Journal of forensic sciences最新文献

{"title":"Burst abdomen in a case of fatal high-voltage electrocution: A rare entity.","authors":"Prins Kumar Agrawal, Siva Sai Kumar Pulagura, Vikas Meshram, Raghvendra Singh Shekhawat, Tanuj Kanchan","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70496","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70496","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>High-voltage electrocution (>1000 volts) commonly presents with flash burns, flame burns, and injuries due to the entry and exit of current in the body. Sometimes, unusual injuries are encountered in high-voltage electrocution. A burst abdomen with perforation of the gastrointestinal tract is a rare entity to be seen in cases of electrocution because of its large surface area and low resistance. The case report enlightens a fatal electrocution in an occupational setting where a 19-year-old young laborer sustained a fatal electrocution after a 15-foot metallic ladder inadvertently contacted overhead power lines during transportation. Postmortem examination revealed multiple superficial to deep burns involving the face, neck, chest, abdomen, perineum, and extremities. In addition, the abdomen was burst, exposing the internal abdominal viscera, including a perforated stomach. This article reports a rare case of a burst abdomen in high-voltage electrocution and possible mechanisms underlying these injuries.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149120866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"One blotter stamp: Identification of multiple phenethylamine new psychoactive substances and unambiguous differentiation of two isomers.","authors":"Jialin Feng, Miao Zhang, Ping Xiang, Miao Yu, Junbo Zhao","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70492","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70492","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent years, new psychoactive substances (NPSs) have emerged continuously, often concealed in carriers such as blotter stamps, tobacco, and beverages, posing serious challenges to drug control and forensic identification. In this study, seven phenethylamine substances were detected from a seized blotter stamp using liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). By comparison with an in-house mass spectral library, six of them were identified as 25D-NBOMe, 25E-NBOH, 25C-NBOMe, 2C-E, 25B-NBOMe, and 25I-NBOH. The most abundant component exhibited a protonated molecular ion ([M + H]⁺) at m/z 330.2068; the relative peak area percentage of this component among the seven identified analytes was approximately 94.6%. Further comparison with the in-house library indicated that this substance could be either 25G-NBOMe or 25E-NBOMe, which were structural isomers of each other. Conventional liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods relying primarily on retention time and selected parent/product ion pairs were insufficient to confidently distinguish these two structural isomers, posing a risk of misidentification. Therefore, this study employed HRMS combined with diagnostic fragment ion abundance ratio analysis. It was found that under identical collision energy conditions, the fragment ions at m/z 135.0804 and 193.1223 exhibited markedly stronger responses for 25E-NBOMe than for 25G-NBOMe. Based on this, we distinguished the two structural isomers and confirmed that the target substance in the seized blotter stamp was 25E-NBOMe.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149120869","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A multimodal artificial intelligence framework for digital forensics.","authors":"Manish Kumar","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70497","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70497","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Digital forensics plays a key role in investigating different types of crimes. It involves analyzing evidence from electronic devices, social media, and system logs. However, investigators face major challenges due to the large size of digital data. Information from networks, smartphones, and online platforms is often too complex to analyze within a limited time. The large size of digital evidence and the pressure of a strict timeline for case investigation force the investigator to do data reduction and selective analysis. It is also difficult for the investigator to correlate the various digital evidence to create the complete picture of the crime story. To address these challenges, we propose a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence Framework designed to integrate heterogeneous digital evidence analysis capabilities by leveraging artificial intelligence. The proof-of-concept architecture proposed in the paper incorporates explainable AI, pattern recognition, and a confidence-aware inference mechanism for semantic evidence analysis. The experimental analysis of the proposed model shows improved investigative efficiency. The analysis of the research results endorses the effectiveness of AI-assisted workflow in digital forensics investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149120849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Protodesnitazene: The identification and tissue distribution of a new nitazene.","authors":"Andrew Griffiths, Nathan Milne, Michelle Johnston, Karen Blakey, Rogan Scott","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70478","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70478","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multiple new analogues from the 2-benzyl benzimidazole or \"nitazene\" class of drugs have emerged on the drug market in recent years. Nitazenes are highly potent μ-opioid receptor agonists that present a substantial public health concern due to their elevated risk of severe toxicity in overdose and their significant potential for misuse. We report on a case involving an overdose with another new analogue from this class, protodesnitazene. The drug has a similar potency to fentanyl and has not been previously reported in toxicology specimens or drug seizures. Protodesnitazene was initially identified by LC-QTOF-HRMS (High Resolution Mass Spectrometry) and distinguished from relevant isomers by chromatographic separation, with spectral and retention time matching against reference standards. A quantitation method employing solid phase extraction using mixed mode cartridges and utilizing LC-MS/MS operating in MRM mode was developed and partially validated for non-routine analyses. Concentrations for the parent drug were determined in a range of postmortem matrices and femoral blood levels (77-222 ng/mL) were found to be comparable to previously identified desnitazene compounds. Protodesnitazene was observed to metabolize extensively by N-dealkylation, O-dealkylation, and hydroxylation. Glucuronides were not present at high levels in the blood but were prominent in the urine. Protodesnitazene was also identified in an associated seized powder.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149066957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconstructing user behavior with Android and iOS app-switching artifacts.","authors":"Sejin Seong, Eunjin Kim, Sunbum Song, Soojin Kim, Sangeun Lee, Gibum Kim","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70475","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70475","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Smartphone operating systems generate artifacts such as snapshots, state databases, and usage logs to manage application state transitions during app-switching. However, these artifacts differ across operating systems in storage location, format, and retention period, which limits the reproducibility and interpretability of forensic analysis even when the underlying user behavior is identical. Android's Protobuf-serialized records and iOS's KTX-format snapshots further complicate analysis, as their complex structures and limited tool support often necessitate manual processing. This study examines app-switching artifacts on Android and iOS to reconstruct user behavior, focusing on UsageStats, Recent Tasks, and snapshot images on Android, and KnowledgeC.db, applicationState.db, and snapshot artifacts on iOS. We analyze how each platform records temporal information and application state during app-switching, termination, and device reboot, and show that correlation across artifacts enables cross-validation, resolving the resulting inconsistencies. The results reveal discrepancies between UsageStats records and other app-switching artifacts on Android, and missing endDate values and incomplete records during abnormal termination in iOS's KnowledgeC.db. These findings demonstrate that single-artifact analysis can lead to misinterpretation. We further develop an automated tool that parses, aligns, and visualizes multiple artifacts to reconstruct app-transition flows, confirming its practical applicability to mobile forensic analysis.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149066937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A juvenile homicide associated with a left-sided cerebral arteriovenous malformation.","authors":"Abhilasha Khurana, Natalie Myers, Wade Myers","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70433","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70433","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Brain lesions are known to affect cognition, emotions, and behavior, and have been implicated in cases of violence, particularly when involving neural circuits responsible for impulse control, emotional regulation, and judgment. While tumors, traumatic brain injuries, vascular abnormalities, and other types of brain lesions have been associated with psychiatric and behavioral disturbances, cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) have rarely been linked to psychosis and not with homicidal violence. We present the case of a 14-year-old boy with a large inoperable left parieto-occipital arteriovenous malformation extending into the temporal lobe who developed progressive neuropsychiatric symptoms culminating in psychosis and an explosive and fatal knife attack on neighbors. His developmental course was remarkable for early speech delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional behaviors, emotional dysregulation, severe headaches, and eventual psychotic decompensation characterized by paranoid delusions, disorganized thinking, and behavioral disinhibition. Prior to the homicidal event, neuroimaging showed progression of his AVM with cerebral edema, and John developed a Psychotic Disorder due to a Medical Condition (AVM). After arrest, he was found incompetent to stand trial and eventually placed in a state psychiatric facility. In contrast, his twin brother, raised in the same environment, was developmentally typical and psychiatrically healthy. How brain lesions can contribute to violent acts is a complex topic given the multifactorial origins of aggression. This case report, using a developmental approach, illustrates the connection between focal brain pathology, a cerebral AVM, and homicidal violence in a teenage boy. Treatment approaches, rehabilitation efforts, and legal implications are considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149067010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Firing cycle dynamics and forensic interpretation of 3D-printed Ruger 10/22-pattern .22 LR rifle receivers during live fire.","authors":"Xiaojiang Zhang","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70430","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70430","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polymer receivers fabricated by fused filament fabrication (FFF) are increasingly encountered in forensic casework; however, their firing-cycle behavior and the stability of associated ballistic toolmarks remain poorly understood. In this study, Ruger 10/22-pattern FFF-printed receivers produced from polylactic acid (PLA) were evaluated under controlled indoor shooting range conditions alongside a factory-produced aluminum receiver using identical trigger, bolt, and barrel components. Fired cartridge-case first-impact coordinates were recorded in three dimensions to quantify ejection dispersion and to estimate relative bolt kinetic energy, using the mean ejection distance as a conservative proxy. Under the improvised barrel-retention configuration used in this study, the FFF-printed receivers produced shorter and more variable fired cartridge-case ejection ranges than the factory reference, corresponding to approximately 46%-57% of the factory receiver's relative bolt kinetic energy, depending on ammunition type and reference condition. This observation was consistent with greater sensitivity to assembly-dependent factors, including headspace-related variation and barrel retention instability, and with reduced bolt acceleration. To examine systematic changes in toolmark stability under conditions of reduced barrel-to-receiver rigidity relevant to improvised privately manufactured firearm (PMF) assembly practices documented in forensic submissions, an unsecured-barrel configuration was used. Under this configuration, sequential firing produced progressive changes in ballistic toolmark expression: chamber-contact regions diminished and shifted over short firing sequences, and firing-pin impression footprints were consistently smaller and less distinct than those produced by the factory reference receiver. These findings provide practical insights for the forensic interpretation of fired cartridge-case toolmark patterns, operability assessment, and evaluation of toolmark reliability in PMFs.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149066945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Accelerated DNA profiling through workflow reconfiguration: Practical experience from 2-year postmortem skeletal remains in hostage repatriation.","authors":"Michal Nachman Shenfeld, Taly Spivak-Kroizman, Guy Bader, Sharon Avhar Maydan, Nir Adam Sharon, Michal Peer, Moriel Ben Zwi, Tami Rafael Dor, Orel Rivni, Dania Shahar, Nurit Bublil","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70477","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70477","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The identification of human remains in mass-casualty incidents requires rapid and reliable forensic DNA analysis, particularly when dealing with degraded skeletal material. Although rapid forensic identification is a fundamental objective in all disaster victim identification (DVI) operations, the repatriation of deceased hostages from the October 7, 2023, attack, c. 2 years postmortem (PM), imposed an additional challenge of a fixed operational deadline dictated by the implementation of the hostages-prisoners exchange agreement. To accelerate STR profiling, we reconfigured the conventional sequential process (extraction, quantification, amplification) into a flexible, decision-driven workflow. The new workflow incorporates a shortened 1.5-h DNA incubation, predefined dual-volume PCR amplification, and deferred DNA quantification. Built-in contingency mechanisms including multi-sample per case and enhanced 33-Cycle PCR-enabled immediate progression to alternative pathways when required. The accelerated workflow was applied in a real-world operational setting involving 37 cases (79 samples) collected during multiple repatriation phases. Informative STR profiles were obtained from 90% (71/79) of samples within 4 h per repatriation phase. Although eight individual samples remained non-informative, the integrated contingency mechanisms enabled successful resolution of all 37 cases (100%). Informative profiles were generated across a broad range of DNA quantities, including low-template samples, and from diverse skeletal elements. By comparison, the RapidHIT™ system generated an informative profile in only one of 21 samples. These findings demonstrate that restructuring the DNA workflow into a flexible, decision-driven process with built-in contingency mechanisms enables rapid and reliable profiling. The proposed workflow provides a practical operational framework for time-critical forensic DNA identification.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149066954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forensic data deduplication: A comprehensive survey of methods and challenges for digital investigation.","authors":"Gunikhan Sonowal, Parag Rughani, Gaurav Gogia","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70480","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The exponential expansion of digital evidence across traditional computing systems, mobile devices, cloud infrastructures, and IoT ecosystems presents new issues for forensic investigators. Modern forensic acquisitions frequently produce multi-terabyte datasets with substantial inter-case redundancy, which significantly affects storage capacity, processing time, and investigation costs. Data deduplication is a potential approach; however, its use in forensic contexts is limited by special operational requirements, such as total data integrity, court-admissible audit trails, and resistance to anti-forensic manipulation. This paper provides a comprehensive survey and evaluation of forensic data deduplication methods. We propose a five-dimensional forensic taxonomy that classifies techniques based on granularity, forensic integrity, temporal placement, verification methodology, and scope & scale. Using multi-criteria decision analysis, we create a Deduplication Reliability Index (DRI) to compare existing systems to forensic requirements statistically. We also systematically identify six types of adversarial threats particular to forensic deduplication, such as hash collision exploitation, deduplication oracle attacks, and reference mapping manipulation. Our analysis shows that file-level and fixed-block deduplication have the highest DRI scores (4.35-4.30), indicating that they are optimally suited for forensic adoption, whereas semantic, probabilistic, and lossy techniques score less than 3.0 due to poor verification and integrity assurances. The report concludes by proposing crucial research goals, such as standardized validation frameworks, adversarial-resilient deduplication structures, and efficient zero-knowledge verification algorithms for forensics.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149067000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dura mater-preserving technique for fetal brain extraction after intrauterine death with prolonged retention.","authors":"Ezio Fulcheri, Francesca Buffelli, Sharon Duzioni, Francesco Lupariello, Francesca Pesce, Valerio Gaetano Vellone, Alessandro Bonsignore","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.70474","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Examination of the fetal brain represents a crucial step in the diagnostic assessment of fetal death in utero, particularly in cases of unexplained intrauterine fetal death (IUFD). Prolonged intrauterine retention, advanced autolysis, and the intrinsic structural immaturity of the fetal brain frequently compromise tissue integrity, limiting diagnostic evaluability. We describe a brain extraction technique preserving the dura mater combined with a modified alcohol-formalin-acetic acid fixation protocol aimed at improving morphological preservation and diagnostic yield. Between 2017 and 2019, 295 fetal autopsies were performed at the regional reference center for SIUD-IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy. The method enables en bloc removal of the brain completely enveloped by the intact dura mater, which acts as a protective scaffold during handling and fixation. The brain is suspended in a modified Culling solution (40% buffered formalin at 10%, 40% ethanol at 95%, 20% glacial acetic acid) for approximately 20 days prior to serial sectioning according to the Charcot's technique. This approach appears to reduce mechanical disruption even in severely macerated cases, ensures uniform tissue compaction, shortens fixation times compared with formalin alone, and preserves cortical, ventricular, and brainstem anatomical relationships. It also allows gross exclusion of major abnormalities, including extensive intraventricular and intraparenchymal hemorrhages, and enables systematic inspection and sampling of the dural venous sinuses. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated satisfactory preservation quality comparable to conventional methods. This simple and reproducible technique enhances evaluability in fetal autopsies and supports more reliable etiological assessment in cases of IUFD.</p>","PeriodicalId":94080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148984285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}