AFTE Store - Cartilage Stabbing with Consecutively Manufactured Knives: A Response to Ramirez v. State of Florida

Within the past few decades, techniques of identification within the forensic sciences have come under attack in the legal arena. Ramirez v. State of Florida is one such example. This research utilizes ten consecutively manufactured knives to produce stab wounds in cartilage to 1) assess the validity of previous research regarding the uniqueness of toolmarks in cartilage produced by knives used in a stabbing motion, 2) confirm that cartilage is a medium capable of accepting a toolmark and 3) confirm that the toolmarks produced in cartilage are potentially identifiable. This research confirms what toolmark examiners already know to be true.