Superglue Oddities
Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 6:13 am
The Case of Black Ridges and Not White!
This case occurred in the early 80’s when superglue fuming first started. The case was a Kidnapping and Sexual Assault. The victim had been taken from a local Stop and Rob and forced to a motel when the victim was assaulted. As the suspect was leaving he tossed the room key on a table. The key was the older type with a large black triangle key fob that you used to see motel keys on (if anyone can remember that far back). We had just obtained our first aquarium (cracked that would not hold water and someone did not want anymore), and had actually fumed another piece of evidence in a drug case a few days earlier. So this was my second case involving superglue fuming. When the key fob was removed latent prints could be easily seen. It was photographed with a 4X5 Graflex camera using Technical Pan Film but the pictures were strange. When a suspect was developed the comparison was started it was determined quickly that we were comparing black ridges with black ridges and not the expected white. Upon looking at the key fob it had a coat of material on it and when the subject touched it the material was removed. It was a classic take away print with the glue reacting to the surface of the plastic and with the black underneath we had ridge detail black with white furrows.
The Case of Fuzzy but Reversed
A few years later we were packing drug evidence into glue tanks and gluing everything in sight. We begin to notice that some of the prints were looking a little fuzzy and when we observed those fuzzy prints we could generally find the mirror image on some other item. Soon we learned about lateral transferred latent prints and learned quickly not to pack items so close together in the glue tanks. Lateral reverses do occur and has been documented in several articles over the years.
The Case of Sharp but Reversed
A few years ago when teaching a class on Techniques of Developing Latent Prints I had a student approached me and ask why did the Superglue develop latent prints on both sides of the plastic. I said because you touched both sides and he denies that he did. I then said you got it too close to someone else’s and it was a lateral transfer. He said there was not anything else close to it and the print on the other side was EXACTLY OPPOSITE and a REVERSAL of each other. I said “yea right” and asked to see it. He produced it and sure enough it is the exact same print exactly opposite sides of the small piece of plastic. The plastic is gray and very thin, probably about 2 mil where you can shine light though it. I call it the reversal by osmosis. I have yet to reproduce this phenomenon.
The Case of the Slipping Ridges
This is not my case but was sent to me. A piece of aluminum foil was processed with superglue and then the prints on the foil were treated with Rhodium 6G and several ridges on each latent print just slipped away from the surface. You can see them as they are like pieces of spaghetti hanging down from the prints and the ridges are intact but just not part of the latent anymore. I have shown this one to a number of people and 3 have told me that they have had a similar occurrence with Rhodium 6G.
The Case of Superglue Trees
This is not my case but I was made aware of it. Apparently some items were processed with superglue and the glue polymerized out from the surface into what I would call a number of small stalks with branches on the end. It looks like a little forest growing out of the surface of the item. This has been attributed to either static electricity or spore growth. I have not had this occurred in any of my processing and only saw the picture of it recently. Pretty but weird.
Perhaps you have an unusual CAE (Superglue) Story you would like to share.
This case occurred in the early 80’s when superglue fuming first started. The case was a Kidnapping and Sexual Assault. The victim had been taken from a local Stop and Rob and forced to a motel when the victim was assaulted. As the suspect was leaving he tossed the room key on a table. The key was the older type with a large black triangle key fob that you used to see motel keys on (if anyone can remember that far back). We had just obtained our first aquarium (cracked that would not hold water and someone did not want anymore), and had actually fumed another piece of evidence in a drug case a few days earlier. So this was my second case involving superglue fuming. When the key fob was removed latent prints could be easily seen. It was photographed with a 4X5 Graflex camera using Technical Pan Film but the pictures were strange. When a suspect was developed the comparison was started it was determined quickly that we were comparing black ridges with black ridges and not the expected white. Upon looking at the key fob it had a coat of material on it and when the subject touched it the material was removed. It was a classic take away print with the glue reacting to the surface of the plastic and with the black underneath we had ridge detail black with white furrows.
The Case of Fuzzy but Reversed
A few years later we were packing drug evidence into glue tanks and gluing everything in sight. We begin to notice that some of the prints were looking a little fuzzy and when we observed those fuzzy prints we could generally find the mirror image on some other item. Soon we learned about lateral transferred latent prints and learned quickly not to pack items so close together in the glue tanks. Lateral reverses do occur and has been documented in several articles over the years.
The Case of Sharp but Reversed
A few years ago when teaching a class on Techniques of Developing Latent Prints I had a student approached me and ask why did the Superglue develop latent prints on both sides of the plastic. I said because you touched both sides and he denies that he did. I then said you got it too close to someone else’s and it was a lateral transfer. He said there was not anything else close to it and the print on the other side was EXACTLY OPPOSITE and a REVERSAL of each other. I said “yea right” and asked to see it. He produced it and sure enough it is the exact same print exactly opposite sides of the small piece of plastic. The plastic is gray and very thin, probably about 2 mil where you can shine light though it. I call it the reversal by osmosis. I have yet to reproduce this phenomenon.
The Case of the Slipping Ridges
This is not my case but was sent to me. A piece of aluminum foil was processed with superglue and then the prints on the foil were treated with Rhodium 6G and several ridges on each latent print just slipped away from the surface. You can see them as they are like pieces of spaghetti hanging down from the prints and the ridges are intact but just not part of the latent anymore. I have shown this one to a number of people and 3 have told me that they have had a similar occurrence with Rhodium 6G.
The Case of Superglue Trees
This is not my case but I was made aware of it. Apparently some items were processed with superglue and the glue polymerized out from the surface into what I would call a number of small stalks with branches on the end. It looks like a little forest growing out of the surface of the item. This has been attributed to either static electricity or spore growth. I have not had this occurred in any of my processing and only saw the picture of it recently. Pretty but weird.
Perhaps you have an unusual CAE (Superglue) Story you would like to share.
