Brian Yarborough

Expertise: Crime Scene

Address

Yarborough Investigations
, NC
Phone: 336-870-0341
Alt Phone: 336-870-0122
Send Email

Additional Info

Former Crime Scene Investigator for Guilford County Sheriff's Office and Investigator for Guilford County Public Defender's Office. Licensed Private Investigator with expertise in crime scene analysis including: crime scene processing, evidence collection, crime scene contamination, crime scene photography and documentation, witness interviews, fingerprint collecting, and first arriving officers actions.
View this page
  • About
  • Blog
  • Forensic Disciplines
    • Foundations of Forensics
    • Arson
    • Bite Mark
    • Blood & Bodily Fluids
    • Child Abuse Allegations
    • Crime Scene Investigation
    • Death Investigation
    • Detection Dogs
    • Digital Evidence
    • DNA
    • Drug Analysis
    • Drug Recognition Experts
    • Eyewitness ID
    • Fingerprints
    • Firearms
    • Forensic/Sexual Assault Exams
    • Measurement Uncertainty
    • Mental Health
    • Toxicology
    • Trace Evidence
  • Resources
    • Forensic Consultations
    • Books
    • Cases
    • Featured Articles
    • Legislation
    • Motions and Briefs
      • Discovery Motions
      • Funding for Experts
      • Motions for Appropriate Relief
      • Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony
      • Motions for Independent Testing
      • Motions to Preserve Evidence
      • Motions to Suppress
      • Analyst Certification Motions
    • Reports & Publications
    • Trainings
    • Websites
    • Forensic Terminology
    • Online Research Tools
  • Crime Labs
    • General Information
    • NC State Crime Lab Procedures
    • Charlotte Mecklenburg Crime Lab
    • CCBI Lab Procedures
    • NC OCME Toxicology Lab
    • Pitt Co. Sheriff’s Forensic Services
    • Sec. of State Digital Forensic Lab
    • Wilmington Police Dept Crime Lab
    • Private and Out-of-State Labs
  • News Articles
  • Experts
    • Browse All Experts
    • Working with Experts
    • Expert Services Project
    • Add or Update Expert Records
  • Subscribe
  • Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Forensic Resources

North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services

Header Right

MENUMENU
  • About
  • Blog
  • Forensic Disciplines
        • Foundations of Forensics
        • Arson
        • Bite Mark
        • Blood & Bodily Fluids
        • Child Abuse Allegations
        • Crime Scene Investigation
        • Death Investigation
        • Detection Dogs
        • Digital Evidence
        • DNA
        • Drug Analysis
        • Drug Recognition Experts
        • Eyewitness ID
        • Fingerprints
        • Firearms
        • Forensic/Sexual Assault Exams
        • Measurement Uncertainty
        • Mental Health
        • Toxicology
        • Trace Evidence
  • Resources
        • Forensic Consultations
        • Books
        • Cases
        • Featured Articles
        • Legislation
        • Reports & Publications
        • Trainings
        • Websites
        • Forensic Terminology
        • Online Research Tools
        • Motions and Briefs
          • Discovery Motions
          • Funding for Experts
          • Motions for Appropriate Relief
          • Motions to Exclude Expert Testimony
          • Motions for Independent Testing
          • Motions to Preserve Evidence
          • Motions to Suppress
          • Analyst Certification Motions
  • Crime Labs
    • General Information
    • NC State Crime Lab Procedures
    • Charlotte Mecklenburg Crime Lab
    • CCBI Lab Procedures
    • NC OCME Toxicology Lab
    • Pitt Co. Sheriff’s Forensic Services
    • Sec. of State Digital Forensic Lab
    • Wilmington Police Dept Crime Lab
    • Private and Out-of-State Labs
  • News Articles
  • Experts
    • Browse All Experts
    • Working with Experts
    • Expert Services Project
    • Add or Update Expert Records
  • Subscribe
You are here: Home / Forensic Disciplines / Crime Scene Investigation

Crime Scene Investigation

Contents:

  • Reports and Publications
  • From the Blog
  • Featured Articles
  • Trainings
  • Websites
  • Books
  • Cases
  • Motions and Briefs
  • In the News
  • Experts

Reports and Publications

  • American Academy of Forensic Sciences Standards Board Documents

    The AAFS Standards Board develops documentary standards for forensics through a consensus process, involving participation by all directly and materially affected persons. Standards are being developed for each forensic discipline. The standards that have been published are available on the ASB website.

  • The Handbook of Forensic Services (revised 2013)

    U.S. Department of Justice, FBI Laboratory Division. Provides guidance and procedures for methods of collecting, preserving, packaging, and shipping evidence and describes the forensic examinations performed by the FBI’s Laboratory Division and Operational Technology Division.

  • Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement (2013)

    Developed by the National Forensic Science Technology Center and is available for free download.

  • The Biological Evidence Preservation Handbook: Best Practices for Evidence Handlers

    2013 NIST handbook offers guidance for individuals involved in the collection, examination, tracking, packaging, storing and disposition of biological evidence

  • Crime Scene Forensic Evidence Collection Guidelines For Defense Attorneys

    by John Louis Larsen and Daniel K. Harris, The Champion (NACDL) 28-35 (October 2011). A guide for defense attorneys for assessing whether law enforcement followed standardized evidence processing and collection guidelines, as per those promulgated by the FBI and DOJ.

  • Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator (2011)

    U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. A best-practices guide for death scene investigators produced by the National Medicolegal Review Panel, an independent multidisciplinary group of both international and national organizations whose constituents are responsible for investigating death.

  • Shooting-Incident Reconstruction Within a Room

    by John Louis Larsen, 8 Evidence Tech. Mag. 14-17 (July-August 2010). Provides protocols for documenting a bullet-hole entry and for event reconstruction.

  • Crime Scene Investigation: A Reference for Law Enforcement Training (2004)

    U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. A guide designed to accompany the general crime scene guide. Provides step-by-step procedures for each phase of crime scene investigation. Provides more specific procedures than the general guide does for some topics.

From the Blog

  • New Research on “Touch” DNA, 1/6/2016
    As the sensitivity of DNA analysis increases, scientists are able to develop profiles from ever-smaller samples of DNA. This has lead to testing of a wider array of samples collected from crime scenes, including window panes, bullets, hats and other clothing, cigarette butts, and many other items. Attorneys sometimes ask me about the likelihood of …
  • Crime Scene Investigation – New Website, 1/12/2012
    As a follow-up to my post from earlier this week on crime scene investigation, I have created a website with articles and publications that describe best practices for physical evidence recognition, evidence preservation and collection, and crime scene documentation. I have posted standards and guidelines for crime scene investigation and other crime scene resources on …
  • Crime scene forensics: How does it work?, 1/10/2012
    BBC News has posted a series of videos explaining how forensic tests are performed in crime labs on their Crime scene forensics: How does it work website. These short videos demonstrate various techniques including fingerprint comparisons, use of ninhydrin and superglue fuming (cyanoacrylate) to locate latent print evidence, firearm and projectile comparisons, and examination of …
  • Click here for more blog posts on this topic

Featured Articles

  • Accuracy and Reproducibility of Conclusions by Forensic Bloodstain Pattern Analysts

    R. Austin Hicklin, Kevin R. Winer, Paul E. Kish, Connie L. Parks, William Chapman, Kensley Dunagan, Nicole Richetelli, Eric G. Epstein, Madeline A. Ausdemore, Thomas A. Busey,. Forensic Science International, 2021.

    Highlights:

    • Conclusions by bloodstain pattern analysts were often erroneous and often contradicted other analysts
    • On samples with known causes, 11.2% of responses were erroneous
    • Both semantic differences and contradictory interpretations contributed to errors and disagreements

Trainings

  • Webinar: Challenging Accident Reconstruction Evidence
    Free to attend webinar offered as part of the IDS Forensic Science Education Series. Speaker: Johnnie Hennings, P.E.
  • Mapping Technologies for Crime Scenes, FTCOE
    Presenter: Dr. Peter Stout
  • Statistical Methods for Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, CSAFE
    Presenter: Hal Stern. Offered by CSAFE, on June 14, 2021. Recording and materials are available.
  • CSAFE 2020: Footwear Impression Analysis, CSAFE

    This presentation, now available to view for free, was given as a part of the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence’s (CSAFE) 2020 All Hands Meeting. The meeting brings together researchers, forensic partners, and interested community members to discover potential areas for collaboration, highlight the organization’s achievements, and discuss goals for the future.

    This presentation, given by Dr. Charless Fowlkes, a professor of computer science at University of California, Irvine, discusses the past, current, and proposed future research projects related to the overarching goal of devising “the means to assess the strength of association between a crime scene print and a suspect’s shoe and to gather the information that is needed to develop a score – based likelihood ratio framework for footwear examination.”

    Materials:

    • The video of the presentation is available here
    • The slides from the presentation by themselves are available here
  • Breaking Through: Challenging Police Credibility, Misconduct, and Overreach CLE

    NACDL is offering a 2-day CLE in Palm Beach, FL that will explore building and using a police database, working with law enforcement experts, what Brady means in modern 2020, and the intersection between technology and misconduct including the ways law enforcement employs body cameras and facial recognition technology. The program includes specific skills-based lectures that will teach effective trial and motions techniques.  

  • Communicating Conclusions in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis

    The Forensic Center of Excellence will present a free webinar by Jeremy Morris on how bloodstain pattern analysis is communicated through written reports and courtroom testimony.  Principles of communication science will be discussed and explained to develop the audience’s ability to transfer meaning through writing and verbal testimony.

    Communication is the act of sending and receiving information and ideas from one entity to another. In bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA), this involves the transferal of ideas regarding pattern classification and reconstructive meaning from the mind of the analyst to the minds of others; the same information that may be used investigators, prosecutors, or triers of fact.

    Bloodstain analysts communicate through written reports or verbal testimony.  Although various recommendations have been made by the BPA and legal communities regarding the content and wording of bloodstain conclusions, these recommendations are often based upon transparency and logical accuracy using technical jargon.

    Communication science research has demonstrated this transfer of ideas is not a simple process. Often, the accuracy of transferring these ideas is impeded by a variety of factors. Utilizing theory and case examples, this webinar will briefly review one theory of communication, why the transfer of meaning may be inaccurate, and how the bloodstain analyst can incorporate these concepts into written reports and testimony.

    Detailed Learning Objectives:

    Understand the transmission model of communication

    Explain the error in assuming your target audience understands the meaning of phrases and jargon.

    Elaborate on central and peripheral route processing in persuasion

  • Feature-based analysis of bloodstain patterns

    The Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE) invites researchers, collaborators, and members of the broader forensics and statistics communities to participate in the September Center Wide Webinar on Tuesday, September 24th from 1-2 pm EST. There will be a short introduction from CSAFE center staff followed by the presentation “Feature-based analysis of bloodstain patterns” by Dr. Hal Stern, CSAFE Co-Director.  Dr. Stern is a Professor of Statistics and the Vice Provost for Academic Planning at the University of California, Irvine.

    Presentation Description: A key task in the analysis of bloodstain pattern analysis is to identify the mechanism by which the stains were created.   Examples include impact, gunshot, castoff, and expiration.  This webinar will introduce how images of bloodstain patterns can be represented via ellipses and using algorithms to assist with characterizing complex stains.  Features defined from characteristics of the ellipses appear to have potential in distinguishing bloodstain patterns created by different mechanisms.

  • Webinar: Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Essentials

    This complimentary forensic science webinar is presented by Toby L. Wolson, retired criminalist and supervisor in the Forensic Biology Section of the Miami-Dade Police Department Forensic Services Bureau. The recorded webinar is available for on-demand viewing.

    This webinar will focus on:

    • Overview of bloodstain pattern analysis and the science behind the discipline
    • Expert training and credentials
    • Legal concerns and what attorneys should know about bloodstain pattern experts.
    • Current temperature of the field, including recent media coverage
    • Available OSAC resources

    The webinar is part of the complimentary webinar series, Crime Scene to Courtroom Forensics Training. This project was supported by Grant No. 2015-CP-BX-K006 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

  • Serology Evidence (Blood, Saliva, Semen, etc.) (2011)

    NCAJ Webinar on crime scene investigation and serology evidence by Marilyn Miller.

Websites

  • A Simplified Guide to Forensic Science

    The National Forensic Science Technology Center created this website to explain in simplified terms the principles of each type of forensic analysis and how the analysis is performed. Topics include DNA, digital evidence, fingerprints, firearms, trace evidence, blood stains, and more.

  • Crime scene forensics: How does it work?

    BBC News has posted a series of narrated images that describe various crime scene investigation techniques and laboratory tests.

  • Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Video Collection

    Over 500 video clips were made of blood spatter experiments that are typically performed by individuals attending a basic bloodstain pattern analysis course. The videos were made possible through a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant and are available to be viewed or downloaded. The principal investigators were Terry Laber, Bart Epstein, and Dr. Michael Taylor.

Attorneys may use or borrow these books from the IDS Forensic Library located in Durham.

Books

  • Marilyn T. Miller, Crime Scene Investigation Laboratory Manual
  • Ross M. Gardner & Tom Bevel, Practical Crime Scene Analysis and Reconstruction
  • Tom Bevel & Ross M. Gardner, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis With an Introduction to Crime Scene Reconstruction (3d ed.)
  • Lucien C. Haag, Shooting Incident Reconstruction
  • Barry A.J. Fisher, Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation (6th ed.)

Cases

  • State v. Denton, COA18-742 (2019)

    Felony death by vehicle case where the trooper accident reconstruction expert who analyzed the accident could not reach a conclusive expert opinion about who was driving. An officer provided lay opinion testimony based on the same information. The court concluded: “the facts about the accident and measurements available were simply not sufficient to support an expert opinion — as Trooper Souther testified — and lay opinion testimony on this issue is not admissible under Rule 701.” The court found the error was prejudicial and ordered a new trial.

    A School of Government blog post on this case is available here.

Motions and Briefs

  • Peterson MAR

    MAR in Michael Peterson case based on newly discovered evidence regarding Duane Deaver and the SBI

    • Order – Judge Orlando Hudson’s May 9, 2012 order granting the motion for appropriate relief, vacating the conviction and granting a new trial.
    • A copy of the written exhibits from Dec. 2011 hearing, including an index of exhibits can be requested from Sarah Rackley Olson.
  • Rule 60(b) Motion for Relief
    • Motion for Relief from Judgment The basis of this Rule 60(b) motion drafted by Diane Savage is misconduct by the SBI Lab.
    • AG’s Response to Petitioner’s Rule 60(b)Motion for Relief
    • Reply to Respondent’s Memorandum Opposing Motion for Relief
  • Greg Taylor lawsuit

    Suit against five former agents with the State Bureau of Investigation, filed on June 28, 2011

  • Goode Order

    Federal court order granting relief in the George Goode case. The Court found that “the State, through Agent Deaver, presented misleading evidence about the testing done on petitioner’s boots being conclusive for the presence of blood.” See p. 25-26.

  • Motion for Appropriate Relief

    2012 Supplement to MAR that addresses implications of false and misleading testimony by former SBI Agent Duane Deaver.

Crime Scene Investigation in the News

  • Can Forensic Science be Trusted?, by Barbara Bradley Hagerty, The Atlantic, 5/12/2022
  • He Teaches Police “Witching” To Find Corpses. Experts Are Alarmed., by Rene Ebersole, The Marshall Project, 3/17/2022
  • Use-of-force expert questioned in Rittenhouse murder case, by Joe Kelly, Courthouse News Service, 10/5/2021
  • All Cops Should Submit DNA Samples to Avoid Crime-Scene Confusion: Federal Report, by Reuven Blau, The City, 7/15/2021
  • Study on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Finds ‘Conclusions Were Often Erroneous’, by C.J. Ciaramella, Reason, 6/11/2021
  • Who pulled the trigger? Gun muzzle exhaust may complicate analysis of crime scenes, by Ian Randall, Science, 4/20/2021
  • OC Sheriff Officials Allegedly Broke Chain of Custody with Half of Their Golden State Killer Evidence, by Nick Gerda, Voice of OC, 6/27/2020
  • Pollen Expert Nominated for Crime-solving Prowess, Forensic Magazine, 6/24/2020
  • Click here for more articles on this topic

Crime Scene Investigation Experts

  • Brian Yarborough, NC

Site Footer

The Forensic Resource Counsel provides assistance to North Carolina attorneys litigating scientific evidence issues.
Information provided on this website is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
Copyright © 2023 · Office of Indigent Defense Services · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design

Copyright © 2023 Forensic Resources · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme