Ryerson University
Fiery Assassination
The Death of Christopher Wood
Darian Chau
CHY183-011 Introduction to Forensic Sciences
Dr. Monica Sauer
April 7th, 2016
Darian Chau
Dr. Monica Sauer
CHY183-011
7 April 2016
Fiery Assassination: The Death of Christopher Wood On February 9th, 1999, on a quiet street of Newman Lake Washington, “investigators were overwhelmed by the carnage of a single case. Arson, murder, fraud, suicide, and more. The bizarre trail of evidence left even seasoned investigators baffled” (Dowling, Flood, Sherry, Jennings, and Katz, “The Forensic Files - Cereal Killer”). Approximately 8:30am, firefighters arrived at Bob Wood’s house, when neighbours called about a fire. Christopher Wood, Bob’s son, was reported …show more content…
They started with the garage, and instantly found stomach contents on the rear bumper of the sports car, and the same contents in the back of the truck that he was driving the day Chris went missing. Investigators wanted to get a DNA profile, but knew that the acids in our stomachs were too strong, and would destroy all DNA. Investigators later found help from a microscopy detective that would aid in telling them what the stomach materials were (Dowling et al.). The detective used a polarizing light microscope to analyze the stomach contents. A polarizing light microscope is a microscope that uses polarized light to analyze the optical properties and internals of specimens (“What You Ought to Know about Polarising Light Microscopy”, bitesizebio.com). Polarized light is a type of light that has waves that vibrate only in one direction, and humans cannot see it, as opposed to regular white light that have waves that vibrate in every direction (Saferstein …show more content…
This allows scientists to identify organisms quicker and more efficiently by comparing evidence. Polarizing light microscopes work by placing a polarizer, a device that lets light through only if they vibrate in one direction, since we cannot see polarized light, and an analyzer, which is a device that transmits the polarized light between the samples. The polarized light will then be able to directly shine onto the sample. The detective can then project the image on the computer screen and will see a 3-D model image of the organisms (Saferstein 265-266). The detective found that the stomach contents were a combination of wheat, starch, corn, flour, and oat. To be more accurate, the detective used potassium iodine to test his hypothesis, when the chemical touches the wheat and corn particles, a chemical reaction occurs that changes colour. The stomach contents turned into a dark blue colour, which indicates that he was right. These were common ingredients in breakfast cereals. Interestingly enough, the same stomach contents were found on Chris’s shirt, the day he was found. Chris’s sister said she remembers he was eating cereal that morning. The detective concluded that the stomach contents found on the car bumper, and the shirt, are from the same source, and
Fiery Assassination
The Death of Christopher Wood
Darian Chau
CHY183-011 Introduction to Forensic Sciences
Dr. Monica Sauer
April 7th, 2016
Darian Chau
Dr. Monica Sauer
CHY183-011
7 April 2016
Fiery Assassination: The Death of Christopher Wood On February 9th, 1999, on a quiet street of Newman Lake Washington, “investigators were overwhelmed by the carnage of a single case. Arson, murder, fraud, suicide, and more. The bizarre trail of evidence left even seasoned investigators baffled” (Dowling, Flood, Sherry, Jennings, and Katz, “The Forensic Files - Cereal Killer”). Approximately 8:30am, firefighters arrived at Bob Wood’s house, when neighbours called about a fire. Christopher Wood, Bob’s son, was reported …show more content…
They started with the garage, and instantly found stomach contents on the rear bumper of the sports car, and the same contents in the back of the truck that he was driving the day Chris went missing. Investigators wanted to get a DNA profile, but knew that the acids in our stomachs were too strong, and would destroy all DNA. Investigators later found help from a microscopy detective that would aid in telling them what the stomach materials were (Dowling et al.). The detective used a polarizing light microscope to analyze the stomach contents. A polarizing light microscope is a microscope that uses polarized light to analyze the optical properties and internals of specimens (“What You Ought to Know about Polarising Light Microscopy”, bitesizebio.com). Polarized light is a type of light that has waves that vibrate only in one direction, and humans cannot see it, as opposed to regular white light that have waves that vibrate in every direction (Saferstein …show more content…
This allows scientists to identify organisms quicker and more efficiently by comparing evidence. Polarizing light microscopes work by placing a polarizer, a device that lets light through only if they vibrate in one direction, since we cannot see polarized light, and an analyzer, which is a device that transmits the polarized light between the samples. The polarized light will then be able to directly shine onto the sample. The detective can then project the image on the computer screen and will see a 3-D model image of the organisms (Saferstein 265-266). The detective found that the stomach contents were a combination of wheat, starch, corn, flour, and oat. To be more accurate, the detective used potassium iodine to test his hypothesis, when the chemical touches the wheat and corn particles, a chemical reaction occurs that changes colour. The stomach contents turned into a dark blue colour, which indicates that he was right. These were common ingredients in breakfast cereals. Interestingly enough, the same stomach contents were found on Chris’s shirt, the day he was found. Chris’s sister said she remembers he was eating cereal that morning. The detective concluded that the stomach contents found on the car bumper, and the shirt, are from the same source, and