Forensic advances could help decade-old murder probe
A pioneering forensic scientist from Northamptonshire will help US officers tackle a decade-old murder case.
Dr John Bond, scientific support manager at Northamptonshire Police, is collaborating with Bristol Police Department in Connecticut.
He has been asked to probe the murder of a well-known and respected businessman who was shot in the bedroom of his own home.
Later this month Detective Garrie Dorman from Connecticut will meet Dr Bond at Northampton to see if his pioneering research technique can shed new light on the crime.
Dr Bond has developed a method that enables scientists to 'visualise fingerprints' on metal (eg bullet casings) even after the print itself has been removed.
He and colleagues conducted a study into the way fingerprints can corrode metal surfaces.
The technique can enhance – after firing – a fingerprint that has been deposited on a small calibre metal cartridge case before it is fired.
The technique has been cited by Time Magazine as one of the top 50 inventions of 2008.
Det Dorman said: "On February 10, 1998, Louis "Pete" LaFontaine was found shot to death in his home on Stafford Avenue in Bristol, Connecticut.
"Mr LaFontaine was a resident of Bristol for many years and operated a successful appliance repair shop.
"His murder shocked the community and devastated his friends and family.
"Police have conducted an extensive investigation into the murder but despite interviewing countless individuals, analysing forensic evidence, and executing a number of search warrants, the murder remains unsolved.
"Dr. Bond's procedure is a tremendous advancement in forensic science, and has the potential to be a valuable tool in many criminal investigations.
"Fingerprint evidence on a shell casing would certainly bring us much closer to identifying Mr LaFontaine's killer."
Dr Bond, who is also an honorary research fellow at the University of Leicester Forensic Research Centre, has already worked with a number of US police forces on reopening 'cold cases' and has found latent prints on shell casings.
He said: "We have found fingerprints on shell casings in a number of cases recently that are assisting police in the US and are confident that if fingerprint corrosion is present on Detective Dorman's casings we will find it."
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