13 Criminal Cases That Hinged On Blood Spatter Analysis

In 1986, the world focused on Lindy Chamberlain when she claimed a dingo ate her baby, Azaria. Mourning families soon faced media chaos and two wrongful convictions. Forensic experts found evidence showing Lindy slit her baby's throat in the family car. The issue? That 'evidence' was just spilled juice, not blood.

Public opinion led to Lindy Chamberlain's murder conviction and her husband's accessory charge. Lindy served three years in prison until the baby's jacket emerged, clearing her name. Although this happened in 1986, the baby's official cause of death remained 'dingo' until 2012.

In 1993, a racially motivated attack at a bus station killed teenager Stephen Lawrence. The case remained unsolved for years, changing London's double jeopardy laws. Finally, in 2011, a single microscopic spot of blood appeared.A single microscopic spot of blood appeared.Prosecutors used one blood spot on an accused man's jacket collar and a hair on the other's pants to start a murder trial.

By early January 2012, Norris and Dobson were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with parole options.Both Norris and Dobson were minors when the crime occurred.Therefore, they are eligible for release in 2026.

Brittany Norwood built an elaborate cover-up.She constructed an elaborate cover-up.Norwood brutally killed a coworker at a Bethesda, Maryland, yoga store moments after she did it. She tied herself up, trying to make it look like someone else committed the murder.

After capture, Norwood agreed to plead guilty. Her defense lawyers claimed she acted in a rage. The prosecution had to prove the murder was planned. A blood spatter expert testified that the killer beat her victim while she lay unconscious. Blood on the underside of a nearby bookshelf showed the victim's position on the floor.

The victim sustained over 300 injuries before dying. Norwood received a first-degree murder conviction, and she is serving a life sentence.She serves a life sentence without parole.She serves a life sentence without parole.

In 1998, 158 blood spots, too small for the naked eye, sent Sion Jenkins to jail for killing his foster child. Blood spatter analysis showed those tiny drops came from an impact from above. This supported the idea that Jenkins hit Billie-Jo multiple times.

The analysis had a flaw; later, the problem was discovered.Billie-Jo suffered from pulmonary interstitial emphysema.Blood spatter from Billie-Jo's lungs released when her foster father touched her dead body. New evidence overturned the murder conviction, but the case remains unsolved now.

Marissa DeVault told multiple stories when charged with murdering her husband with a hammer. Initially, she claimed her husband, Dale Harrell, choked her unconscious and she woke from an attack by an unknown man with a hammer who had already killed Harrell.

DeVault's next story was that she murdered Harrell after he sexually assaulted her. Court did not accept either story.Blood spatter analysis proved key to her conviction.Evidence showed Harrell was alone in the bed during the attack. Spatter on the man's clothing showed signs of repeated blows from above.

Warren Horinek's case shows what happens when blood spatter evidence matters more than other trial elements. Horinek's wife, Bonnie, died from a gunshot. Blood on his t-shirt proved he was there. Horinek claimed his wife killed herself and he tried CPR.

Some cases show a likely cover-up. In this case, everyone except the deceased woman's parents eventually decided something.Horinek told the truth.The medical examiner, district attorney's office, and homicide sergeant all agreed with Horinek. However, Bonnie's parents hired blood spatter expert Tom Bevel. Bevel testified Warren's t-shirt proved he killed their daughter. Based on this testimony, Horinek was convicted and serves a 30-year sentence.Warren Horinek serves a 30-year sentence.Horinek’s lawyers filed a writ of habeas corpus. They seek to release their client.

Christopher Vaughn killed his wife and three children. Vaughn then tried to blame his wife for the children's deaths. Vaughn claimed she killed the children, attacked him, and then committed suicide.

Paul Kish, a blood spatter expert, examined the evidence left in the family SUV..Vaughn's blood proved he lied. He had minor wounds after the event, claiming his wife attacked him. However, his blood showed areas in the SUV that contradicted this story. This evidence led to Vaughn's conviction and...The court sent Vaughn four life terms.

Darlie Routier faces death row for killing her five-year-old son Damon and six-year-old son Devon. Darlie claimed she slept near the children in the living room when she woke to an attack. Darlie sustained cuts, but the conviction rested on blood spatter expert Tom Bevel's testimony. Bevel testified the blood spatter on Routier's shirt showed she stabbed her son from above and pulled the knife back over her head to stab him again.

Since that case, Bevel's credibility took major hits. People used his testimony in cases later overturned or now seen as weak, like Warren Horinek's murder trial. Routier asked for more DNA testing of evidence in 2014. She still faces the death penalty.

Johnson was only 16 when her parents died in 2005. A judge still sentenced her to two life terms plus 15 extra years after she was found guilty. The jury ignored the blood spatter evidence in this case.

Blood spatter expert Michael Howard testified that it wasimpossible for Johnson to pull the triggerwithout getting covered in blood, which she did not. Evidence that might have overruled Howard's opinion wasA cellmate gave testimony.That cellmate claimed Johnson admitted to the murders.

Murder trials get tricky whentwo blood spatter experts give different accounts.Craig Perry faced murder charges for his terminally ill uncle, Robert. Craig claimed his uncle committed suicide. However, the first blood spatter expert said the evidence made this unlikely. Craig also had a pattern of blood on his pants typical of a gunshot murder.

A defense blood spatter expert told the jury the blood on Craig's pants might have come from his uncle coughing blood before killing himself. Regardless of the truth, the jury found Craig not guilty due to weak evidence linking him to any crime.

On December 24, 1975, Tommy Zeigler's wife, her parents, and another man died at his furniture store. Detective Donald Frye hadTommy Zeigler recently received preliminary blood spatter training.before the case. His analysis convicted Zeigler despite his denial. Prosecutors suggested Zeigler shot himself after luring victims into his store.

Zeigler has been on death row since 1976 and denies committing the crime. Zeigler's lawyers asked for new DNA testing to reexamine evidence, but theThe Florida Supreme Court ruled against [missing information].The request was denied.

Charles Buck's wife, Leslie, was kidnapped in 2002. Two days after she escaped, her husband found her dead at home. A blood spatter expert stated that the blood on Mrs. Buck's shirt wasThe evidence shows a clubbing attack from above.Buck faced charges for the crime.

The jury saw that Leslie supposedly died from clubbing at home, yet no blood near her body appeared. A younger woman claimed Charles Buck was in love with her. This lack of solid blood spatter outside Leslie's shirt hurt the case, and Buck walked free. Buck later appeared on Dr. Phil to face the woman who made claims about him during the trial.

James Allen Smith, Jr. claimed he killed his wife in 2000 in self-defense after she attacked him. Sadly for Smith, a blood spatter expert testified at the trial thatSmith's wife was not standing when six bullets hit her. This showed she could not have attacked her husband, and the court convicted Smith of murder.

Three years passed.Smith asked the court for an appeal.Smith based his appeal on the blood spatter work. He claimed the testimony lacked scientific fact. The court disagreed; they denied his appeal.