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Introduction. Two Turkish families at enmity attacked each other in a city center. All in all more than eight people were involved. One of the victims was beaten with his head on a massive stone slab and was also attacked by a knife. There were some witnesses. But their information didn´t help to determine the main perpetrator since the Turkish men all looked similar and wore similar dark clothes.
Material & Methods. Infrared photography is an auxiliary tool to make invisible traces of blood on dark textiles visible to the human eye. Progress in digital photography brings about easy handling and pictures with high resolution. The dark clothes of all people involved were photographed with a modified and infrared-capable digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR camera). The pictures were taken in RAW and altered in Adobe Photoshop as to contrast and exposure.
Results. Due to strong absorption of infrared light, blood appeared dark. Dark clothes, however, reflected infrared light and became bright. The resulting contrast between traces and surface allowed perform bloodstain pattern analysis. One jean pants showed very small spatter stains of the victim´s blood.
Discussion & Conclusion. Modern infrared photography is a major tool in forensic casework. It is portable, easy to handle and helpful in crime scene investigation as well as in clinical forensic medicine. The one man wearing that particular jean pants was the one standing the closest to the bloody impacts. He therefore has to be considered as perpetrator.