JIST

Abstract

This study describes the critical analysis of extracts from the wearing apparels of a decomposed dead body by chemical and GC-MS techniques to provide irrefutable evidence for conviction of accused. Following the brutal murder of a child, the body was concealed in the bamboo ceiling of the perpetrator's living room. Crime spot was left with no substantial evidence as it was fired by a group of aggrieved neighbours, posing a significant challenge to convict the accused. However, chemical and GCMS analysis of trace amounts of room cleaning disinfectant collected from the crime scene indicated the presence of compounds namely α-pinene, eucalyptol, d-limonene, γ-terpinene, camphor, fenchol, citronellal, terpinen-4-ol, α-terpineol, citronella, geraniol, and citral which were very similar to the extracts from the wearing apparels of the dead body. This finding along with other physicochemical analyses led to established the crime and conviction of the accused. Therefore, this study showcasing unique significance of GC-MS techniques in the field of forensic analysis as a led support for conviction