Criminal Investigations 9th Ed - Ch 8 - Death Investigations

Question 1

There are FOUR types of death:

Answer 1

o Natural
o Accidental
o Suicide
o Homicide (noncriminal or criminal)

Question 2

________ is the consideration, planning, or preparing for an act, no matter how briefly, before committing it

Answer 2

Premeditation

Question 3

_______ by police is when an individual wishing to commit suicide purposely forces an officer to shoot him or her

Answer 3

Suicide

Question 4

The _____ ______ at a scene is to give emergency aid to the victim or others at the scene

Answer 4

first priority

Question 5

Once the priority matters are taken care of, the investigator should identify the victim, establish the time of death, and establish the cause of an the method used to produce death, and develop a ______

Answer 5

suspect

Question 6

• A _______ _______ is a condition that occurs in the specific muscle groups rather than the entire body

Answer 6

cadaveric spasmc

Question 7

• An indicator of a suicide use a knife is ________ _________

Answer 7

hesitation wounds

Question 8

• Serial murder is the separate killing of at least ____ victims

Answer 8

3 victims

Question 9

• A dead body that sinks in the water usually remains immersed for ____ days in warm water and ____ weeks in cold water

Answer 9

8-10 days

2-3 weeks

Question 10

The appearance of the eyes also assists in estimating the time of death. A partial restriction of the pupil occurs in ________.

Answer 10

7 hours.

Question 11

A basic requirement in a ______ investigation is to establish whether death was caused by a criminal act

Answer 11

homicide

Question 12

______ degree murder requires premeditation and the intent to cause death

Answer 12

First

Question 13

______ deaths are those deaths whose cause is open to interpretation

Answer 13

Equivocal

Question 14

Most cases of hanging are suicide whereas most cases of ________ are murder

Answer 14

strangulation

Question 15

A ________ murder occurs when multiple victims are killed in a single incident by one or a few suspects

Answer 15

mass

Question 16

A _____ murder is a sex related homicide involving sadistic, deviant assault

Answer 16

lust

Question 17

______ offer valuable clues as to the time a body was left or buried

Answer 17

Insects

Question 18

All murders are ___________ but NOT all _______ are murders

Answer 18

homicides

Question 19

• A basic requirement in a homicide investigation is to establish whether death was caused by a ________ action.

Answer 19

criminal

Question 20

Although suicide is not a criminal offense, in most states it is a crime to _____ to commit suicide

Answer 20

attempt

Question 21

If another individual is the direct or indirect cause of the death, the death is classified as __________

Answer 21

homicide

Question 22

Criminal homicide is subdivided into _________ and _____________ both of which are further subdivided

Answer 22

murder and manslaughter,

Question 23

_________ homicide is subdivided into excusable and justifiable homicide

Answer 23

Noncriminal

Question 24

_______ is the most severe statutory crime, one of the few for which the penalty can be life imprisonment or death

Answer 24

Murder

Question 25

• There were 17,034 _________ in the United States in 2006, an increase of 1.8% from 2005

Answer 25

homicides

Question 26

Males are ___ times more likely to commit murder than females

Answer 26

10

Question 27

First Degree Murder .....

Answer 27

• First degree murder requires premeditation and the intent to cause death

Question 28

Second Degree Murder ......

Answer 28

• Second degree murder includes the intent to cause death, but not premeditation

Question 29

Third Degree Murder.....

Answer 29

• Third degree murder involves neither premeditation nor intent.

Question 30

• Manslaughter is ......

Answer 30

• Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another person with no prior malice

Question 31

Voluntary manslaughter is

Answer 31

Voluntary manslaughter is the intentional cause of the death of another person in the heat of passion

Question 32

• Involuntary manslaughter is .....

Answer 32

• Involuntary manslaughter is the accidental homicide that results from extreme negligence

Question 33

o REMEMBER in Texas, there is:

Answer 33

 Murder  Capital Murder  Manslaughter  Criminally Negligent Homicide

Question 34

• Excusable homicide is ......

Answer 34

• Excusable homicide is the unintentional, truly accidental killing of another person

Question 35

• Justifiable homicide is .....

Answer 35

• Justifiable homicide is killing another person under authorization of the law

Question 36

______ ______ refers to the postmortem cooling process of the body

Answer 36

• Algor mortis

Question 37

Body temperature drops 2-3 degrees in the first hour after _____ and 1-1.5 degrees for each subsequent hour until 18 hours.

Answer 37

DEATH

Question 38

• Body temperature drops more slowly:

Answer 38

o In large or obese people o If victim was experiencing a high fever before death o If humidity prevents evaporation o If strenuous physical activity occurred immediately before death

Question 39

_____ ______is a stiffening of the joints of the body after death because of partial skeletal muscle contraction

Answer 39

Rigor Mortis

Question 40

_____ ____ may occur anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours postmortem

Answer 40

Rigor Mortis

Question 41

High temperature, excitement, vigorous activity increase the rapidity of ______

Answer 41

Rigor

Question 42

• Cold temperatures slow the rate of _______

Answer 42

Rigor

Question 43

• Babies and the aged have little ______

Answer 43

Rigor

Question 44

A body can remain rigid for approximately __ days, although rigor generally begins to diminish after __ hours post mortem

Answer 44

3 days or 36 hours

Question 45

_______ ______ is a condition that occurs in specific muscle groups rather than the entire body. It occurs most often when the victim is holding something at the time of death

Answer 45

Cadaveric spasm

Question 46

is the dark blue or purple discoloration of the body

Answer 46

Postmortem lividity (aka livor morits)

Question 47

Postmortem _______ starts ½ to 3 hours after death and is congealed in the capillaries in 4-5 hours. Maximum ______ occurs within 10-12 hours

Answer 47

Lividity

Question 48

The location of ______ can indicate whether a body was moved after death

Answer 48

lividity o EXAMPLE: If postmortem lividity appears on the back of a victim and the victim if found face down, it is a high likelihood that he has been moved

Question 49

The partial restriction of the _____ occurs in about 7 hours after death. In 12 hours the ______ appears cloudy

Answer 49

pupil cornea

Question 50

If the small intestine is empty, the probability is that death took place at least ____ or more hours after the last meal

Answer 50

12

Question 51

_______ is first observed as an extended stomach and abdomen

Answer 51

Decomposition

Question 52

If the body is in a hot, moist location, a soapy appearance called _______ develops. This takes as long as 3 months to fully develop.

Answer 52

adipocere

Question 53

_________ is the complete dehydration of all body tissues. If the body is left in an extremely dry and hot area, it may mummify in about a year and remain in this condition for several years if undisturbed by animals or insects

Answer 53

Mummification

Question 54

Shots fired from a _____ ______ produce little or no powder tattooing or carbons on the skin

Answer 54

long distance

Question 55

Shots fired from an ______ _________, tattooing appears on the clothing or body when fired from as much as 2 feet away

Answer 55

intermediate distance

Question 56

Shots fired in ______ ______ with the victim should have a muzzle impression on the skin and soot or powder fragments in the entrance area or around the wound

Answer 56

direct contact

Question 57

_______ _______ is that stemming from hurt feelings, anger or rage, such as when the jealous lover stabs her ex-boyfriend while he’s on a date with his new girlfriend

Answer 57

Expressive violence

Question 58

_______ ________ is goal-directed predatory behavior used to exert control.

Answer 58

• Instrumental violence o EXAMPLE: The carjacker who shoots his victim before stealing the vehicle

Question 59

In 2006 ____ law enforcement officers were feloniously killed, the majority of which died as a result during arrest situations

Answer 59

48

Question 60

The most tragic school shooting occurred in 2007 at Virginia Tech University. Cho Seung-Hui (24) killed __ people –including himself- and wounded 23.

Answer 60

33

Question 61

Of all violent crimes, ______ has the highest clearance rate

Answer 61

homicide

Question 62

However, nearly ____% of all murders go unsolved

Answer 62

40