Louis R. Vitullo
| Louis Vitullo | |
|---|---|
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Louis Vitullo investigates a knife supposedly used by Richard Speck in the murder of eight nurses. | |
| Born | July 2, 1924 |
| Died |
January 3, 2006 Barrington, Illinois |
| Occupation | police sergeant, microanalyst |
Louis R. Vitullo (1924? – January 3, 2006[1]) was a Chicago police sergeant and later became chief microanalyst at the city's crime lab.[2] He is best known as the first person to standardize evidence collection in cases of sexual assault, which until then was not done in a systematic fashion. The resulting evidence kits were initially called Vitullo kits[1] and continued to be known as such even after his name was officially removed from them.[2] They are now more commonly known as sexual assault evidence kits (SAEK) or rape kits for short.
Death
Vitullo died at Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington[3] on January 3, 2006 after he collapsed at his home in Cary. He was survived by his wife Betty, his two children Robert and Joanne, and two grandchildren, Jamie and Tristin.[2]
References
- 1 2 Obituary for Louis R. Vitullo at lastlinkontheleft.com (accessed October 19, 2006).
- 1 2 3 "Crime lab expert developed rape kits: Standard system to collect" by Chris Fusco, Chicago Sun-Times (published January 12, 2006; accessed October 19, 2006).
- ↑ "Man who invented rape kit dies" by Karen Long, Northwest Herald (accessed October 19, 2006). (Google cache version)
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