1). In the case of arson, unlike burglary or homicide scenes, arson scenes are often not confirmed as actual crime scenes for hours, days or even weeks after the fire is suppressed which makes preservation exceedingly more difficult, and as such must preventatively be considered crime scenes from the outset regardless of official declarations (Ross, 2012, pp
Understandably, any police officer can be put in the position of being the first responder to a crime scene, and as such it is essential that all law enforcement officials and forensics officials be trained in the methods of properly preserving a crime scene. For instance, significant effort must be made by any individuals coming in contact with the crime scene to disturb things as little as possible in assessing the situation, and particular attention should be paid to the floor as this is the most common repository for evidence and poses the greatest potential for contamination (Schiro, 2011, pp
org). The first officer arriving at a crime scene must initially secure the scene and address the safety of any individuals who may be present; removing any "threats to self and others takes precedence over first aid to those already on the crime scene" (Warrington, 2006)
"The position of the clothes -- for example, how far the pants are pulled up, whether garments are twisted sideways and then pulled down, backwards or even inside out -- may be of great importance. Any displacement from the normal position is measured…Folds in the clothes should be examined, especially on the lower parts of the body" (Fisher & Fisher, 2012)
These are especially unique in traumatic injuries. Traumatic injuries are one of the highest causes of death in individuals ages 1 to 34 years of age (Caroline, 2012)
Management Manner Determining the manner of death also requires a specific manner. Essentially, the manner of death is "defined as how the death came about; a judgment based on circumstances surrounding the fatal event" (Harle, 2012)
It is absolutely important that al members of law enforcement and the forensic team keep up the highest level of crime scene integrity so that the most amount of evidence can be extracted and the real killer or suspect can be brought to justice. Thus, many experienced crime scene officer will tell you that the key to doing the job well is protecting the crime scene," (Washington, 2011)
"Drowning is difficult to prove beyond the accidental death stage simply because of the nature in which it happens. Proving that an unknown assailant in some way aided the death of another by drowning is difficult to establish and can usually only be established if there are physical wounds such as cuts or bruises or indeed if an eye witness has saw the event take place" (Claridge 2010)
But the body has already been disturbed in an aquatic setting, thanks to the movement of the water. "Forensic handling of submerged bodies calls for special teams who not only have specific diving skills but knowledge of how to carefully collect evidence under water, handle a water-logged body, and preserve a crime scene" (Ramsland 2012: 1)
However, a crime scene located near a body of moving water usually means that the body must be retrieved as quickly as possible, to prevent further damage to the evidence. "Nobody is supposed to move the body (other than look for ID and some superficial moving) until the coroner's investigator gets there" (Pileggi, n
However, a crime scene located near a body of moving water usually means that the body must be retrieved as quickly as possible, to prevent further damage to the evidence. "Nobody is supposed to move the body (other than look for ID and some superficial moving) until the coroner's investigator gets there" (Pileggi, n
Each may have some potential for providing reliable forensic evidence." (Horswell and Fowler, 2004, p
Each may have some potential for providing reliable forensic evidence." (Horswell and Fowler, 2004, p
Discarded Theories of the Crime -- in this partical crime, the underlying issue, yet to uncover, is the actual motivation surrounding the matter. As criminalists in this case, we might ask ourselves, "why" did it happen? Is there a single theory that could account for the evidence left, as well as the mode of murder? What behavior does this particular perpetrator exhibit that might help us accept or reject certain available options? Clearly, there is no one single answer to all the above, but we can make a few assumptions that help us reject certain theories, the idea of certain perpetrators, and even postulate some of the events that might have occurred prior to the execution of the crime (Helfgott, 2008)
By the 21st century, this includes collection of trace elements, reconstruction of bodily parts, forensics of the scene, victimology, and even the psychopathology of the victim or proposed perpetrators. Even trace amounts of DNA are sometimes left at a crime scene, making DNA matching and typing, in combination with other crime scene techniques, viable and precise when performing criminal analysis (Koblinsky, et
We cannot yet negate this as a crime of passion made to look messy. However, most of the research indicates that a pure crime of passion is done at the heat of the moment, with little thought to planning (purchasing a knife, entrace and egress issues) (Myers, 2004, 53)
The need for the policy originates from the fact that initial responding officers may face challenges in protecting the crime scene. The written policy to govern every activity at the crime scene provides a level playing field for all stakeholders in the scene (Garrison, n
The girls had decided that they would testify that they planned and committed the murders themselves and that Charlie had nothing to do with it." (Bardsley, 1) Though all evidence was to the contrary, the relative failures of collecting sufficient evidence at the gruesome crime scenes would make this conviction far more difficult than perhaps it should have been
When 'blackie,' as Manson called black people, proved unable to govern, they would turn to Manson and his tribe of followers, who would have survived 'Helter Skelter' by hiding out in an underground cave in the Death Valley area of California while the chaos raged above." (Linder, 1) This would produce the famous Tate-Labianca murders, which would require a trial holding multiple defendants on multiple counts of first degree murder
When officers arrived at the house rented by Tate and her husband, film director Roman Polanski, they found the corpses of the pregnant actress and three house guests: Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, and Voyteck Frykowski." (Older, 1) This would be followed immediately thereafter with the discoveries at the Labianca estate, where the residing husband and wife would be found stabbed multiple times and leaving behind a mass of evidence as to motive and the identity of the killers