Recapturing a five-month-old bite mark by means of reflective ultraviolet photography
David, T.J.; Sobel, M.N.
Journal of Forensic Sciences 39(6): 1560-1567
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0022-1198 PMID: 7815034 Document Number: 424432
After a brutal rape, which the victim survived, a bite mark was photographed and other evidence was collected. It was not until several months later when the bite mark became a critical piece of evidence, that the problem with its collection became apparent to the prosecutor. The photograph of the bite mark taken by law-enforcement officials at the time of the crime did not include a reference scale. Therefore the bite mark was of little evidentiary value. The authors subsequently examined the victim (five months later) and "recaptured" the bite mark pattern with a proper reference scale by means of reflective ultraviolet photography.