title: The implications of shedder status and background DNA on direct and secondary transfer in an attack scenario.
abstract: In court questions are often raised related to how trace DNA was deposited, directly during the crime or innocently for instance by secondary transfer. It is therefore of interest to have knowledge of the probability of transfer or secondary transfer in different situations. Factors that could influence transfer probabilities are background DNA and the shedder status of the involved persons. In this study, we have classified participants as high or low DNA shedders. We observed DNA transfer in a simulated attack scenario, and demonstrated that shedder status has a significant influence of transfer rates. We have examined the background DNA in samples from T-shirts worn in an area with frequent human traffic and detected multiple contributors. We further demonstrated that DNA from co-workers of a T-shirt wearer can be secondarily transferred from the environment and detected in samples, and that the composition of background DNA is correlated with the shedder status of the wearer. Finally, we have illustrated the inference with the results of transfer probabilities and a fictive case with the use of a Bayesian network.
authors.affiliation: Oslo University Hospital, Norway; University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: rmanfo@ous-hf.no.
authors.forename: Ane Elida
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Fonneløp
authors.affiliation: Oslo University Hospital, Norway.
authors.forename: Merete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramse
authors.affiliation: Oslo University Hospital, Norway; IKBM, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway.
authors.forename: Thore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Egeland
authors.affiliation: Oslo University Hospital, Norway; University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gill
mesh_terms: D003020:Clothing; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D005260:Female; D053803:Forensic Genetics; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014110:Touch; D014754:Violence
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: Background DNA; Forensic; Shedder status; Touch DNA; Transfer