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Charred Documents

المؤلف:  Max M. Houck، Jay A. Siegel

المصدر:  Fundamentals of Forensic Science

الجزء والصفحة:  p536-537

2026-08-26

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Charred Documents

In many crimes and civil infractions, the perpetrator tries to destroy documentary evidence that would otherwise be incriminating. This can be conveniently accomplished by burning the documents. If the documents are recovered before being completely destroyed, there is a chance that some of the writing can be identified. This is because, although the paper may become charred, the ink or pencil may not char as easily. One of the problems with charred documents is that they are very fragile. Sometimes they can be strengthened by misting them with a lacquer or alcohol or water. This may provide enough strengthening to enable the examiner to preserve the document between sheets of glass or plastic. Analysis of charred documents is carried out somewhat like that for obliterations. The key is that the ink or toner is preserved and then the goal is to provide as much contrast as possible between the darkened, charred paper, and the ink. If the ink fluoresces with UV or IR light, then photography using specialized films may be used along with the proper lighting. Even intense incandescent light sources have sometimes provided the needed contrast to visualize the writing. See Figure 1 for an example of the analysis of charred writing.

FIGURE 1 Charred writing. By using infrared light, the figures made with the ink fluoresce against the charred background.