DNA from individuals to inert surfaces.Forensic Sci. Int. 2002; 129: 25-34
- The tendency of individuals to transfer DNA to handled items.Forensic Sci. Int. 2007; 168: 162-168
- Assessment of individual shedder status and implication for secondary DNA transfer.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. Suppl. Ser. 2008; 1: 415-417
- Investigation into normal background DNA on adult necks: implications for DNA profiling of manual strangulation victims.J. Forensic Sci. 2008; 53: 1074-1082
- Defining background DNA levels found on the skin of children aged 0–5 years.Int. J. Legal Med. 2014; 128: 251-258
- Trace DNA and street robbery: a criminalistic approach to DNA evidence.Forensic Sci. Int.: Genet. Suppl. Ser. 2009; 2: 544-546
- The prevalence of mixed DNA profiles in fingernail samples taken from individuals in the general population.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2007; 1: 62-68
- The prevalence of mixed DNA profiles in fingernail samples taken from couples who co-habit using autosomal and Y-STRs.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2009; 3: 57-62
- DNA contamination minimisation-finding an effective cleaning method.Aust. J. Forensic Sci. 2015; 47: 428-439
- Double swab technique for collecting touched evidence.Legal Med. 2007; 9: 181-184
- Persistence of DNA deposited by the original user on objects after subsequent use by a second person.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2014; 8: 219-225
- Could secondary DNA transfer falsely place someone at the scene of a crime?.J. Forensic Sci. 2016; 61: 196-203
- Exploring the relative DNA contribution of first and second object’s users on mock touch DNA mixtures.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. Suppl. Ser. 2015; : e300-e301
- Assessing primary, secondary and tertiary DNA transfer using the promega ESI-17 Fast PCR chemistry.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. Suppl. Ser. 2015; : e55-e57
- Evaluation of multiple transfer of DNA using mock case scenarios.Legal Med. 2012; 14: 40-46
- The complexities of DNA transfer during a social setting.Legal Med. 2015; 17: 82-91
- Following the transfer of DNA: how does the presence of background DNA affect the transfer and detection of a target source of DNA?.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2015; 19: 68-75
- DNA transfer by examination tools—a risk for forensic casework?.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2015; 16: 246-254
- Secondary and subsequent DNA transfer during criminal investigation.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2015; 17: 155-162
- The deposition and persistence of indirectly-transferred DNA on regularly-used knives.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. Suppl. Ser. 2015; : e495-e497
- A systematic analysis of secondary DNA transfer.Journal Forensic Sci. 1999; 44: 1270-1272
- Low template STR typing: effect of replicate number and consensus method on genotyping reliability and DNA database search results.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2011; 5: 316-328
- Comparison of different interpretation strategies for low template DNA mixtures.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2012; 6: 716-722
- Evaluation of tapelifting as a collection method for touch DNA.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2014; 8: 179-186
- Cell free DNA as a component of forensic evidence recovered from touched surfaces.Forensic Sci. Int. Genet. 2012; 6: 26-30
- Activities between activities of focus—relevant when assessing DNA transfer probabilities Forensic Sci.Int. Genet. Suppl. Ser. 2015; : e75-e77
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 29, 2016
Accepted:
July 27,
2016
Received in revised form:
July 1,
2016
Received:
November 15,
2015
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
