HANGING BY A HAIR.

Shannon News, 19 June 1923, Page 1

HANGING BY A HAIR.

microscopists to determine with accuracy the composition, of minute quantities of hair oil or other dressings adhering to stray 'hairs. This interesting problem has received much attention in the. United States and France, i Efforts are being made by 'police but so far no infallible method has been worked out. When a hair is examined while immersed in water the fat or grease adhering to the outer case floats away in a filmy cloud. If one could determine its parts or contents accurately the problem of the detective-microsco-pist would be much simplified; no other test can be applied in a critical sense without injuring the hair. The structural features of human and other hair are now so Avell classified that the modern microscope is one of the most valuable aids to the solution of murder mysteries and other crimes.

A stray hair left behind by a wrong doer will quickly yield its secret. Is it the hair of a child, youth, mature, or aged person ? Is it the hair of man or woman—black man, white man, or yellow man ? Is it dyed ? Is it naturally curly or artificially waved ? Is it the hair of a close-cropped or- long-haired individual ? Is its owner healthy or otherwise ?

The detective-microscopist can give the answer to these and many other equally important questions, all of supreme moment in fracking down of a suspect. Once the real culprit is laid b5 r the heels the hair clue is infallible.

The nature of the hair pith and the pigment granules present give the approximate age of the owner of the hair.

Measurements by micrometer largely determine from whence it came, but valuable evidence in this respect can be got from the outer ends of'the hair. A split hair can nowadays furnish enough corroboration to hang a man.

In a murder case a hair found adhering to any weapon in the possession of a suspect can now be examined simultaneously with a hair taken from a victim. Should they belong to the same person the construction of the hair, the granular patterns, and their form and size will be found identical.

For this delicate examination two microscopes are used fijtted with a comparison ocular. This gives such accurate results that it has greatly simplified the detection of murderers. The smallest fragment of hair is sufficient to work upon.