Abstract:
Damage to clothing is commonly encountered in serious crimes of violence such as homicide and rape. The purpose of this study was to establish the morphological characteristics of damage to fabrics caused by different types of sharp objects commonly used in Thailand.
Three types of fabric-- woven fabric, knitted fabric, and blue jean fabric were tested. Thirteen different sharp objects were used to inflict the damage on the fabrics. The morphological characteristics of the damaged textiles were investigated through both macroscopic and stereomicroscopic examinations.
For all types of fabric tested, the damage produced by single sharp edged knives produced a regular cut pattern and appeared as a straight line with a neat edge. A straight line with a frayed edge was obtained from the notch-blade knife (knitted and jean) and the chisel (woven). A longitudinal hole with a frayed edge was produced by the bayonet (all fabrics), the notch-blade (woven), the Phillips head screwdriver (woven), the slotted head screwdriver (knitted and jean), the flat file (woven and knitted), scissors (knitted and jean) and the chisel (knitted). A circular hole with a neat edge was caused by the Waiter’s Friend bottle opener (woven). A circular hole with a frayed edge was created by the Phillips head screwdrivers (jean), the slotted head screwdriver (woven), the round file (woven) and the bottle opener with a small, shallow, screwdriver-style head (woven). A horizontal hole with a neat edge was created by the Phillips head screwdriver (knitted), the bottle opener with a small, shallow, screwdriver-style head (knitted) and the Waiter’s Friend bottle opener (knitted and jean). A horizontal hole with a frayed edge was obtained by the round file (knitted and jean) and the bottle opener with a small, shallow, screwdriver-style head (jean). A longitudinal groove was created by the flat file and the chisel on the jean fabric