Clothes and the evidences they carry: A perspective on its forensic examination

Abstract

Forensic examination of clothes can furbish key evidences which can eventually aid in the overall investigation process. Apart from  ascertaining the identity of individuals based on the garment itself, additional evidences of physical, biological, and, chemical nature,  interlaced within the fabric can help reconstruct events leading up to the crime. Clothing evidence can also help in determining the  manner of death, the location of a crime scene, and, oftentimes even the post-mortem interval. Clothes when encountered at a crime  scene must be documented, collected and packaged carefully before subjecting them to characteristic predetermined tests to detect  evidences of a specific nature.