The tail of a cast-off stain points in which direction?

The correct answer indicates that the tail of a cast-off stain points in the direction of the object's swing. This is based on the physics of how blood is projected during a swinging motion. When a weapon, such as a bat or a knife, is swung, blood may be flung off the end of the object due to centrifugal force.

As the object moves, the blood droplets leave at an angle that corresponds to the direction of the swing. The more elongated or "tail-like" part of the stain will indicate where the blood was flung as the object completed its arc, pointing in the direction opposite to where the object began its swing. This can be crucial for forensic investigators, as it helps establish the movements and actions of a perpetrator during an incident. Additionally, understanding this directional behavior of cast-off stains is integral in reconstructing events at a crime scene involving blunt force or cutting instruments.