Original Release Date: August 5, 2022

In episode one of our Case Studies: Part 1 mini season, Just Science sat down with Michael Fagert, a certified latent print examiner at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, to discuss a latent print phenomenon that is not often seen in casework.

There are very few instances of identifiable fingerprints on cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes as the firing process introduces adverse physical and thermal stressors to fingerprint residues. Several processing methodologies have been investigated for the development of latent prints on spent ammunition, like gun blue solutions, but only a few studies reported success on casework samples. Listen in as Michael discusses his published case report on how an untreated latent print encountered on a cartridge case was subsequently identified to the suspect in the case.

This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (Award #: 15PNIJ-21-GK-02192-MUMU).

Just Science · Just A Curious Case of Print Persistence

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Transcript

Episode Citation

McKay, J., & Fagert, M. (2022, August 5). Just Science. Just a Curious Case of Print Persistence. [Audio podcast episode]. The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence. https://forensiccoe.org/podcast-2022casestudies-part1-ep1/

Related Resource

Fagert, Michael. "The Identification of an Untreated Latent Fingerprint on a Spent Casing: A Case Study." Journal of Forensic Identification. Vol. 71, Iss. 3 (Jul-Sep 2021): 175-185.

Guest Biography

Michael Fagert is a certified latent print examiner at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). He has been employed with the KBI for a little over a year. Prior to that, he worked at the Kansas City Missouri Police Crime Lab for six and a half years in the latent print section. Michael has completed both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Forensic and Investigative Science at West Virginia University. 

The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this podcast episode are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice.

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