Sunday, June 17, 2007

This here is some pretty neat stuff. Ramsey case followers who have read Perfect Murder, Perfect Town have seen this reference in the book:

At the same time, Detective Trujillo had called the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to ask about the flexibility of lifting fingerprints from JonBenet's skin. It was a long shot. Trujillo learned, because of the skin's comparatively rough texture. Meyer had suspended the autopsy while a CBI technician walked Trujillo through the process. The best approach would be to tent or otherwise encapsulate the body, then to "fume" the remains with Super Slue. The glue vapor would adhere to any prints on the skin and enhance them enough to make them visible under a fluorescent light source. Trujillo ended up using a different, simpler method to lift one partial print. Meyer decided not to make note of those events in his report. Afterward, he had continued with an internal examination of the body.

As it happens, the web site Instructables has a link to a video of what (on a very casual level) the process of fuming for prints involves. Live and learn.