Introduction

Here, as in hair analysis, footwear and tire impressions, glass, paint, and soil analyses, bite marks, and most other forensic science settings, we seek to discover what general non-suspect-related categories of information can be received from the analysis of a datum; here, fiber, obtained at a crime scene. These class statements begin the sketch of the person or persons who were present and are essential investigative links in the chain of circumstantial evidence pointing toward a particular suspect. The success of such efforts, of course, is directly related to the integrity of the crime scene preservation. The sad results in the recent JonBenet Ramsey case testify to that simple fact.