The end result was a hung jury, forcing the presiding judge to declare a mistrial.
Spector was convicted after a retrial in 2009 and is serving a sentence of 19 years to life.
Butthe caseserves as an example of the uncertainty that still surrounds blood pattern analysis.
They describe their work ina new paperinPhysical Review Fluids.
Its their job to interpret those patterns and use that data for the reconstruction phase of the process.
They use the direction and angle of the blood stains to pinpoint where the bloodshed began.
This process tells the analyst where the victim was likely located when the blood was shed.
Thepatterns producedfrom gunshots are particularly difficult to interpret.
Why does this matter?
The sheriffs criminalist testifying for the prosecution thought it would only travel two to three feet.
But the defenses forensic expert testified it could travel as far as six feet.
So determining how far blood spatter from a gunshot can travelwas criticalto the arguments of both prosecution and defense.
Blood is probably the most complicated fluid we know, said Attinger.
The new model better accounts for the effects of gravity and air drag.
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