Goal #6 Objective A

---

Objective A:
Without the use of the course text or class notes, the student will identify specific investigative issues relating to homocide.

---

Issues Relating to Homicide Investigations

• Definitions
  
• Corpus Delicti
  
• Demographics
  
• Investigative Activities
  
• Division of Responsibilities
  
• The motive
  
• The crime scene
  
• The body
  
• The people
  
• The records
  
• Types of homicide investigations
  
• Cover-up attempts
  
• Missing persons
  
• Multiple deaths
  
• Dying Declarations
  

Definitions

justifiable homicide -
The intentional but lawful killing of another.

excusable homicide -
One person killing another by accident without gross negligence and without intent to injure.

suicide -
The taking of one's own life.

criminal homicide -
The unlawful taking of a human life.

murder -
The unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought (premeditation).

manslaughter -
The unlawful killing of another without intent.

Corpus Delicti -
Body of the crime. This is the collection of basic facts establishing that a crime has been committed and that some person is responsible.

corpus delicti of unlawful homicide:

• The death was not the result of a suicide, natural causes, or accident, thus establishing that it was a homicide (This is the forensic pathologist responsibility)
  
• Some person was responsible for the unlawful death. (This is the responsibility of the investigator, evidence technician, and criminalists)
  

Demographics of Homicide -

Approximately 20,000 homicides are reported in the United States every year.

Patterns of Occurrence:

• Areas: Metropolitan Areas
  
• Months: July and December
  
• Days of the Week: Weekends and holidays
  
• Time of the Day: Between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am
  
• Region: Southern States
  
• Gender: Male
  
• Victim/Suspect Relationship: Most victims and suspects are the same race and know each other (however - stranger to stranger homicides are on the rise)
  
• Race: African - American (in percentages) Whites (in actual numbers)
  
• Age: 20-29
  

Investigative Activities in a Homicide -

• Record the crime scene (photographs, sketches, notes)
• Recognize, collect, and preserve all physical evidence
• Identify the victim
• Establish the cause, manner, and time of death
• Determine motive
• Seek any additional information (people, physical evidence, and records)
• Question suspect(s)

Division of Responsibilities -

• Potential Investigators at a Homicide Scene
  
• Evidence Technician
  
• Criminalist
  
• Forensic Pathologist
  
• Forensic Anthropologist
  
• Detective
  

Evidence Technician -

• records crime scene
  
• recognizes, collects, and preserves physical evidence
  

Criminalist -

• recognizes, collects, and preserves physical evidence
  
• sometimes records the crime scene
  

Forensic Pathologist -

• identifies the victim
  
• estimates the time of death
  
• establishes the cause and manner of death
  
• sometimes recognizes, collects, and preserves physical evidence
  
• sometimes ascertains the motive for the crime
  

Forensic Anthropologist -

• recognizes, collects, and preserves physical evidence
  
• identifies the victim
  

Detective -

• records the crime scene
  
• recognizes, collects, and preserves physical evidence
  
• determines possible motives for the crime
  
• seeks additional information (people, records & files, and physical evidence)
  
• questions suspect(s)
  
• develops authentic information for identifying the suspect
  

The motive -

Since statistically we know that the homicide victim and suspect usually know each other, the identification of a motive can frequently lead, through deductive reasoning, to the identification of the person (with in the span of associates) who may be responsible for the crime.

Common Motives for Homicide

• Financial gain
  
• Sexual gratification
  
• Apparently sex-connected homicides
  
• Emotional factors
  
• Self-protection
  
• Removal of an inconvenience or impediment
  
• Apparently motiveless crimes
  

The crime scene -
Questions which should be addressed at the homicide crime scene

• Is this an unlawful homicide?
  
• Is this a homicide disguised as a suicide?
  
• Who is the deceased?
  
• What was the motive for the killing?
  
• Is there physical evidence present that may link the killer to the crime scene or the victim?
  
• What happened and/or how was the crime committed?
  

The body -
The forensic pathologist is extremely important in resolving many issues about the body.

Generally the detective can assist in victim identification by having the next of kin visually identify the remains.

When this is not possible because of disfiguration or dismemberment, then the forensic pathologist may turn to medical or dental records of the suspected victim to confirm or reject identity.

The Autopsy:

External Examination
Internal Examination

External Examination -

• Areas of External Examination by the Forensic Pathologist
  
• clothing worn by deceased
  
• any weapon found
  
• scars & tattoos
  
• areas of apparent injury
  

Internal Examination -

Areas of Internal Examination by the Forensic Pathologist

• scalp
  
• chest
  
• abdomen
  
• body organs
  
• tissue
  
• body fluids
  

Reading the body for crime scene reconstruction -

• circumstances and where body was found
  
• postmortem lividity
  
• forensic entomology (examination of insects found on body to see if it was moved)
  
• identification and recording of injuries to the body
  
• are the injuries antemortem or postmortem
  

The people -
Information that can be obtained from people who knew the victim

• possible motive
  
• naming of suspect(s)
  
• describing unusual activities and habits of the deceased
  

Methods to acquire information from people

• Area and associate canvas
  
• Informants
  
• Questioning potential suspects
  

The records -
Records can provide investigative insight into motive.

Examples of how records can be of investigative value

• trace weapon serial numbers to owner
  
• determine recent activities of victim or suspect
  
• tracing vehicle license numbers
  
• documenting victim or suspect contacts with the police
  

Records that can reveal motive

• insurance policies
  
• diaries, letters and e-mail
  
• ownership records on items related to the crime
  
• wills
  
• bills
  
• loans
  
• credit problems
  
• bank accounts
  
• employment
  
• safety deposit boxes
  
• recent business transactions
  
• IRS records
  
• psychiatric records
  
• medical records
  
• military records
  

Types of homicide investigations -

• grounder
  
• mystery
  
• in-between
  

grounder -
An easily solved case.

Example:
The suspect is still at the crime scene and confesses to arriving officers.

mystery -
A case where a solution is not apparent.

Example:
The UNIBOMER Case

in-between -
A case that appears to have a solution but will require some effort.

Example:
Goldman - Simpson Murders

Cover-up attempts -
Methods used to make death appear different than it is in reality. The objective is to misdirect any investigation and/or to conceal the suspect's involvement.

Cover-up attempts

• Accidental Means
  
• Explainable Means
  

Accidental Means -

• Vehicle Tampering
  
• Suicide by Firearm
  
• Fire
  
• Poison
  

Explainable Means -

• Simulated Felony
  
• Self-Defense
  

Diversionary Means -

• First person to report the crime
  
• Contrived alibi
  
• Cover-up by misdirection (ruse)
  

Missing persons -
Missing persons are frequently feared dead, particularly by the family.

Two types of missing persons

• voluntary (victim ran away, left on own)
  
• involuntary (victim was abducted against their will)
  <

Apparent Involuntary Disappearances

• Children (whether voluntary or involuntary - children should be considered at-risk of foul play)
  
• Adults (Generally the disappearance is sudden, mysterious and the victim is usually female)
  
• Adolescents (Like children, whether voluntary or involuntary - the adolescent should be considered at risk)
  
• Misleading Reports (Delays in reporting over one day should be considered suspicious, unless a satisfactory explanation is offered)
  

Multiple deaths -
Persons who commit multiple murders have been given many names

• serial murderer
  
• spree killer
  
• mass murderer
  
• lonely hearts killer
  

Multiple Death Situations

• Double homicide (most common)
  
• Family/Residence Murder
  
• Mass Murder
  
• Crime Spree Mass Murder
  
• Serial Murder
  
• Lonely Hearts Killings
  

Dying Declarations -
A dying declaration is a statement made just prior to death with the knowledge of impending death.

A dying declaration (also known as a antemortem statement) is admissible in homicide cases in certain jurisdictions.

Conditions of a dying declaration

• The victim must believe death is imminent
  
• The victim must believe there is no hope of recovery
  
• The victim's declaration must identify the person responsible for their condition and state the circumstances and manner in which the injuries were inflicted
  
• The victim must be rational and competent
  
• The victim must die from the injuries received
  

---

Continue to Goal #6 - Objective B.
Return to Course Learning Goals Page

---