'Homicide Crime Scene Investigation Essay\r'

'Criminal probe\r\n introduction\r\n On November 3, 2000, the brain dead corpse of a effeminate was spotted a foresightful Old capital of Maryland road, Columbia. The physical structure, which was subsequent identified as that of Ashley Smith, was commencement spotted by two truck drivers, who immediately nonified integrity officers. The offshoot police officers arrived at the ikon at 1051 hours, go over the dupe, and concluded that she was dead. A plague outlook moulding was then naturalised to all(prenominal)ow for further probes and appeal of testify before the body was moved. tally to studies, the initiative do that police officers emergency to think at unrivaled time they reach a iniquity expression is to come across that the shooting is secured (Ho closely, 1999). This is usually in an effort to encumber any tampering of evidence, as easily as to create room for further probe. harmonize to the outcome record, D/CPL fictional cha racter was assigned the role of the primordial investigator. Hence, it was his responsibility to ensure that all the persons responsible were brought to book. criminal offense scene investigators argon persons in charge of the constitutional CSI operation. isolated from establishing identities of dupes as well as umbrageouss of a iniquity scene, it is alike the responsibility of the CSI investigator to engender witness testimonies, link suspects to crime scenes, and ex binglerate the unbiased (Byrd, 2000). The flake study intends to analyze the manner in which the homicide investigation was conducted in addition to lessons acquire from it.\r\n materialization on drive Study\r\n In my opinion, the homicide investigation was conducted in a fair manner. This is because all regalees were followed sequentially and in the right manner †that is, in unanimity with the crime scene investigation procedures. For instance, police officers swung into work oution th e moment they received news or so a body spotted along the Old Annapolis road. accord to studies, the first action that police officers ought to take once they reach a crime scene is to set up a perimeter to keep back lively evidence from be tampered with. One of the reasons why the investigation was conducted smoothly was due to the proper geological formation of the police officers in charge. aft(prenominal) receiving the cut done about a dead body that had been locate, an investigation venire was established in which D/CPL cheek was to act as the dampicular investigator. Through this organization, no conflicts were witnessed among the police officers since all of the officers were aware of their roles in the investigation.\r\n Throughout the investigation, D/CPL cause was of prominent importance; this is because all his ideas were successful, and it was by dint of him that the investigation was successful. For instance, during the early days of the inv estigation, progress was quite a slow since all leads were hitting a dead end. D/CPL theatrical role increased the pace of the investigation afterwards he announced a wages of $8,000 to anybody who would come forward with breeding regarding the killing of Ashley Smith. By announcing an accolade, D/CPL strip knew that more or lessbody withholding reading regarding the homicide would eventually come out, which was true. Although the homicide was announced in the media, not all information was aired; instead, some vital information was withheld. For instance, the media did not mention the sections where the dupe was stabbed or the numeral of wounds inflicted on the victim’s body. by from the stabbings, nothing was give tongue to about strangulation of the victim. This was a good move by D/CPL Case since these omissions were used as traps during the interrogation operate.\r\n In my opinion, the interrogations were conducted in the right manner; this is b ecause D/CPL Case ensured that he interrogated all the people whose names were mentioned during the interviews. In regularise to ensure that the interrogations went smoothly, D/CPL Case used a number of items. For instance, apart from photos and sketches of the crime scene, D/CPL Case likewise relied on forensic analysts, as well as pathologists, who aided in reconstructing the crime scene, hence, substitute the interrogation operations. jibe to the depicted object study, it is evident that D/CPL Case re chief(prenominal)ed calm throughout the interrogation process since he was never in a hurry. For instance, whenever he was not satisfied with the information obtained during an interrogation, D/CPL Case would set up another interrogation with the analogous witness and attempt to acquire to a greater extent information. It is through this tactic that D/CPL Case managed to acquire more information from Scott Jones. Although most of the interrogations were conducted in an approp riate manner, the same cannot be said when it comes to Fredrick Johnson. Although Scott admitted that he was with Johnson during the night of the finish up, D/CPL Case interviewed Johnson all once before impeach him of first-degree pip. In my opinion, D/CPL Case was not ripe in the manner in which he interrogated Johnson. Although the baptismal font was solved success fully, the typeface study does not run out about what happened to the $8,000 award that had been advertised in the media. In my opinion, since nothing is mentioned about this award, the award was just a set-up that lured possible suspects to come forward.\r\n evil snapshot investigating and Evidence Analysis\r\n Investigation of the homicide started on 11/3/00 when two truck drivers spotted the body and reported it to the police. after(prenominal) place setting up a perimeter, thorough investigation of the crime scene commenced. Investigation at the crime scene was thorough since some(prenominal )(prenominal) professionals were founder. For instance, apart from police officers, there were as well photographers, forensic scientists, and pathologists. According to Assi (2010), the reason all investigation specialists put to work to be present is to replicate the crime scene before erecting an investigation. For instance, whereas the role of police officers is to look for the entire crime scene and take distinguishs, photographing and sketching the crime scene is to a fault of great importance. Taking photographs and sketching the scene makes it easy to review the crime scene in case something arises during the investigation (Howell, 1999). When taking photographs of a homicide investigation, several factors exigency to be considered. The face of the victim ought to be photographed for the purpose of identification when official investigations commence. obscure from the face, photographs should be taken of all wounds inflicted on the victim, all unaccustomed marks a ppearing on the victim’s body, and the particularities of the victim’s clothing (Assi, 2010). In the case study, it is evident that crime scene investigators adhered to these requirements. This is because there are photographs depicting the victim’s face, all wounds inflicted on her, and the manner in which the victim was dressed. According to the photographs taken at the crime scene, it is evident that apart from being stabbed in the neck and abdominal area, the victim was also strangled.\r\n While still at the crime scene, a number of evidence materials were tranquil. For instance, apart from the two neoprene skullcaps located at the scene, the forensic scientists and crime scene technicians collected more evidence for further research in the lab. Other items collected included the victim’s line of work sample, the victim’s clothe, and DNA swabbings from the victim’s ankles, mouth, vagina, and anus. After analyzing the eviden ce collected at the crime scene, the fact emerged that the victim had consumed alcohol prior to her death. Additionally, the victim had also engaged in a sexual activity moments before her death. This was discovered by the samples of sperms detected in her pants, vagina, and anus. According to the notes taken at the crime scene, the wounds inflicted on the victim were caused by dig stabbings. The attain utensil, which was later discovered by Richard Myers, was also forwarded to the laboratory for further forensic investigation. After the media announcement, the investigators took note of two names, Scott Jones and Fredrick Johnson, which had been mentioned in three of the calls received. After setting up surveillance on the two primary suspects, investigators managed to brace the suspects’ fingerprints from the rear butts they had discarded. These butts were used by the analysts to separate whether the two suspects had any links to the homicide. By the arse butts obta ined, the investigators realized that the suspects’ DNA matched with the DNA acquired at the crime scene, as well as the murder weapon found. This critical information prompted police officers to apprehend the two suspects for further interrogations.\r\nInvestigative Steps and Strategies\r\n After successfully light uponing the victim as Ashley Smith, the side by side(p) step was to launch an investigation into the homicide, which would result in the arrest of the perpetrators. For the investigation to be successful, the investigating group used a number of steps and strategies. The first step was to get the full profile of the victim. Since she was still underage, her points were not address equal in the computer system; hence, it was D/CPL Case’s task to acquire this information from Mrs. Smith. After holding an interview with Mrs. Smith, D/CPL Case learned that, before her demise, Ashley had been a student at direful Senior high school and had a you ng-bearing(prenominal) jockstrap cognise as Heather Thomas. According to Mrs. Smith, Heather was the last person to see Ashley. by from Heather, Mrs. Smith also mentioned Jason Phelps, who had been Ashley’s boyfriend. The information tag the beginning of the investigation since more names were mentioned by Heather and Jason. Since most of the information acquired was not solid, the next step was to announce the homicide in the media and issue an award for anybody that would come forward with substantial information regarding the crime. According to the case study, this strategy was successful since more concrete evidence was obtained. Apart from the mentioning of names such as Scott and Johnson, this strategy also resulted in the identification of the murder weapon, which was a small knife. Richard Myers, the citizen who spotted the knife, presented the knife to a police officer after seeing the homicide report on television.\r\n According to Assi (2010), when an investigation is still in the process, some information needs to be confidential. D/CPL Case applied this strategy by not releasing all information about the homicide to the media. Apart from D/CPL Case and the investigating team present at the crime scene, nobody else was aware of the number of wounds inflicted on the victim. Apart from the number of wounds, the media were also not told about the choking. D/CPL Case received some calls, but one call that caught his attention was the one he received on 11/30/00. On this particular day, a female fellowship claimed that, before her demise, Ashley had been in the company of three men, one of whom was Fredrick Johnson. The company went on to state that Ashley had been raped by the three men before being killed by Johnson in a move to prevent her from insurance coverage the incident. What made this call unique from the rest was that the caller claimed Ashley had been stabbed in the head and neck. The caller further said that two of the suspects were scratched by the victim during the process. It was this information that prompted D/CPL Case to establish a surveillance on the two main suspects. Although the investigating officers had pictures of the suspects, they were unable to substantiate the suspects accurately. Hence, with the help of P.O. Gummo, a traffic police officer, they were able to verify that, indeed, the suspects under surveillance were Scott Jones and Fredrick Johnson.\r\nInterview of Witnesses and head of Suspects\r\n According to Howell (1999), interviews and interrogations are part of the investigation process since more information is acquired during the process. Apart from interrogating witnesses, investigators also need interrogate all suspects whose names are mentioned. According to the case study, the first person to be interviewed was Mrs. Smith, the victim’s mother. Through this interview, it was noted that the victim had been kindly of sneaking out of the house a t night. Apart from sneaking out, the victim had also been in a number of love relationships, and her last boyfriend was known as Jason Phelps. During the interview, Mrs. Smith claimed that Ashley had had a close friend known as Heather Thomas. Apart from Mrs. Smith, D/CPL Case also interrogated Heather Thomas. During the interview, D/CPL Case noted that Heather was not telling the building block truth. D/CPL Case wished to apply a polygraph run on Heather, but her parents were against this idea. Hence, D/CPL Case only asked random questions, which Heather answered. D/CPL Case took the record of the interview to Det. Shelly Madison, who later claimed that out of the nine answers given over by Heather Thomas, four were wrong. This was enough evidence to show that that Heather Thomas had not been truthful. It was not until the quaternate interrogation that Heather Thomas confessed to intentional Fredrick Johnson. D/CPL Case also interrogated Scott Jones and Fredrick Johnson, who was the primary suspect of the homicide investigation. According to the case study, Scott was interrogated more thoroughly than Fredrick. This is because Fredrick pass along an attorney. Hence, he was never questioned. At first, Scott denied taking part in the homicide. However, after numerous interrogations by D/CPL Case, Scott finally confessed to taking part in the killing.\r\norganic Challenges\r\n During the investigation, there were a number of transactions aimed at suppressing some of the evidences. For instance, there was a motion filed to suppress the murder weapon located in the crime scene. The murder weapon, a knife, was brought in by Richard Myers, an American citizen. In my opinion, this item was legally obtained since it was brought in after an advertizing was placed in the media. Apart from the knife, another motion filed was that of illegal surveillance. According to studies, one is in ravishment of the fourth Amendment if he or she interferes with the privacy of a person by either watching or listening to the Person (Couenhoven, n.d). In my opinion, D/CPL Case and the investigation team went against the fourth amendment after they illicitly placed surveillance on Scott and Fredrick. There was also a motion filed on some of the confessions made. It is against the fourth amendment for a witness to be interrogated for a long period (NCIDS, 2002). Due to this, it is therefore evident that Scott was coerced to make confessions during the interrogation, hence, there is high chance that not all the information provided by the suspect was accurate. In my opinion, the information provided by Scott was not legally obtained. It is also against the legality for enforcers to acquire information from witnesses and suspects without a warrant ( arise Law, 2014). In the case study, D/CPL Case and the investigation team acquired the DNA of Scott and Fredrick after illegally acquiring the suspects’ cigarette butts that they had discarded w ithout the suspects’ consent. Due to this, it is therefore evident that the law enforcers did not acquire the item legally.\r\nLesson Learnt and the Applications\r\n The case study has been quite beneficial since through it, I micturate been able to comprehend most of the lessons I acquired in class concerning the investigation strategies and procedures of a homicide. First, a crime scene needs to be secured by the first police officers to arrive at the scene. In the case study, PFC. Malcolm was the first police officer to arrive at the scene. After confirming that the victim was dead, he established a perimeter around the crime scene. Secondly, after securing the crime scene, investigators need to take photographs of the scene as well as the victim. Apart from taking photographs, they also need to produce sketches of the entire scene. In the case study, apart from sketches, there are also photographs of the victim as well as the crime scene. These photos showed t he wounds inflicted on the victim, the posture in which the victim was found, and the manner in which she was clothed when she was first identified. After taking photographs, investigators need to ensure that they collect all the evidence required. In the case study, apart from the victim’s blood samples, other evidence collected included her clothes as well as swabs from her mouth, vagina, and anus. Finally, crime scene investigators need to interview all witnesses as well as suspects whose names are mentioned. These interviews are of great importance to the investigation since they enable investigators in detecting the main suspects. In the case study, it was through numerous investigations that D/CPL Case and his investigating team were able to identify the main suspects of the homicide.\r\nConclusion\r\n On 11/3/00, a female body was found in Columbia along the Old Annapolis road. The body was later identified as that of Ashley Smith. During the investigation, it was noted that the victim was not only stabbed, but was also choked. According to tests conducted in the laboratory, prior to her death, the victim had engaged in sexual activities. This was due to the detection of sperms in her pants, vagina, and anus. After collection of evidence, an investigation was launched to identify perpetrators of the homicide. Apart from the victim’s mother, interrogations were also conducted on Heather Thomas, Jason Phelps, Ronnie Emden, Scott Jones, Fredrick Johnson, Michael Stewart, and Janet Jones and quartz glass Jones. It was through the interrogations that the investigation team was able to identify Scott and Johnson as the main perpetrators of the homicide. In my opinion, the information communicate in the case study has been quite beneficial. This is because, through the case study, I have been able to fully comprehend the information learned in the classroom.\r\nReferences\r\nAssi, H. (2010). Homicide Crime Scene Investigation. Retri eved on 10 declination 2014 from www.justiceacademy.org/iShare/Library-Training/Homicide-Scene-Manual.pdf\r\nByrd, M. (2000). â€Å" province Description for the Crime Scene Investigator.” Crime Scene Investigator Network. Retrieved on 9 December 2014 from http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/dutydescription.html\r\nCouenhoven,P. (n.d). Suppressing Confessions: Involuntariness and Miranda. Retrieved on 12 December 2014 from www.sdap.org/downloads/research/criminal/confessions.pdf\r\nFind Law. (2014). The Fourth Amendment and the â€Å"Exclusionary Rule”. Retrieved on 12 December 2014 from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-rights/the-fourth-amendment-and-the-exclusionary-rule.html\r\nHowell, J. (1999). Homicide Investigation Standard Operating Procedures. Retrieved on 9 December 2014 from www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Homicide/homicide%20investigation%20standard%20operating%20procedures%201999.pdf\r\nNCIDS. (2002). Chapter 14: Suppression Motions. Retrieved on 12 December 2014 from www.ncids.org/Defender%20Training/Drug%20Case%20Training/Supp_Motions.pdf\r\nSource inventory\r\n'