Herbert MacDonell

Herbert MacDonell is a forensics pioneer who played a significant role in spreading blood-spatter analysis throughout the justice system. In five states, the earliest appellate court decisions that mention bloodstain-pattern analysis refer to MacDonell’s expert testimony.

Appellate courts in Iowa, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas found MacDonell’s testimony reliable enough to be admitted as evidence, setting a precedent for future cases in those states.

MacDonell taught blood-spatter analysis to hundreds of students, mostly law enforcement. In at least 13 states, one of MacDonell’s students served as an expert witness in the case that led to the earliest mention of blood-spatter analysis in an appellate decision, or in the case that set the state’s precedent on the use of the technique.