Enhancing the evidential value of textile fibres Part 2: Application of a database-driven fibre comparison strategy to a cold-case investigation.

This paper describes the involvement of our laboratory in a Western Australian 'cold-case' investigation that spanned 24 years. The investigation was widely considered to be the largest in Australian history. During the investigative phase, our laboratory was tasked with the collection of trace evidence of all types in connection with a sexual assault and two homicides that were suspected to be related.

Enhancing the evidential value of textile fibres: Part 1: Development of a spectral database and evaluative comparison strategy.

In numerous major crime cases undertaken at our laboratory the recovery of large numbers of fibres (>1000), particularly in cases with no known source, presented several challenges. These included the inability to effectively manage the data (i.e.