A cell phone left at a crime scene is usually a big clue for investigators, but it may hold more evidence than meets the eye, according to a new study.
“You can imagine a scenario where a crime scene investigator comes across a personal object — like a phone, pen or key — without fingerprints or DNA, or with prints or DNA not found in the database. They would have nothing to go on to determine who that belongs to,” said senior author Dr. Pieter Dorrestein.“So we thought — what if we take advantage of left-behind skin chemistry to tell us what kind of lifestyle this person has?”
Trace Molecular Evidence
Research funded by the National Institute of Justice found that residue and molecules left on a cell phone can tell a lot about the person of persons who used them. Researchers say this molecular evidence can be a huge help in narrowing a field of suspects. The team of scientists said that molecules can leave a variety of clues, like what a person eats, drinks and what perfume or cologne they like to wear.
“By analyzing the molecules they’ve left behind on their phones, we could tell if a person is likely female, uses high-end cosmetics, dyes her hair, drinks coffee, prefers beer over wine, likes spicy food, is being treated for depression, wears sunscreen and bug spray — and therefore likely spends a lot of time outdoors — all kinds of things,” said said study first author Amina Bouslimani in a press release. “This is the kind of information that could help an investigator narrow down the search for an object’s owner.”
Dr. Dorrestein said the tiny evidence can help provide a general lifestyle readout, but it can’t narrow down a suspect field as well as a fingerprint can. However, the team will continue to improve on the technology by adding more molecules to the mass spectrometry database to include more types of foods and clothing materials to help narrow down the suspect field even farther. The group also plans on examining molecules on other everyday objects, like wallets and keys.
