74 LAWYER MONTHLY EXPERT WITNESS AWARDS 2025 methods; (such as an unusual crater found to have been likely to have been caused, (upon inspection on a freezing evening in Gateshead), by large rodent burrows present under a frozen, explosion surface around ground zero). Similarly in a case of synthesis of explosives, persistent inspection of every item of evidence at a police station revealed a nine-year old set of glassware contaminated with liquid nitroglycerine; and which probably had evaded notice due to only a select number of items having been sent for specialist explosive consideration. (My training at Oxford in synthetic organic chemistry likely having been the reason for the recognition of the presence of this trace chemical evidence). (The defendant, having subsequently panicked, at the time, and disposed of the manufactured sample in a hole in the garden!) Further notable achievements have been a wide variety of cases (ranging from road traffic cases to murder) involving unusual toxins (among the usual plethora of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, and prescription medications). These comprised, in summary: thallium, arsenic, mercury, magic mushrooms, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrous oxide, hydrogen cyanide, chemical warfare agents, ricin, insulin, botulinum toxin (Botox), solvents, fentanyl, zolpidem, flunitrazepam, synthetic cannabinoids (new psychoactive substances), anabolic steroids, glycerol, and a range of other fascinating compounds. This can be seen to be critical due to the often very limited time available to complete reports, and also access to a wide number of experts, in many cases. The importance of the expert inspecting all of the relevant exhibits, inspecting the scenes and having access to the entire casefile should be noted to also be critical. Thus, the opportunity for the expert to walk and inspect the various scenes remains a critical method of providing answers to unsolvable conundrums, that resist all usual investigation OPEN ACCESS PHOTOGRAPH OF THE EXETER BOMB, SOME 80 YEARS AFTER MANUFACTURE, STILL LIVE AND CONTAINING OVER 600 KILOGRAMS OF HIGH EXPLOSIVE. FOUND IN AN ANCIENT ORCHARD, ON AN ALLOTMENT, WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER IN 2021
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