According to one article I read regarding the dispersement of GSR as a weapon is fired, more than 10's of 1000's of particles are dispelled each time a weapon is discharged. EVERYTHING within range is contaminated, from carpeting, clothing, drapes.
A weapon was discharged 10 times inside the murder home. The child claimed there was still smoke in the air when he entered. IMO, that would mean GSR particles were floating as he entered. 36 trace particles of GSR is NOTHING compared to what was dispelled by the murder weapon.
The defense COULD take a few test samples of just about anything that was in the vicinity of the victims and there most likely is more than 35 particles on those. Course, the crime scene has been released, and seeing the way this back-woods police dept handled everything else, they most likely did NOT take a 'test sample' of anything else in the home. So, IMHO, the GSR test is moot, at best.
In other words, the GSR means nothing. One expert even said the child's clothes could have gotten GSR on them from that home, even if it had been hanging in the closet.
From what I believe I recall, the officers placed the shirt and pants inside the same bag, thus allowing possible cross-contamination. :slap:
JMHO
fran
http://www.ppiac.org/gunshot.htm
The article said that more recent studies have demonstrated that non-shooters who have not been near the firearm could be contaminated. Lubor Fojtasek and TomasKmjec at the Institute of Criminalistics in Prague , Czech Republic , fired test shots in a closed room and attempted to recover particles 2 meters away from the shooter. The researchers found unique particles up to eight minutes after firing a test shot. This suggests, according to their study, that
someone entering the scene after a shooting could have more particles on them than a shooter who runs away immediately. (Forensic Science International, Vol. 153, p 132).
