IAI CP2 case studies

IAI CP2 · Put your knowledge to work in context.

CP2 refers to the bloodstain pattern certification offered within the International Association for Identification (IAI) certification program. The IAI describes itself as "the oldest and largest forensic association in the world," and its site lists Bloodstain Pattern among the certification disciplines alongside Crime Scene, Footwear, Forensic Art, Forensic Photography & Imaging, Forensic Video, Latent Print, and Tenprint Fingerprint. The IAI CP2 case studies are 5 cases and about 5,160 words.

The Corrugated Door: Area of Origin on a Curved, Low-Count Surface

A 41-year-old man is found deceased in a residential garage. His body lies 1.2 m from the interior of a corrugated steel roll-up door.

1,020 words, about 5 min 2

Fine Mist on the Headboard: Expiration, Back Spatter, or Satellite?

Paramedics pronounce a 33-year-old woman dead in a bedroom. She is supine on the floor beside a bed, with a shotgun wound to the upper chest and neck.

1,043 words, about 5 min 3

The Damp Denim Shirt: Wear, Sequence, and Packaging Damage

A denim shirt is submitted three days after a homicide, sealed in a plastic bag while still damp. The suspect says he 'found the victim and tried to help.' Laboratory examination shows: (a) a saturated dark area across the right cuff, extending 6 cm up the sleeve with wicking halos; (b) about 40 circular stains, 1-3 mm in diameter, scattered on the outer surface of the front placket and the left chest; (c) a linear, smeared transfer stain 12 cm long on the inner surface of the front hem; (d) faint mirror-image stains on the back panel that match the fold lines of the bagged shirt.

1,018 words, about 5 min 4

The Absent Picture: Void Pattern in a Suspected Staged Scene

Deputies respond to a suspected staged burglary. A 58-year-old woman is found stabbed in a living room.

1,048 words, about 5 min 5

Blood on the Shoes: Presumptive Testing, Transfer, and Rain

A homeowner is found beaten in a driveway after overnight rain (12 mm recorded). Two blood pools, one near the porch and one by a car, have dried and been diluted at the margins.

1,031 words, about 5 min