CRM 230 NDC Crime Scene Investigation Rachel & Regina Case Analysis Essay

CRM 230 NDC Crime Scene Investigation Rachel & Regina Case Analysis Essay CRM 230 NDC Crime Scene Investigation Rachel & Regina Case Analysis Essay ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED AND ORIGINAL NURSING PAPERS Unformatted Attachment Preview BYOCS: Crime Scene BYOCS: Crime Scene Investigation Final Case Report Student Saint Leo University Introduction to Crime Scene Investigation 1 BYOCS: Crime Scene 2 Crime Scene At 1000 hours, November 6, 2008, I received a call from dispatch to process a death investigation at 1234 Anywhere Loop in Anywhere, Florida. The only information given to me before I got to the scene was as follows. Upon arrival at the scene, the responding officer, Jackson Hughes with the Anywhere Police Department, provided me with some information. Officer Hughes provided me with the name of the victim, Joanne Collins, and notified me that her boyfriend, Rodney Martinek, could not be reached. He also informed me of who discovered the body, how the body was discovered, the paths that were walked by the person who found the body and the paths taken by himself and EMS. The victim’s daughter, Tiffany Van, arrived at the house around 0930 and found her mother dead in the kitchen. He also let me know that neither he nor EMS moved anything, and that Mrs. Van claimed to have only touched the door on the way in and out, and took the phone on the way out to call 911. Also relayed to me was the whereabouts of the body and obvious evidence within the house. As I pulled up, I noticed that the residence seemed to be a villa, so I asked Officer Hughes if there was anybody residing next door. According to Officer Hughes, the attached villa was rented by a middle-aged couple who traveled frequently and they were not home. When I first entered the house, I conducted a survey and decided to use the quadrant search method. Also, as entering the house I noted conditions such as the temperature, odors in the air, whether the lights where on or off, and whether windows and doors were open or closed (Fisher, 2004). The temperature was 75°F and there no particular aroma. A table lamp was on in the living room as well as the ceiling fan and BYOCS: Crime Scene 3 lights in the area beside the kitchen. I was told that the front door had been locked when Mrs. Van entered the house earlier that morning. The sliding door leading to the patio was closed but unlocked. The sliding doors were also covered by a maroon colored bed sheet. The screen door leading from the patio to the driveway was closed but unlocked. All the doors leading to bedrooms and bathrooms in the house were open. All windows in the house were closed. CRM 230 NDC Crime Scene Investigation Rachel & Regina Case Analysis Essay As I walked though the crime scene wearing personal protection equipment (PPE), I sketched and took notes on where evidence was located. I sketched the scene employing an overview sketch as it seemed to be the most appropriate method to use. After surveying the crime scene I decided to start processing the scene in the patio, as this seemed to be where the altercation might have begun. Upon entering the patio from the inside of the house I noted that there was a small glass table along the East wall, just west of the entryway. Also along that wall was a rack for drying clothes. On the floor near the north wall of the patio there were two magazines that seem to have been thrown on the ground along with a broken drinking glass. In the southwest corner of the room was a chair, just beside the screen door along the south wall. In the center of the room was a table with only two chairs, one sat along the west wall and the other along the east. On the table there were magazines, utility bills, Pringles, a glass containing an orange colored beverage, and a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka. Before collecting any evidence from the room, I photographed each piece of evidence with a digital camera and took pictures so I would have a complete 360° view of the room once the film was developed. I collected a sample of the beverage and lifted two fingerprints off the glass. I was also able to lift five fingerprints off the table top and BYOCS: Crime Scene 4 lifted two off of the vodka bottle. All of the fingerprints were lifted by dusting the print with fingerprint powder and them placing a piece of transparent cellophane tape over it (Fisher, 2004). I then collected the broken glass and lifted a fingerprint found on one of the larger pieces. I also fingerprinted the handle on the screen door. I also searched for footprints and shoeprints on the patio floor but found none. There were no shoe impressions found outdoors as the entire east side of the house was a cement driveway. After processing the patio I moved on to the kitchen. The kitchen consisted of a long counter along the west wall, a pantry along the northeast wall, and a stove and refrigerator along the east wall. The victim’s body lay at the north end of the kitchen, the top half of her body leaning on the northeast corner wall and the bottom half of her body lay extended toward the south end of the kitchen. The victim is a Caucasian female with blonde hair and appeared to be in her mid-fifties. She seemed to be approximately 5”1’ tall and about 125 pounds. The victim was wearing a light blue outfit that may be pajamas. The victim appeared to have been strangled. There was slight redness and minor bruising on the victim’s neck. There was also more pronounced red marks on the right side of the victim’s neck that may have been caused by the victim trying to pry whatever was strangling her (Baeza, et al., 2002). I first took overall pictures of the kitchen, a close up of a clump of hair found laying in front of the stove, and close ups of the victim’s body as well as close ups of her neck with and without scales. As permission to process the body for evidence was given by the medical examiner, I proceeded to examine the body for crucial evidence. I took fingernail scrapings (using a toothpick) from the victim and placed them into a pharmaceutical fold, as well as combing her hair for fibers and pieces of glass. I also found a partial print on the victim’s neck and tried to BYOCS: Crime Scene 5 lift it using the Kromekote Lift Technique (Fisher, 2004).CRM 230 NDC Crime Scene Investigation Rachel & Regina Case Analysis Essay I also collected fibers and hairs found on her shirt and a clump of hair found on the floor by her feet. I then fingerprinted the door knobs of the front door, back door, and bedroom. The living room, bathrooms, and bedrooms were not processed as they did not seem to pertain to the crime scene. Nothing in the rooms suggested that there had been an altercation or struggle there. Processing of the crime scene concluded at 1145 hours. Twenty-four hours after processing the crime scene, I met with the medical examiner, Dr. Oopa, to take additional photographs of the victim’s neck. In strangulation cases bruises may not appear for several hours (McClane, 1999, para. 26). The bruising was a bit more pronounced than during the initial investigation. The bruising directly under the victim’s chin and on the right side of the victim’s neck was more visible. I photographed the bruising with and without a scale utilizing the Omnichrome 1000 camera that emits a blue light, which helps enhance the appearance of bruising (Pex, n.d., para. 25). Dr. Oopa confirmed that the victim died as a result of mechanical asphyxia and that the manner of death was a homicide. The medical examiner also explained that petechia were observed in the victim’s eyes and the victims thyroid was fractured (Bell, et al., n.d.; DiMaio, 2000). A rape kit was also performed and revealed that there was no sexual activity or assault involved. The medical examiner also sent samples of blood and urine to the Anywhere Police Department Crime Lab to be examined by a toxicologist to determine if the victim had any alcohol or drugs in her system. Each step taken at the crime scene was extremely important. The photographs will provide information needed if the scene were to be reconstructed. They are helpful in jogging your memory and are beneficial for court. The sketch is extremely important BYOCS: Crime Scene 6 as it will depict the layout of the house, where the body as found, and will show where important evidence was found. When sketching distances of evidence and the body from walls, windows, and/ or doors should be marked down. This will help in placing evidence in the correct area in a reconstruction and will provide more information in the courtroom. The sketch will depict where evidence was found while the photographs will provide a detailed image of the evidence. Notes taken at the crime scene will help aid in reconstruction if necessary and if any of the investigators forget something the notes can be referred back to. Each piece of evidence collected was important in its own way. When collecting the evidence each piece was packaged separately in the appropriate containers and bags. On each evidence bag and container I wrote my name, the date and time, the name of my agency, the case number, the victim’s name, and a description of the object collected.CRM 230 NDC Crime Scene Investigation Rachel & Regina Case Analysis Essay I collected glass fragments from the patio to compare with the ones combed out of the victim’s hair. The liquid was collected to identify the contents of the glass. Hairs and fibers found on the body were collected to identify who came in contact with her. Scrapings from her fingernails will probably be the most informative, as they may contain DNA from the suspect if she was able to scratch him. Fingerprints lifted were of great importance in identifying who had been in the house and who had strangled her. Once all the evidence was collected, I submitted it to the Anywhere Police Department Crime Lab to be analyzed. To analyze the evidence for this case several different units will have to participate. The latent unit will process the fingerprints collected, toxicology will process bodily fluids to test for drugs and/or alcohol and test BYOCS: Crime Scene 7 the liquid collected from the living room. The biology section will process the hairs, fibers and blood swabs collected. (Saferstein, 2004) After analysis of the evidence the clump of hair found on the kitchen floor belonged to the victim, and the hair found on the victim’s shirt belonged to herself, her husband, and of a feline. Known samples of hair were taken from the victim’s body and of the feline found at the crime scene. Samples of hair from the suspect were obtained by collecting a comb that belonged to him. The comb was known to be his as it was provided by his mother. The clump of hair found on the kitchen floor had follicular tissue attached to the root which suggested that the hair was forcibly removed, most likely by the suspect (Saferstein, 2004). The liquid from the glass was determined to be a mixture of vodka and orange juice. Toxicology reports show that there were no drugs or alcohol in the victim’s system. This information suggests that the victim was sober while the suspect was most likely consuming the alcoholic beverage. The broken glass in the living room matched the fragments found in the victim’s hair. From this information it may be concluded that the suspect threw the glass at the victim and missed as there were no injuries on the victim consistent with being hit with the glass. Fingerprints on the front door entry belonged to the victim, the suspect, and Tiffany Van. Prints lifted from the sliding door to the patio belonged to the victim and suspect. The glass containing the orange juice and vodka, had fingerprints that belonged only to the suspect. The one print lifted from the piece of broken glass and the two lifted from the Smirnoff bottle belonged to the suspect as well. The fingerprints lifted from the screen door in the patio leading to the drive way belonged to both the victim and the BYOCS: Crime Scene 8 suspect. The fingerprint that I attempted to lift from the victim’s neck did not yield any results as the ridge details were not pronounced enough. CRM 230 NDC Crime Scene Investigation Rachel & Regina Case Analysis Essay It was DNA found under the fingernails of the victim that led to the identity of the suspect. The victim must have injured the suspect because the laboratory technicians were able to extract a DNA profile. After running the profile through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the DNA matched that of the victim’s boyfriend, Rodney Martinek. It was learned that Mr. Martinek was previously convicted of battery on a law enforcement officer and his profile was already present in the database. The results of the analysis coincide with statements taken from the victim’s friends and family. Statements were taken saying that the couple argued regularly which drove the suspect to frequently visit his mother’s residence. It was gathered that the suspect often drank and has become violent with the victim many times before, but that the victim never contacted the police. Ms. Collins contacted Mrs. Van by telephone (at approximately 0715) that morning threatening to break up wither her boyfriend because of their continuous arguments about financial responsibility. A BOLO (be on the look out) was put out for a black 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix, as this car belonged to the victim but was not located. The description of the driver was as follows: a Caucasian male of about 45 years with dark hair, weighing approximately 180 pounds and standing approximately 5’8” tall. The mother of the suspect stated that Mr. Rodney Collins was born in Toms River, New Jersey and has many friends that reside in the state. Because of the statement of the suspect having ties in New Jersey, it is suspected that he may have taken the vehicle and fled the state. The Anywhere Police BYOCS: Crime Scene Department contacted the police department in Toms River with information pertaining to the case and with instructions to extradite if the suspect was apprehended. 9 BYOCS: Crime Scene 10 References Baeza, J., Casey, E., Chisum, J., La Fon, D., McGrath, M., Petherick, W., et al. (2002). Criminal profiling: An introduction to behavioral evidence analysis (2nd ed.). Retrieved October 10, 2008, from http://books.google.com/books?id=1V2SRqrTnLgC&pg=PA250&lpg=PA250&d q=scholarly+journals+on+strangulation+homicides&source=web&ots=CA6tyMvj AC&sig=uMhehSgvhudHigTxCNGQ5AwxDnI&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result& resnum=5&ct=result#PPP1,M1 Bell, M., Davis, J., Dolinak, D., Dowling, G., Lew, E., Matshes, E., et al. (n.d.). Forensic pathology. Retrieved October 10, 2008, from http://books.google.com/books?id=JdtgE0eHTL4C&pg=PT245&lpg=PT245&dq =%22strangulation+homicide%22&source=web&ots=Tcgbs1MSn7&sig=m7KpH gOWs6Krg8mG7fLJOQtYOU0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct= result#PPT45,M1 DiMaio, V. J. (2000). Homicidal asphyxia. America Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 1, 1-4. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from PubMed database. Fisher, B. A. J. (2004). Techniques of crime scene investigation (7th Ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. McClane, G., & Strack, G. (1999). How to improve your investigation and prosecution of strangulation cases. Retrieved September 19, 2008, from http://www.ncdsv.org/images/strangulation_article.pdf Pex, J. (n.d.). Domestic violence photography. Retrieved October 7, 2008, from http://www.crime-scene-investigatior.net/dv-photo.html BYOCS: Crime Scene 11 Saferstein, R. (2004). Criminalistics: An introduction to forensic science (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. … Purchase answer to see full attachment Get a 10 % discount on an order above $ 100 Use the following coupon code : NURSING10