One of the main methods of determining the nature of a case is by analysing the crime scene, particularly analysing the body of the victim including its location.
Over 98% of offenders left the bodies in the location they died in noted Keppel and Weis (2004). The movement of a body is limited by the physical strength, victim’s state, size and manoeuvrability.
Changing the crime scene to avoid prosecution is termed crime scene staging; that may be by attempting to redirect the investigation onto someone else or by endeavouring to change the appearance of the case nature from homicidal to either suicidal (by writing a suicide note) or accidental. Crime scene staging has been regularly documented in the last century. Turvey (2000), noted that
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Crime scene photography and the autopsy are of vital importance in dealing with a death.
Staging types
Hazelwood and Napier (2004) remarked that verbal staging is when one disposes of the victim then files a missing person report. The purpose of verbal staging is to mislead the police, by alerting the police to the missing person perpetrators would be less likely to be thought of as suspects. In addition, they may also stage the crime scene; however, verbal staging has not been highly associated with crime scene staging since many of the victims’ bodies and/or murders were not in the house of neither the victim nor the murderer Hazelwood and Napier (2004).
Other types of staging involve the movement, destruction, addition or removal of something in the scene or the body. These changes are of a wide variety and the perpetrators psychology and imagination may be unique or general such as burning the scene and body. This type of staging is classified in levels.
Staging
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An example of minimal staging is the placement of the murder weapon such as the gun or knife in the victim’s hand. This would directly be discerned as a staged suicide by the forensic pathologist as the body tends to become flaccid after death and the weapon should fall out of the hand unless the body is in a position that the weapon wouldn’t fall which is highly unlikely. Furthermore, cadaveric spasms, otherwise thought of as instantaneous rigidity, would probably be asked about in court or by the police is believed not to exist. Furthermore, even if they did exist, they have only been reported in intense physical and emotional distress such as in a battlefield or drowning in a
Player: case report and emerging medicolegal practice questions. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 6(1), 40-46. doi:10.1111/j.1939-3938.2009.01064.x
Preservation of Crime Scenes and Evidence. (2013, November 18). Retrieved from Correctional Service Canada: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/politiques-et-lois/568-4-cd-eng.shtml
results of the forensic anthropology. For instance, if a crime is committed at a certain scene,
2. Kirsch, Laura. “Diagnosis: DEATH.” Forensic Examiner 15.2 (2006): 52-54. Criminal Justice Periodicals. ProQuest. USF Mears Library, Sioux Falls, SD. 24 Apr. 2008 http://www.proquest.com/
In today’s time, modern Crime Scene Investigation has increased rapidly. From throughout the late 1900’s and in the early 2000’s (Taylor 1). For all of the evidence that they find, a solid foundation has formed over the thousands of years of Crime Scene
...me scene, by recreating the scene using the blood direction a bloodstain patterns. Bloodstain pattern analysis use biology, chemistry, math, and physics to solve a crime. In doing research on this topic there is a lot of detail to go into this topic, so in suggestion this paper need to explain the other different investigators that process any crime scene.
Dutelle, Aric W. An Introduction to Crime Scene Investigation. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2011. Print.
Though it is an unpleasant thought for an average person to consider, but an autopsy is an essential part of the investigative process. An autopsy is defined as an examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). It is often used as means to gather evidence, access trauma to bodies, and or diagnose diseases or pathology to a deceased person. It is often used in conjunction with police investigation in the quest for justice in the court system. This, sometimes, involves cutting into the body to retrieve evidence or determine the cause of death. Many times, this isn’t a feasible option, either for religious reasons or family wishes. However, the how and why of the death still has to be ascertained. A valuable tool that many death investigators use is radiographs. It is non-invasive, and allows the examiner to have a preliminary place to start. A new innovation in this mode of inquiry is called a Virtual Autopsy or “Virtopsy”.
Through this research I have found that forensics and forensics anthropology work hand in hand. They seem to be closely related in regards (regards is an emotion, you mean regard) to solving criminal cases. A huge interest for me, while conducting this research is the impact the analysis has on cold cases. Cold cases are very important and require an extensive analysis of one’s life whose life? Mine?. Often victims in a cold case do not have strong family bonds, or persons that they are close to. It is imperative within life to have friends and persons, who will say something if you are not seen in a couple of days or weeks. Knowing where a person may be or what a person is involved is important in the case of a missing person. It is a vital part of forensics in relation to forensic anthropology. Within forensics anthropology you can find out more detailed information on the decomposition process. Steadman (2014) The information (what information?) can be used to identify a victim and maybe lead to clues of the perpetrator. New paragraph The study of a victim may also l...
When there is no body present in a murder case, the prosecution must first prove the victim was killed and the death was the result of a criminal act by establishing evidence other than what would have been on the missing body. Since a defendants’ confession to a crime where there is no body present is not sufficient evidence to convict, the prosecution must provide substantial independent evidence which would tend to establish trustworthiness of the confession. The prosecution could accomplish this by establishing a violent history between the defendant and victim, producing eyewitnesses to the crime, proving the defendant was the last one to see the victim prior to their disappearance, and producing the existence
Interior and exterior crime scenes are almost as similar as they are dissimilar. For instance, both have concerns regarding; scene safety, scene control, climate changes, evidence contamination, disturbance or destruction via accidental contact or uncontrollable external circumstances (pets, wild animals or weather) (Fisher, B., Fisher, D., 2012). On the other hand, the interior scenes usually allows for climate control, at some level, were exterior climates are at the will of nature. Interior also provides barrier, although not impenetrable, against external circumstances, where exterior scenes tend to have large areas of openness, making the area more susceptible to someone or something entering regardless of the scene markers (Richard, S.,
Quinsey, V. (2009). Are we there yet? stasis and progress in forensic psychology. Canadian Psychology, 50(1), 15-15-21.
There are several steps that need to be taken in order to process a crime scene. Some of the steps include: securing the scene, a detailed search, documenting the crime scene, collecting and preserving evidence, and finally releasing the scene. All of the following steps are crucial to avoid any possible contamination or otherwise compromise the scene before it can be released. Few, if any additional opportunities exist when processing a crime scene, so the first time is most pertinent.
Forensic Science, recognized as Forensics, is the solicitation of science to law to understand evidences for crime investigation. Forensic scientists are investigators that collect evidences at the crime scene and analyse it uses technology to reveal scientific evidence in a range of fields. Physical evidence are included things that can be seen, whether with the naked eye or through the use of magnification or other analytical tools. Some of this evidence is categorized as impression evidence2.In this report I’ll determine the areas of forensic science that are relevant to particular investigation and setting out in what method the forensic science procedures I have recognized that would be useful for the particular crime scene.
Establishing time of death plays an important part in solving a murder; this helps investigators narrow down a suspect list. With the time of death, investigators are able to ascertain the victim’s movements leading up to their death. This paper describes how the medical examiner determines the time of death. After death the human body goes through stages of decomposition; this paper will define those stages. When detectives respond to a crime scene that has a deceased body, the first thing they need to know is when this person died.