YuvRaaj M Madra
Professor Martinez
CRJ 4
November 2nd, 2014
Trace Evidence
Crime Scene/Scenario #1 – Sacramento, CA July 1986 - Allan Dakin, 50, is bicycling toward his favorite fishing spot. He stops at a flooded irrigation ditch and works his way down to check his crawdad traps when he spots a young blond female, floating in the water face down. He panics, heads home to notify authorities. Sheriff deputies and local fire department respond first to the scene at 8:45 am, and push the body using a long gaff to the opposite bank where the victim will not drift downstream.
A. Arrival
As the Homicide Detective, I must approach the scene cautiously, scan the entire area thoroughly using all senses, assess the scene and be aware of people and
…show more content…
Now that I have recorded the scene as I found it, I am having have the fire department captain remove the victim from the water in a way that will not disturb any evidence left on the victims body, making certain they are careful to not damage the body, leave any evidence in the water, or further contaminate the body. They pull out a 5’8”, 150lb young female with short blond hair and brown eyes, I have recorded this information using the Crime Scene and Human Figure Templates (Swanson et al 54). I will now establish what happened here, determine the sequence of events; find out what the perpetrator did, and note inconsistencies. After organizing the crime scene I am interviewing Allan Dakin. I will ask what he was doing here, how he found the body, why was he here, and take down all his information for later interrogation. Once I have interviewed witnesses, I can properly document and recover physical evidence in the evidence recovery log, and photographs (Swanson et al 49). Anything can be physical evidence so it is crucial that nothing be touched or tampered with until assessed. I am looking for fingerprints, tire tracks, tools, weapons, damaged areas, palm prints and any body materials. I see that there are twigs stuck in the victim’s bra strap, and there is dirt on her back and shoulders. I collect those twigs and dirt samples as evidence so that the forensic team may later test them using genetic fingerprinting to see if
Due the victim being dead, the first step I would take in this case is a perimeter search. I would probably secure a larger area than I need because I can always shrink the perimeter once I begin processing. The second step I would do is once I found the perimeter, I would secure that boundary. And add police officers in various sides on the outside of the perimeter to help keep people away and sabotaging any evidence. In my head, I would do a walk though of the scene to determine the possible strategy or motive.
Nowadays, DNA is a crucial component of a crime scene investigation, used to both to identify perpetrators from crime scenes and to determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence (Butler, 2005). The method of constructing a distinctive “fingerprint” from an individual’s DNA was first described by Alec Jeffreys in 1985. He discovered regions of repetitions of nucleotides inherent in DNA strands that differed from person to person (now known as variable number of tandem repeats, or VNTRs), and developed a technique to adjust the length variation into a definitive identity marker (Butler, 2005). Since then, DNA fingerprinting has been refined to be an indispensible source of evidence, expanded into multiple methods befitting different types of DNA
By now the crime scene has been labeled a homicide and detectives have been dispatched to the scene. When the detectives arrive the lead officer will then provide a detailed crime scene briefing to the detective in charge of the scene. This briefing will be the only opportunity for the detective to receive the initial aspects of the crime scene prior to subsequent investigation. Since the crime scene and any/all evidence collected are the key factors in making a case, the crime scene must be documented as soon as possible including, appearance and condition of the scene upon arrival, lights on/off, shades up/down, doors, windows open/closed, any unusual smells, ice, liquids, weather conditions, temperature, and any personal items that may have been left behind. Once the lead detective has been briefed and evaluates the scene him/herself, he/she will then need to determine if consent to search and/or obtaining a search warrant is needed. The scene assessment allows the lead detective
Since the time that the scientific science dramatization "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" turned into a tremendous hit and generated its fans, reporters have been worried about what they instituted the "CSI Effect." The hypothesis behind the effect is that fans of the well-known show disguise misguided judgments about the law that they bring with them into the court as jurors. In this way, the trepidation is that the TV show is at last influencing the results of trials - and not in a great manner. Criminal justice researchers have started to study the inquiry of whether nationals who are called to serve on juries bring unreasonable desires and convictions to the court as a consequence of TV projects. The impact that these projects may have on the jurors, their desires, and their choices is known as the CSI effect.
I arrived on scene at approximately 02:11 hours. I approached the front door and the victim, Hollie J. McIntosh (F/W, DOB: 07/26/1988) opened the door and let me inside. I inquired with McIntosh what happened. McIntosh stated she was shoved and choked by her boyfriend, James Dean Carvell (M/W, DOB: 01/25/1988). I observed a red mark on McIntosh’s neck. McIntosh advised Carvell was in the bedroom. McIntosh pointed to the bedroom. I entered the bedroom. Carvell was lying
From day to day it may be different but typical the homicide detective will be called to a investigation scene. First off when you get to the scene I will assess and manage the scene. This means examining the victim for clues. Next I will document the scene I would complete a walk through, making sure I do not disturb any evidence. Also making permanent record of the scene, it is important to do this before moving anything. After that I will photography or videotape the scene conducting a thorough search; make a rough sketch; dust for fingerprints; identify, document, and collect all fluids and fibers: and control evidence to maintain its integrity. Then canvass the area to locate witnesses. This step is critical because more homicides are solved by canvassing than any other method. Finally identify suspects, proper handling suspects leads to a successful prosecution. But remember that all suspects are still entitled to their rights C. The excitement of going to work each day and not knowing what is in store for you is very interesting. This job may be asking a lot even in an investigation but the adrenaline is very
Introduction: One summer morning, a 38-year-old woman named Anna Garcia was found dead. Anna was found lying facedown in the entry hallway of her home in a pool of blood. Many different pieces of evidence found at the crime scene have been analyzed to determine the manner of Anna’s death: natural, accident, or homicide. The analyzed evidence found at the crime scene includes fingerprints, blood type, shoeprint, hair, unknown substances, blood spatters, and DNA. Anna Garcia’s autopsy report currently contains information on Anna’s toxicology results, external examination results, and physical examination results. The evidence that has been analyzed mainly focuses on the persons of interest: Alex Garcia, Doug Greene, Erica Piedmont, and Lucy
Introduction: Anna Garcia, age 38, was found dead in her home at 9:56 a.m., the scene was processed at 10:20 a.m. She was found near a knocked over table facedown with blood coming from somewhere on her body, most likely her head area. The EMT pronounced her dead and a investigation began on whether or not this was a crime. She recently divorced her now remarried ex-husband whom does not get along well with. The ex-husband’s wife has not been known for being nice or fond of Anna Garcia, making her a suspect.
I then discovered there were no other victims or threats. Soon After detecting no pulse on both bodies I secure the scene with crime scene tape. EMS arrives at 11:34 AM and pronounces both dead on arrival at 11:40am. The Male victim was later identified as Johnny Nogood resident of the house DOB 7/4/86, and driver's license number 87654321 Tx. His Lifeless body was laying on his back, with his head towards the door. His left arm was to his side as the right arm was above the side of his head. There was a red liquid substance surrounding his head, it was also coming out of his nose and mouth running in the direction of his forehead. Johnny was wearing a blue hoodie, blue jean pants and brown boots. Next to his left foot was a pistol and next to his right leg was an empty magazine. Across the room was a female body laying on her side in front of a refrigerator, with her back towards the entry door of the house. She was laying in a puddle of red substance, That appeared to be her own. The red liquid substance appeared to be distributed. The disturbance may have been from the dog who was injured. The dog was guarding its owner during the 911 Call. The female who was later
Investigation: The detective upon receiving information on the events, beings his initial investigation of the crime. The detective, along with his team, collects evidence such as: video surveillance, finger prints, bullet analysis, blood pattern analysis, DNA, and interviews the witnesses. At some point in the investigation, an interview was conducted on a customer that got a full description of the suspect. The detective, upon hearing his statement, requests for a sketch artist. The sketch artist pencils up a picture of the suspect and copies are made and handed out to all patrols. The individual describes the suspect as a tall white male, with short brown hair, about 6’4, wearing glasses with a five o’ clock shadow, and about 210lbs. The suspect was described as wearing a white hoodie and blue
Crime scenes are searched in order to find and collect evidence and clues. First, the investigator must insure that the scene is secure and protected. Next, the investigator must plan their search and determine the number of personnel and equipment that will be needed. It is important to remember not to begin searching until the scene has been documented through notes, photography, and sketching. The normal procedure in planning a crime scene search is for the lead investigator or search leader to survey the crime scene by doing a walk through and assign subordinate workers to tasks. There are several factors to consider in the planning process. The factors are the location of the crime, the type of crime and evidence sought, where evidence is most likely to
When a crime has been reported, the responding officer and/or detective have to note the dispatch information such as address/location, time, date, type of call, parties involved. The officer(s)/detective(s) have to be observant when approaching, entering and exiting a crime scene such as look, listen and smell.
The book gives a general overview of the field of forensic science. The sections of the book include “The Scene of the Crime; Working the Scene--The Evidence; Working the Scene of the Body Human;
Since most investigations start with very limited information, care and common sense are necessary to minimize the chances of destroying evidence. A plan of operation is developed and initiated from an initial walk through of the scene. The plan is to decide what evidence may be present, what evidence may be fragile and need to be collected as soon as possible. What resources, equipment, and assistance are necessary for the processing? Consideration of hazards or safety conditions may need to be addressed.
Today, more than ever, the quality of evidence in criminal cases is scrutinized because of contamination. Contamination is the introduction of something that physically corrupts a substance at a crime scene that was not previously there; it comes in many forms and most often times comes from the humans who investigate a crime scene. It is imperative that prevention of cross-contamination is implemented when gathering evidence. Several of the more sensitive forensic techniques such as trace analysis, bloodspatter interpretation, and DNA comparison are not being used to their fullest potential. Items of physical crime scene evidence are not always visible to the naked eye and may be easily overlooked so deliberate and methodical approach to collection and preservation of evidence is essential. Prosecutors have lost cases due to crime scene contamination; this could be prevented by simple and productive behaviors. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a leading case on physical evidence, stated: