Expert Blood Spatter Pattern – What is High Velocity Blood Spatter?

You have heard it on the CSI TV shows but wondered what exactly do they mean by high velocity blood spatter?

The focus of this article is to explain in further detail what high velocity blood spatter is.

Whenever an object strikes the victim at a speed greater than 100 feet per second, high velocity blood spatter is the result. This type of spatter looks very tiny and measures less than 1 mm in diameter. This spatter tends to be mist-like as though you took a spray bottle of red paint and sprayed a mist of paint on the wall.

A speeding bullet could create a high velocity blood spatter pattern. Only around entrance and exit wounds do these patterns show up. Blood acts a bit differently whether the bullet is entering the body or leaving.

Back spatter refers to spatter associated with an entrance wound. Sometimes back spatter is also known as blowback spatter, meaning that blood droplets travel in a direction opposite the direction of the bullet. Many times in point blank range shots, blowback spatter is found on the shooter or the murder weapon, even within the barrel of the gun.

A forward spatter refers to a bloodstain found near the exit wound. Blood droplets from forward spatter follow the direction the bullet travels.

To better understand the concept of spatter, consider throwing a cup of water through a window screen. The water that travels through the screen is the forward spatter. On the other hand, throw that same cup of water against a solid object such as a wall, the water that bounces back toward the thrower is referred to as blowback spatter.

With advances in science, crooks are less likely to get away with crimes such as murder or assault.  There is a big demand for criminalists who can analyze blood spatter patterns so that they can testify in court and put the perpetrator behind bars, and, in some cases, bring closure to the family of the murder victims.

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