A woman discovered the bodies of 2 young black men concealed in the vegetation alongside a road in 1979. These murders were the beginning of “Atlanta Child Murders”, which would total, nearly 20 young black males by 1981. These black young men had been strangled or suffocated (Trace evidence Wayne Williams (n.d.). The police had no witnesses only and relied on the forensic evidence of fibers found on the bodies and clothing of the victims.
The former being defined as the evidence collected in order to convict or rule out suspects, and the latter being defined as the way the investigators developed the investigation and how it evolved throughout the ensuing years. In order to evaluate these two different subjects, one needs to examine the similarities and differences between this investigation and theories about how investigation of this type develop, the nuances of this investigation not able to be explained by theory, investigatory elements that
Forensic science has been an aid to the law enforcement community for years now. It has solved cases that were unsolved years before DNA and science started to play a role with cases and law enforcement. The case of Samuel Reeves and James Layne was unsolved in the year 1989, this was considered a cold case because it had been years since they found who the murderer was. This case was considered a crime of passion, where it first started off by kissing and having the same attraction towards each other, but when James Layne started to get aggressive and not respecting Reeves decision to not have sex, that was when things got hectic. Forensic science helped this case by the use of fingerprints, they found the fingerprints in a bottle, and when
A positive aspect of this is that forensic scientists only need a small amount of a sample to get the results they need (“Forensic Science” 12). These samples can come from many other forms of identification other than fingerprints and bloodstains. A few moderate examples include strands of hair, tiny beads of sweat, and a saliva specimen (“Forensic Science” 12). Forensic Science Technicians stated that “crime scene investigators may use tweezers, black lights, and specialized kits to identify and collect evidence.” They also stated that examining autopsies prove to be beneficial in a crime investigation (“Forensic Science Technicians”
Evidence found at the place of the crime can give investigators clues to who committed the crime. For example, investigators can find footprints, fingerprints, or even the murder weapon. In fact, a hatchet was found on property, which detectives believe is the murder weapon(Allard,2013). This is important because the hatchet gives clues to who committed the crimes.
Any DNA that remains in CODIS available for comparison against new samples from recently apprehended criminals and old samples from unsolved cases. This has become an invaluable tool for law
In speaking to my brother in law, who is the Lieutenant of Investigations, at our local police department he made me aware that when a crime is committed, forensics are not always needed and if forensics are needed the department has to call in forensics, due to not having one on hand (Lt. R. Mitchell, 2016). I
Analysis of the scene, including factors such as method of entry to the location or whether the scene has been staged and much more, can provide invaluable information to investigators based on the profile. (Brent E, Turvey, 2011). Warrant: • Narrowing down suspects means that police can apprehend offenders faster, leading to the saving of lives in cases of serial killers and abductions. • This can also save police resources in investigations if they are looking for the wrong type of suspect, giving them more power to find the offender.
When investigators came to the crime scene they collected evidence such as, African American hair, footprints, car trails, and
Blood, urine, and hair samples can provide DNA of the suspect in support of the
Then, interrogators can state that they did find physical evidence at the scene of the crime and they are checking to see it is a match to the suspect. When this method is used, it does not back a suspect into a corner with accusations that the physical evidence is a match to them, but just states that some type of physical evidence was collected. This allows interrogators to view the reaction of the news to the suspects. A suspect who is guilty may start to offer explanations of how that is not possible or even tell the police that they are lying.
Forensic tests can tell investigators a lot about how the people they are interested in are communicating with others and can also lead them on a trail of the movements of victims and perpetrators that they are looking into. The main way of doing this is by using an electronic device inside mobile phones and computers. For the team to do this it would require them to take the computer or mobile phone apart piece by piece and add in an electronic chip. Once activated this chip allows investigators to track the whereabouts of victims and this in turn allows them to keep a watchful eye on the victim and help keep them safe. In computers, the chip would allow investigators to get into certain files which could then lead to the whereabouts of a perpetrator and allow them to
● It can be used to determine if a person is guilty or not. The evidence from forensic can be enough to put a person into prison. ● It can be used to solve old unsolved cases if there is still DNA available from that case. ● Help identify victims in big disasters where the body of the person can not physically be easily
In order for investigators to conduct an efficient follow-up investigation it is important that the officers conducting the investigation are familiar with all the observations, notes and evidence collected in the preliminary investigation. I believe it is important for the investigator conducting the follow-up investigation to be familiar with the collected evidence because they will need to review the laboratory results of the evidence under examination. In addition, the investigator may want to perform additional searches at the crime scene to see if any evidence was missed. I believe it is important for the investigator to be familiar with notes taken while questioning the witnesses because they will have to run back ground checks on the victims, witnesses, and suspects. It is also essential to study the statements these individuals gave in case they want to conduct additional
There are initially two main types of evidence real evidence, which is tangible evidence which means you can see it touch it such as a picture or a gun. Then there is testimonial evidence, where as to seeing or touching, someone is swearing an oath verbally or writing a sworn statement they have factual knowledge of a crime. Another category of evidence would be, direct evidence, this is where someone may be actually watching a crime happen or if a home or business has a close circuit video system to capture. Then there is indirect evidence, this type of evidence could possibly come from finding something such as finger prints. However, finding fingerprints could turn out to be circumstantial evidence.
