The Forensic Handbook

How to Solve a Murder

The Crime Specialists

If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination.

– Thomas de Quincey “Murder considered as One of the Fine Arts.”

The Crime

LOCATION: Gotham City, a medium sized city in the Midwest. Racially and income diverse city.

VICTIM: Prominent and rich criminal attorney Godfrey Daniels, who is reputed to have been a silent partner to many of the criminals he defended.

CRIME: MURDER MOTIVE: ?

The Specialists

Modern police science may be said to have three phases.– WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE THREE

PHASES?

The Phases of Police Work

The first phase embraces the identification of living and dead persons.

The second phase embraces the field work carried at the scene of the crime.

The third embraces methods used in the police laboratory to examine and analyze clues and traces discovered in the course of the investigation.

The Experts in Forensics

Fingerprint Experts:– Dactyloscopy – the study

of fingerprints. – Been around for over 100

years.– New techniques using all

sorts of surfaces.

The Experts in Forensics

Crime Scene Photographers: A crime scene must be photographed from every angle to clearly show every detail.

Emphasis on accurately recording the size and distance of objects.

The Forensic Experts

Forensic Pathologists: Also called medical examiner.

Determine time and cause of death.

Forensic Experts

Forensic Psychologists: May be called on to evaluate a murder scene to suggest possible psychological motivations for a crime and develop profiles for police.

Forensic Experts

Forensic Serologists: Study blood groups, blood and other bodily fluids for ID following a crime.

Forensic Dentists and Odontologists: Study teeth of corpses for ID purposes or make casts of human bite marks to match the bite with the biter.

Ballistics Experts: Study the flight path of projectiles. Everything to do with firearms.

Forensic Experts

Forensic Chemists: Specialize in analyzing such things as tiny chips of paint to determine color and manufacturer as well as determining the identity of drugs, dyes and other chemicals in a body.

Forensic Experts

Forensic Geologists: Determine such things as where the suspect or victim walked by examining soil samples taken from shoes or feet.

Forensic Experts

Forensic Entomologists: By the study of insects, experts an determine how long a body has been dead by the degree of development of the maggots growing on it.

Forensic anthropologists: By examining a pile of bones, they can determine human remains and tell about what the person look like and often how they died.

Forensic Experts

Forensic Artists: Creating the likeness of a person based on eyewitness descriptions or can age a portrait to illustrate changes in a person’s features over time.

Forensic Sculptors: Reconstruct using modelling clay the appearance of a face from the structure of the skull.

Forensic Linguists: Analyze written and aural communication to identify the speaker and their intent and whether multiple communications are from the same person.

The Investigation

THE CALL: 9:32 PM, a chilly Saturday night in October.

Distraught voice told 911 operator, “My husband has been killed.”

911 Operator:

Get as much information as possible from the person on the phone to relay to police.

– Know what police are walking into

Keep the caller on the phone. WHY?

– Safety– Keep the scene from

being tampered with.

What the Police Know

The patrol car (unit) is dispatched to the home of Godfrey Daniels in the Richwood section of town – populated by wealthier citizens.

Arrive 7 minutes after the call.

The First Officers

There is indeed a corpse lying in the middle of the floor in the study to the right of the front door.

– Signs of a struggle.– Man appears shot.– Hysterical woman

identifies herself as Mrs. Daniels.

Police Procedure

Ascertain the victim is REALLY dead.

– Victim isn’t really dead until medical examiner says so.

Make sure suspect is not on the premises.

First Officer Procedures

Secure the crime scene.– Don’t disturb the

surroundings.– No one is allowed to use a

toilet, run water, wash or wipe hands, use the telephone, drink out of glasses, or handle objects or touch furniture at the scene.

What the first unit found

Mrs. Daniels is trying to clean the study. She says she doesn’t want people to see a messy house.

– WHY? Stress or guilt?

Why?

Dr. Sam Sheppard’s case. Prime suspect in his wife Marilyn’s murder.

Police found an unfiltered cigarette floating in a toilet. Dr. Sam didn’t smoke and his wife only smoked filtered cigarettes.

Before it was collected, a cop had flushed the toilet!

PRIME way to dispose of evidence!

First Officers Duties

Keep notes on relevant times and when crime happened (if they can); arrivals and departures from scene.

Note state of condition of anything that will change when the detectives arrive.– Lights on or off?– Windows up or down? Blinds up or down?– Smell cigarette smoke? Perfume? Gunpowder? – Visible footprints / fingerprints? Used cups/glasses

The Homicide Detectives

Detectives that will stay with the case from that moment until prosecution or their retirement.

Decide if the death is “suspicious”

– Means it could be suicide, accidental death or murder.

                                                            

The Homicide Detectives

In smaller towns, they will be the CSI officers too.

Write the first report. Details are vital so if 20 years later, another detective can reassemble the facts.

Secure crime scene Determine witnesses from suspects.

Report

Statements

Scene

Evidence

Exploded Drawing

What Mrs. Daniels said:

She left house at 8:30 AM and spend the day at her store, Cecilia’s Frocks in a large shopping mall. Left store at 8 PM.

Had dinner with a friend and came straight home, arriving at estimated 9:15 PM. After ten minutes in the house, she went into her husband’s study to speak to him and found him dead. She immediately dialed 911.

What Mrs. Daniels said:

Last spoke her husband over the phone at about 3 PM. He called to say he was expecting a client to drop in at about 8 PM.

That is why she says she ate out.

What should the police do with Mrs. Daniels’ statement?

What – if any – problems do you find?

                                                            

Mrs. Daniels’ statement addition

She was reluctant to mention eating with local businessman – William Batson.

What should police do now?– Dispatch detective to verify story with Mr. Batson.– Ask him to come down to give fingerprints.

ANSWER DETERMINES IF INVESTIGATION CONTINUES ALONG THIS LINE.

Detectives also:

Do door-to-door in the neighborhood .

– Some neighbors reported seing a strange man arriving at the Daniels’ house at around 8 PM.

Neighbor on the left is sure it was a tall, thin man in a trench coat and dark cap who slunk down the street at about 7:50.

BUT:

Neighbor two houses down on the right saw a stocky man with light hair and no hat in a blue or gray suit approach the Daniels’ home a minute or so after 8 PM.

What can the police assume?

What are our options about what the witnesses say they saw?

The Medical Examiner Arrives

Called at the same time as the homicide squad.

Issue a death certificate Examine the body where

it lies to estimate time and probable cause of death.

Take the body back to the morgue for an autopsy.

The Forensic Unit Arrives.

Start by photographing the scene before the body is moved.

Go over area for fingerprints. Attention to areas the assailant was likely to forget he/she had touched.

Check bathroom sink drain trap for blood.

The Forensic Unit

Note that the top desk drawer is pulled out and gone through.

Other desk drawers treated thus.

Bagged the gun and took samles from each of the blood stains.

Gathered hairs, fibers, cigarette butts in an ashtray.

Found by the car another cigarette butt.

Summary of scene:

Mr. Daniels was lying on his back on the floor of his study.

Appears to be a bullet hole in his chest and a pool of congealed blood under the body in the head and shoulder area.

Other stains of blood on the desk and the floor near the door.

Summary of the scene

There was also what might be a blood stain on the inner doorknob of a second door which led to a bathroom.

A revolver lay about a foot from the deceased’s left leg.

Overturned wastebasket and signs of a struggle or hasty search.

Options: Suicide or Homicide?

Suicide? Homicide?

Something to Ponder:

Let talking cease. Let laughter flee. This is the place where death delights to help the living.– Inscription on the wall of the office of New York

City’s chief medical examiner.

Three factors to determine time of death:

Rigor Mortis – rigidity comes and goes shortly after death.

Livor Mortis: discoloration of skin caused by the settling of red cells of blood due to gravity.

Algor Mortis: Cooling off of the body.

Rigor Mortis

Begins two hours after death as the body changes from alkaline to acid. Muscles stiffen.

Where do you think it appears first?

– Eyelids– Muscles of the face– Jaw arms, trunk and legs.– In that order.

Rigor Mortis

Body in full rigor is stiff as a plank.

Reaches peak in twelve hours and lasts 12 – 48 hours.

Releases when body changes from acid back to alkaline.

RARE instances

Cadaveric Spasm: Body in SOME cases of instant and violent death goes into full rigor.

Livor Mortis

Also called post mortem lividity – red blood cells settle out of the serum and gather in the lowest part of the body.

Starts in two hours and fixed after eight.

Even if body moved – the red markings remain.

Sure sign the body has been moved if the corpse position doesn’t match the lividity.

                                                               

Algor Mortis

Temperature of death.. At the moment of death

– exception – the body temp was 98.6 degrees.

Body temperature goes down at the rate of one degree an hour – depending on external temperature, body weight, etc.

What about Mr. Daniels?

Using the three gauges, forensics figure Mr. Daniels was killed three hours before they arrived – give or take half an hour.

Death was between 7:30 and 8:30.

What does that mean for Mrs. Daniels???

NOTE:

Forensics emphasizes this is an ESTIMATE – and maybe not precisely reliable. Unknown factors may have altered the values of their indicators.

BUT:

Since there were signs of a struggle, hair or skin from Daniels’ assailant remained under his fingernails.

Plastic bags were placed around the victim’s hands and tied at his wrists.

Body zipped up and removed.

Confessions of a Medical Examiner

It takes about two hours to do an uncomplicated autopsy on a person who died of a stroke or heart attack. Bullet wounds take longer. Mafia killings always take more time because the number of bullet holes. We have to check each injury to see whether it contributed to the death.

Mr. Daniels’ on the table:

First examine the clothes. Why?– Check that bullet hole in chest aligns with bullet

holes in the shirt and jacket. – Give an idea of the posture at the moment he was

shot.

Contents of Mr. Daniel’s Pockets

$55 in bills in billfold and driver’s license, AAA membership and VISA card. Three receipts.

$1.29 in change in a coin bag.

Handkerchief and comb. Date book

In Date Book

Notes about meetings – but seems to be a code.

Y2 is down for 8 PM on the date of death.

Cop Recollection

Didn’t Mr. Daniels have a client called Yeggs Yancy?

Autopsy procedure.

After the clothes are removed and bagged for evidence– The custom is to start the procedure with “Hoc es Corpus” This is the body.

Mr. Daniels’ autopsy

Well developed, well-nourished white male, measuring five feet eleven inches in height and weighing approximately two hundred and ten pounds.

Pictures

Body before being undressed and again naked.

Picture of the toe tagged body too – WHY? Photographer stays – in case something

interesting pops up.

Examination of the epidermis

Seek and note all cuts, bruises, wounds, puncture marks, scars, and any abnormalities.

Go over body with a magnifying glass seeking needle marks in case of drugs.– Needle punctures tend to stay on the body for 48

hours.

Mr. Daniels’ wound

The bullet hole is the entrance wound. The burn mark says it was fired at a close range.

Nail scrapings were devoid of useful material.

Blood sample taken for typing.

Turns the body over.

Mr. Daniels’ examination.

No exit wound. Bullets can take strange

paths through the body – the track closes behind them making it hard to find.

X-rays needed.

On to the Internals

Standard autopsy incision is in the shape of a Y-cut – from each shoulder meeting at the pit of the stomach and then through the pelvis.

All organs are removed, examined, weighed and tissue samples removed for toxicological examination.

Autopsies

Stomach is removed and contents examined. Any food present can determine when and what the victim last ate.

More precise way to estimate death by how much digestion had proceeded between meal and death.

Autopsies

Any fluid in the thoracic cavity and other body cavities is siphoned off and saved for analysis.

Same with bladder – best way to tell if drugs were present in the system.

Autopsies

Examination of head is last.

Face examined for minute wounds, skull for fractures, and orbital area for sights of pinpoint hemorrhages called petechiae.

– Signs of strangulation.

Autopsies

The skin of the head is sliced across the top of the scalp, and a flap pulled down in front of the face to allow the skull to be sawed open and brain removed for examination.

Autopsies

Once all tests are completed, internal organs are returned and sewn into the body cavity.

Skin flap on skull is replaced. Body put into storage. When cause of death is determined, death

certificate issued and body is released to the family.

Forensic test for blood

Ultraviolet Test: Benzidine over surface and then ultraviolet light. Illuminates blood– BUT also illuminates fresh fruit and milk stains– VERY carcinogenic. – Luminol Test is more used today. Glows blue.

More blood – brighter the glow. BUT older blood will shine brighter too.

Blood Type Groups

44% - Type O 40% - Type A 12% - Type B 4% - Type AB

Examination of blood splatters and blood from the bathroom

Mr. Daniels was type-A blood. The second person in the room had O blood.

Roughly 70% of people have type-O blood.

Looking at the suspects:

Mrs. Daniels: Type AB blood. Police look into Yegg Yancy’s background and

see he has Type O blood. Mr. Batson has Type O blood as well.

Also uncovered in investigation:

Mr. Batson reported six months ago the disappearance of a .38-caliber handgun.

Yegg Yancy, working last at a local diner, reportedly was trying to score a gun - according to the dishwasher.

Lawyers get a subpoena to uncover Daniels records:

He DID have an appointment that night with Yancy.

Yancy still hasn’t been found.

Putting evidence together.

In a flower bed outside Daniels’ house, the police had found two footprints in the watered soil.

Traced mud trail to a block down the street where they disappeared at a curb.

Appear to be rubber soles like on athletic shoes.

Interviews with Yancy’s acquaintances

Yancy was “unhappy” with Daniels’ handling of his case.

Yancy reportedly has a gray jacket.

Interviews with Mr. Batson

Insists on having an attorney present if questioned. No longer available for voluntary questioning.

Is reported to wear darker jackets and coats. He is also a runner.

Is this enough to get a search warrant? What would police want to see?

Mr. Yancy is found in another part of town.

Claims he was approaching the house for his appointment when he heard gunfire. He ran away.

Scared he would be blamed. Does have a crease injury on his arm and severe

lacerations to his thumb. Says he cut himself at work and the arm injury was from a knife fight.

Claims to have had a gray jacket, but threw it out recently, along with some old shoes, pants and shirts.

Yegg Yancy Statement Collaboration

A coworker does say that she saw his knife injury a day before the murder happened.

What can the police do now?

Police investigate further into Batson. There is no evidence that he had anything more than a business association with Mrs. Daniels. No history of threats or violence.

Police investigate further into Yancy. There is a history of previous violence and history of threats.

New Evidence from Mr. Daniels’ house

A set of badly defined footprints traveled two houses down to where a car had been parked.

In the mud were clear footprints of the car’s occupant

Tire tracks from where the car parked. Also bagged a cigarette found near where the

car parked.

More evidence

The bullet taken from the victim’s body was a 38-caliber.

The gun at the victim’s side was a .32-caliber. The bullet in the wall was a .32 caliber.

More evidence

Waiter at the restaurant cannot remember the couple.

Mrs. Daniels thought the meal was paid with a credit card.

Mr. Batson says it was paid in cash.

The fingerprints from the house

Two unidentified fingerprints match the fingerprint card of Philomar Yancy.

Brought in for questioning.– Long rap sheet– Tire tracks matched to his car– Shoes matched up too

Police question Mr. Yancy

After 30 minutes of questioning, Yancy changes his original story.

Mr. Yancy’s new story:

He had an appointment with Mr. Daniels.

He was mad that Daniels was pressuring him to burglarize another lawyer’s residence to look for some “information” on another case.

Mr. Yancy’s new story:

He threw out a cigarette when he left his car and smoked another one, standing by Daniel’s car.

He heard gunshots and went over to look through the window (he knew where the office was from previous visits).

Mr. Yancy’s new story:

He saw Mr. Daniels on the ground – looking dead.

He didn’t see anyone else.

He ran away. All happened in less

than a minute?

So …

Who killed Godfrey Daniels?