All incidents in general leave unintentional traces at the site of the crime, whether they are crimes or offenses, accidents, natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other related problems. The investigation's overarching objective is to accurately examine and interpret demonstrable facts, recreate the scene, and comprehend the actual happenstance. The reliability, preservation of the physical integrity, and temporary and flimsy nature of the lying traces may all rely on the initial steps taken immediately with regard to the guiding fundamentals of inquiry for court as well as humanitarian actions. Paint, hair or fiber evidence is often collected, preserved and scientifically analyzed in the course of investigation about a crime either at the actual crime scene or laboratory examination. Generally, depending on the type of the offense, it can involve; firearm examination, fingerprint analysis, body identification, questioned document examination, palm print analysis and forensic art can be used. While offenses against persons such as assassination/homicide, assault, false imprisonment, kidnap and rape tend to be difficult to examine since it’s easier to clear evidence, they are concrete upon collection compared to crimes against property, e.g. blackmail, arson, smuggling, extortion, fraud, bribery and possession of stolen gadgets.
Crime scenario
In this case, consider an underway crime investigation of a dead person found along a rarely used highway that was spotted by a passer-by then, later on, alerted the cops. A renowned rehabilitation camp is an immediate structure next to the crime scene. Unfortunately, quite a number of the camp officials were uncertain whether the victim was among them. In addition, the police tentatively claim that they do not believe the death is suspicious though they are investigating to determine the possible cause of the death; the scene had been enclosed with crime tapes to avoid evidence contamination.
Andrew & Sarah (2005 p. 50-51), notes that most crime scenes are characterized by physical contact between the suspect and the victim. In such contacts, an inadvertent transfer of microscopic evidence often take place. The evidence transfer often entail fibers and hair. Evidently, from the crime scene, victim’s body parts were partially burned with blood splashed all over the clothes and bullets covered. A meter away was a burned car with blood stains and clothing inside the car.
Investigation procedure
The investigation process commenced by considering all sources of information from the first respondents such as speech confessions/testimonies and video surveillance which suffers the problem of limited reliability. To counter limited reliability and continuity of evidence from the scene to the courtroom, physical evidence when properly handled provides more reliable and crucial information concerning crime under investigation. For the assassination instance, crime scene investigator collected and documented physical evidence, e.g., sketching the scene, recordings and taking live pictures.
To further investigation, additional light sources were examined to find hair and fibers. A vacuum cleaner made of a tamper-proof clean bag was used to collect evidence, use of forceps for collection were more preferable to avoid possible picking up of extraneous and other unhelpful materials, the presence of medical coroners to determine the cause of death when the homicide occurred. A search warrant was also issued to get more witnesses; the witnesses were not allowed to share information to discourage collusions and conclusions, and the pertinent question here was what did you see and can the perpetrator identified? Those interviewed included the family members and neighbors.
For security, the evidence was properly packed, sealed and labeled and stored in airtight and unbreakable containers after that passed to the next chain step (chain of custody) bearing the description of evidence and person covering the scene investigation. The collected clothe fabric was sealed in a water-proof paper to avoid possible soaking by water and other liquids. From the scene was also finger blood prints on the victim’s body, other evidence included; audio recordings from witnesses and video coverage stored on hard disks.
Forensic lab examinations of all collected evidence were conducted to determine the actual facts of the case. Test results finally sent to the courtroom for effective formulation of a hypothesis of the sequence of victim’s last seen venue, events and activities from before the crime was committed throughout its entire completion. From the general crime scenario, the results examined are related to those of the witnesses’ testimonials and statements/speech to determine the reliability and possible linkage between the victim and the witnesses based on evidential facts.
Findings
From the investigation, the murder process commenced from the victim’s home where the witnesses firmly confirmed that the victim was kidnapped from the house, evidence gathered here were physical breakages on properties which indicated that there was a struggle as well as the video footage from the cameras. Although here there was evidence of the victim being forcefully evicted into the care, there was an attempt to stage the scene since the perpetrators had got masks to cover facial identity. Gun shots on the walls and bullets were also found, from the bullet examination, the company details were found. In addition, the company is in charge of those bullet supplies to the highly ranked state security officers.
Clothes fabrics earlier collected further indicated that they were from the security firm though it couldn’t specifically reveal the exact company. From the medical examiners; despite the bullets evidence, the victim was subjected to severe physical assault such as strangulation, beatings on the head by sharp objects and bone breakages at the joints. Torn clothes and deep, sharp cuttings on the victim further suggested an attempted manslaughter.
Another finding was based on the victim’s insurance cover. The victim was under life insurance cover, and upon death occurrences, the siblings are the ultimate beneficiaries. The death report reached the insurance company two weeks after the crime incidence though an attempt to reach out the sons all went futile. An arson on the car meters away from the victim revealed that the car had been registered under the national government security personnel though information from the insurance company about the details revealed that the car had not been involved in several uncovered incidents, the car registration number had also been removed.
The last finding was both a medical lab and forensic lab test which comprised of hair collected on the mouth as a result of mouth bites by the victim as well as blood fingerprints on the body. Locard’s exchange principle states that contacts between people and objects during a crime can involve a transfer of material that is evidence of the crime (1920 p. 134). Through DNA test, lab results clearly identified the possible perpetrator; the fingerprint results were further sent to the criminal investigative department to match the results with the system records and the perpetrators found.
Conclusion
Generally, based on the car arson, physical evidences both at home actual crime scene, and insurance cover details, the following can be concluded; there could be an ongoing domestic family issue and agreement between the victim and the children and/or between the siblings themselves, and there could be a constant information sharing between the victim’s sons and the state officials/state security personnel. In addition, there could be property inheritance unfairness and struggle for wealth between the victim’s sons.
The reconstruction of the crime and gradual activities to the murder may be open to interpretation that; both the victim and either of the sons had the influential position within the government and upon his death the, one of those involved in the assassination deal would take over the precious position. Consequently, the son involved in the actual deal will command the inheritance of the victim’s wealth. Finally, the victim was involved in self-defense struggle that leads to hitting on the head by sharp object thus blood splash.
References
Andrews & Sarah, (2005). “Fiction Meets Fact: A Visit to the FBI Lab.” Geotimes Vol 3
Locard, E, (1920). Crime principlesL/L’Enquete Criminelle et les Methodes Scientifique. Paris: Ernest Flammarion
