Sometimes, the criminalistical practice is met with the tracks of the human fingernails. The dinamical and statical tracks of the fingernails, mainly of these edges, were discovered on the paper, cigarette-ends, skin of the victims or offenders, cosmetic and perfumery-tubes, on the other objects. However, the cases of the establishment of the identity by means of the fingernail-tracks are very rare.

In some manuals and books about forensic medicine the halfmoon forms abrasions from the fingernail-edges and the roundish bruizes from the pressure of the fingers on the fore-parts and lateral surfaces of the neck are discribed. However, the examinations practice and experimental results are evidence of: such picture is observed very seldom. The founded abrasions, as a rule, have the line form of the various length. Still more often, the dermal integuments of the neck has the parts with the abrasions, which have the irregular forms and various dimensions, which make up the parchments stains. Sometimes, the bruizes have the roundish form. The formation of the half-moon forms abrasions demands the perpendicular or almost perpendicular position of the fingers relatively surfaces of the neck. But in this position, the fingers do not render a considerable pressing on the neck. By the usual smother-position of the fingers on the neck the nails don’t come into contact with the skin. That explains the rarity of the founding of the half-moon form abrasions on the necks of people who died because of the strangulation, and in practice it’s impossible to make the fingernail identifications (S.Kustanovitch, 1975).

The manuals of criminalistics, which were published in 1950 - 1960 years, had special pharagraphes of discovered and researched fingernail tracks (as a rule fingernail tracks and teeth tracks were considered in one paragraph). The manual «Criminalistics», 1990, which was first translated into English, had the general approach to the examination of the fingernail marks:

«Nail marks are most often found on an individual’s body, and their significance for identification is rather minimal. Insofar as nails do not have strikingly expressive details, and the human skin is elastic, such marks from nails do not usually contain clearly defined characteristics. All the some, the location of such marks, together with their number and character may give some indication as to the nature of the events under investigation, for example, the nature of a struggle between a victim and his assailant. Therefore, it is recommended that nail marks be carefully studied and photographed.
If pieces of skin from the victim, or any other foreign substances are found beneath the suspect’s nails, these content are removed and the nails clipped off. All of this is then submitted for expert examination" (p. 131).

Rarity case. A woman, in the Ukrainian village, was murdered by means of the firearm. In her home was discovered the anonymous extortionate note (Fig. 1.). The text of the note was worked from the separate cut words and letters from the newspaper. The words and letters was stuck on the sheet of the exercise-book.

By the search of the home of a suspect was discovered and withdrawn the exercise-book with the some vacant sheets. The examination of the anonymous note and the exercise-book displayed the presence of the half-moon and line form relief tracks on the reverse surface of the both objects. The form and the mutual location of the tracks gave to the examiner the base to assume that they was formed by the fingernails pressure during the glueing of the texts.

The tracks founded on the note and on the sheet of paper were photographed by the obligue-incident light. The tracks were photographed through coordinate-net for the orientation of the location and mutual position (Fig. 2,3.). The visible comparation and optical superposition of the tracks showed a full coincidence. The further investigation established, that by the glueing of the words and letters, the anonymious note was superposed on the sheet of the exercise-book (Sukalo A.I., 1966).

The methods of the oblique-inciedent and chinkly lighting, the comparation and electronic microscops, profilographic-profilometric devices, optical superposition apparatus and others can be used for the research of the Nail marks.

References:

1. "Criminalistics", Moscow, 1990, p. 131.

2. "Exposure of the offender by means of the finger nail marks on the documents, report, Moscow, 1953.

3. Kubitski Ju.M. "Teeth and Nail Marks", Soviet criminalistics, manual, Moscow, 1958, p. 106.

4. Samojlov G.A. «Material tracks of the crime - the sources of the information about a offender person», Dissertation, Moscow, 1969.

5. Sukalo A.I. «The offender was established by means of the Fingernail Marks», Practice of the Examination, v. 1, 1966, pp. 78-80. .