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Death Investigation > Final > Flashcards

Final Flashcards

0
Q

Perfect murder: body disposal: case of woman found in river

A
  • wearing just sweatshirt and underwear
  • most of head gone
  • didn’t match up
  • studied the tidal currents to figure out where the body came from
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1
Q

Perfect murder: body

A
  • ingenious
  • pressure on carotid artery can cause heart to stop w/o marks
  • make sure lividity matches
  • make sure there is no evidence left behind at all
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2
Q

Perfect murder: body destruction: dahmer

A
  • acid can dissolve almost whole body but fat
  • protein and fat dissolver would leave perfectly clean bones
  • dahmer just left shards of bone
    - dismembered and stripped bodies to skeleton by eating away tissues and threw bones into acidic soil to dissolve them
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3
Q

Perfect murder: perfect weapon

A
  • any weapon that self destruct

- icicle that’s properly made that melts away leaving no marks

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4
Q

Perfect murder: crime scene: Ohio poisoning case

A
  • 70 year old woman and daughter killed
  • murderer did it to apply what he learned on tv
  • shot them then set them on fire at a degree hot enough to melt the bodies and the bullets
  • no evidence at all except boots found in the river on the ice with blood of victims and McKinneys DNA
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5
Q

Perfect murder

A
  • untraceable
  • destruction of body and evidence
  • do it where there are hundreds of people so even if something is left behind, it can’t be picked out or is destructed
  • poisons: polonium, ricin, dioxin are good because they are untraceable
  • poison like illness that disposes and destructs everything
  • Harold shipman: used morphine and falsified death certificates
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6
Q

FBI crime lab

A
  • quantico Virginia
  • $150 million to build
  • 500 thousand square feet
  • 700 employees
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7
Q

How to most men die by suicide?

A

Gun

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8
Q

How do most women die by suicide?

A

Poison

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9
Q

Suicide facts

A
  • more than 36,000 people kill themselves every year
  • a person does by suicide about every 14.2 minutes in the U.S.
  • every day, approx 100 Americans take their own lives
  • 99% of all people who die by suicide have a diagnosable psychiatric disorder at the time of their death
  • men are nearly 4 times more likely to die by suicide than women
  • women attempt suicide 3 times as often as men
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10
Q

Motivation for suicide

A
  1. Primary motivation: depression
  2. Other motivations: alcohol, drugs, stress, frustration, fear, anger, hostility, and guilt
  3. Purpose: punish survivors (family, co-workers) - don’t want to suffer with illness
  4. Some create a confrontational situation because they don’t want to do it themselves (suicide by cop: force the police to shoot them)
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11
Q

Suicide vs homicide

A
  1. Suicide cases: more problematic for investigator than homicide investigations
  2. Possibility of no suicide note or weapon or other evidence may have been removed prior to police arrival
  3. Many times, family members will not accept the fact that a relative has committed suicide and they will try to cover it up
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12
Q

Staging scene: homicide trying to cover up like suicide

A
  1. Staging a scene: perpetrator deliberately changes the crime scene to mislead the authorities and/or redirect the investigation
  2. Staging is a conscious criminal action on the part of an offender to thwart an investigation
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13
Q

Scene investigation suicide

A
  1. Establish who may have had access to the decedent
  2. Was decedent alone at time of injury?
  3. Eliminate accidental nature of injuries
  4. Presence of a weapon
  5. Injuries or wounds
  6. Motive
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14
Q

Investigation: the weapon: suicide

A
  1. Absence of a weapon: could have been disposed of prior to police (family members)
  2. Check for cadaveric spasm: (instantaneous rigor mortis-intense muscular contraction). Indicates person held weapon at time of death. Can not recreate same grasp.
  3. Hands should be examined for soot and powder
  4. Presence of blowback materials
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15
Q

Investigation: the wounds: suicide

A
  1. Knife used: wounds on throat or wrists
  2. Stab wound: generally the heart
  3. Handgun: head, followed by chest, followed by the abdomen
  4. Rifles and shotguns: preferred sites- head, chest, and abdomen
  5. Hesitation gunshot wounds
  6. Fire by suicide is rare. More women resort to death by fires.
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16
Q

Investigation: background info: suicide

A
  1. Statements made and activities prior to death
  2. Prior mental disease: was decedent under any professional treatment?
  3. Has the deceased or anyone in the family ever attempted suicide in the past?
  4. Review diaries, unmailed letters, various writings
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17
Q

Investigative considerations

A
  1. Evaluate wounds of the deceased- nature and position of injuries, hesitation marks, wounds within reach
  2. Psychological state of victim- medical and social information, warning signs, recent deaths, stress, notes left
  3. Prior mental disease- professional treatment, past attempted suicide, heavy drinker, drug user
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18
Q

“Final exit” suicide investigations

A
  1. Book: “final exit: the practicalities of self-deliverance and assisted suicide for the dying” mr. Derek Humphrey (1991)
    • informational aid to ending life
  2. Victim-facilitated suicide and victim-assisted suicide events
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19
Q

Investigative considerations: final exit

A
  1. Explains the importance of the “suicide note”
  2. Self-deliverance via the plastic bag: points out the two best methods of self-deliverance; use of selected prescription drugs aided by a plastic bag)
  3. Staged crime scenes involving final exit: a perpetrator could mislead the police by committing a homicide and making it appear to be a “final exit” suicide
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20
Q

Sex-related homicides

A
  • include rape murders, serial murders, killings which involve both anal and oral sodomy and other acts of sexual perversion, as well as sexually oriented interpersonal violence cases
  • investigator must find out motive
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21
Q

Sex-related homicide

A
  • a homicide is classified as “sex-related” when there is evidence of sexual activity observed in the crime scene or upon the body of the victim including…
    1. The type of, or lack of attire on the victim
    2. Evidence of seminal fluid on, near, or in the body
    3. Evidences of sexual injury and/ or sexual mutilation
    4. Specialized positioning of the body
    5. Evidence of substitute sexual activity; ie fantasy, ritualism, symbolism
    6. Multiple stabbing or cuttings to the body
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22
Q

Victim info sex homicide

A

-personality, employment, education, friends, habits, hobbies, marital status, dating history, reputation, drug use

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23
Q

Rape homicides

A
  1. Victim typically female
  2. Victim found on back, naked, with her legs spread apart
  3. Possible bite marks and bruising
  4. Trauma to the vagina and anus is common
  5. Rarely involve shootings. Usually, evidence of strangulation
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24
Q

Child rape homicides

A
  1. Rape may be very violent

2. Severe tears to vagina/rectum

25
Q

Rape

A
  • commission of unwanted sexual acts against another
  • victims of sexual abuse during childhood:
    1. One in 3 girls
      2. One in 5-9 boys
26
Q

Selected injuries: sex crimes

A
  • many injuries possible in rape/abuse victims of any age, but some injuries are of particular interest to the rape examiner including…
    1. Indicators of restraint
    2. Identifying characteristics of the perpetrator (bite mark)
    3. Unique identifiers of the particular event
27
Q

Restraint Marks

A
  1. Grab or restraint marks are contusions often observed on the inner aspects of both arms
  2. During the struggle there may be a patterned injury sustained
    • bondage is involved in a certain number of sexually related homicides
28
Q

Perpetrator identification

A

(Sex related crime scene checklist)

  1. Attention should be pain to any suspicious items at the scene
  2. Condom wrappers and used/discarded condoms should be collected, placed in paper bags, and sent as evidence
29
Q

Perpetrator identification

A
  1. Bite mark evidence should be photographed

2. In the deceased victim- the area can be excised and retained as evidence

30
Q

Unique characteristics of the rape

A
  1. Unusual sexual practices may result in trauma far removed from the genital or rectal areas
  2. Forceful sucking may result in “hickeys”. These are commonly found on the breasts, but may be found at any other site on the body
31
Q

Homosexuality related homicides

A
  1. Both sexes either as victims or offenders
  2. Injuries usually inflicted with sharp objects
  3. Tend to be more violent compared to heterosexual homicides
  4. Greater number if injuries
  5. Deaths are characterized by numerous stab marks, blunt trauma, and asphyxia
  6. Some cases very bizarre in their presentation
32
Q

The forensic autopsy

A
  1. Autopsy- defined as personal observation or examination; seeing with one’s own eyes
  2. Forensic- defined as belongings to courts of judicature or to public discussion and debate; used in legal proceedings or in public discussions
33
Q

The autopsy: three tiers or levels of autopsies

A

first, second, third

34
Q

First tier of autopsy

A
  • autopsies ordered automatically
    1. Homicides and suspected homicides
    2. Suspicious deaths
    3. Sudden, unexpected deaths in non-elderly individuals when the cause of death is not clear (particularly children)
    4. Pedestrian hit-and-run victims of motor-vehicle crashes
      5. Prison inmates who die while incarcerated
      6. Those who die while operating a public conveyance such as a bus or airplane
      7. Death that could reveal hazards within the community
35
Q

Second tier autopsy

A
  • possible autopsy: includes autopsies which are indicated but that are not always done
    1. Legal proceedings (criminal charges in motor-vehicle accidents, wrongful death suits, work we’d compensation) are expected
    2. The body is unidentified
    3. The death is likely to result in harmful gossip, excessive publicity, or stress on relationships within the community (ex. Governor dies of heart attack during city visit)
36
Q

Third tier autopsy

A
  • occasionally requiring an autopsy
    1. Motor-vehicle deaths
    2. Suicides
    3. Unexpected deaths which are probably natural
37
Q

Factors that may rule out an autopsy

A
  1. Medical history accounts for death
  2. Age of decedent
  3. Family objections
  4. Cost
  5. Time constraints (funeral planning)
  6. No pathologist available
38
Q

The medicolegal autopsy/postmortem examination

A 
Five steps:
1. Examination of crime scene
2. Identification of the body
3. External examination of the body
4. Internal examination of the body
5. Toxicological examination of body fluids and organs
(Hospital investigation starts at 4)
39
Q

The autopsy is ordered by the coroner/medical examiner for purposes of:

A
  1. Determining the cause, manner, and time of death
  2. Recovering, identifying, and preserving evidentiary material
  3. Providing interpretation and correlation if facts and circumstances related to death
  4. Providing a factual, objective medical report for prosecution and defense
40
Q

Examination of crime scene provided for autopsy

A
  1. Description of circumstances of death
  2. Description of scene if death (injuries,wounds,etc)
  3. Condition of body when discovered (rigor,livid,decomposition,maggots)
  4. Statements taken from witnesses and/or suspects
  5. Police photographs taken at scene
  6. Diagrams and sketches of the crime scene
  7. Weapons or articles found at the scene which relate to death
  8. Any questions formulated during the initial phase of the investigation
41
Q

Identification of the body

A
  1. Personal ID
  2. Fingerprints
  3. Teeth
  4. Scars
  5. Tattoos
  6. Body fluid
  7. Comparison x-rays
42
Q

External examination of the body: preliminary procedure

A
  1. Body examined prior to removing clothing: to determine the condition of the clothing and to correlate tears or other defects
  2. Clothing carefully removed. If clothing needs to be cut off, needs to be recorded.
  3. Clothing laid out on table so a relationship can be established between the wounds on the body and the damages to the clothing
  4. Each item of clothing should be properly marked for ID
43
Q

External examination

A
  1. The body is identified for the record and a complete physical description is taken (age, height, weight)
  2. Body carefully washed to remove dried blood or dirt
  3. Injuries recorded: size, shape, pattern, location
  4. Photographs taken of body
  5. Presence of bite marks noted
  6. X-rays
  7. Record is made of any postmortem artifacts: decomposition, insect activity, mutilation
  8. Examination of hands, wrists, and arms for defense wounds
  9. Oral, nasal, vaginal, and anal swabs taken
44
Q

Internal examination

A
  • Internal examination of the head, neck, cervical spine, thorax, abdomen, and pelvic cavity
  • two parts to an autopsy: external and internal examination
  • internal: two standard incisions
  • y shaped incision. Shoulder to shoulder to under breast to midline. One incision down to pubic line. Next, the rub age and sternum are removed. Next, the lower area, the stomach, liver, and intestines, are removed. Next, the neck is examined.
  • second incision is in the skull and brain. The incision is from ear to ear. The pathologists look for bullets, fractures, and the skullcap is removed
45
Q

Toxicological examination if body fluids and organs

A

Medicolegal autopsies include examination of body fluids and organs.

46
Q

Autopsy report

A
  1. Reason for performing autopsy: usually a brief statement indicating why autopsy or examination is being performed
  2. Date, time, and place of examination
  3. Presentation, clothing, personal effects, and evidence
  4. Postmortem imaging studies
  5. Postmortem changes
  6. Diagnostic and therapeutic artifacts
  7. Features of identification
  8. External examination of the body
  9. Internal examination of the body
  10. Other procedures
  11. Preliminary findings
  12. Results
  13. Final diagnosis and findings
  14. Cause, manner, and circumstances of death
  15. Comment/opinion
47
Q

Common investigative pitfalls

A
  1. System areas
  2. Scene traps
  3. Body mistakes
  4. Follow-up failures
  5. Personal pitfalls
48
Q

Common pitfalls: system errors

A
  1. Inadequate staffing of investigative unit
  2. Insufficient training
  3. Lack of collaboration/cooperation with other agencies
  4. failure to fully investigate “apparent natural” deaths
49
Q

Inadequate staffing of investigative unit

A
  • very large caseload
    - if the caseload is too large and there is no backup investigator available, errors may occur. Why? Because of rushed decisions, case overload or fatigue
50
Q

Insufficient training

A
  • all should be educated and trained
  • all death investigators should have on the job training. Training should consist of educating the investigator in forensic pathology and the other forensic sciences, body assessment, and identification techniques
  • it is also important that the investigator have training in physical evidence collection and analysis and other law enforcement topics, such as interviewing techniques
51
Q

Lack of collaboration/cooperation with other agencies

A
  • when groups interact negatively, evidence can be overlooked or unrecognized and affect the investigation
  • serious problems can occur when several investigative groups negatively interact. For example, evidence may go unrecognized, statements can be conflicting
52
Q

Failure to fully investigate “apparent natural” deaths

A
  • death investigator needs to understand the importance of all deaths
  • the elderly, terminally or seriously ill patients or societal “throw-aways” are the easiest people to murder. Either no one expects them to live or no one cares if they die. The death investigator needs to realize the importance of all death investigations that are conducted, even non-violent natural deaths.
53
Q

Pitfalls: Scene traps

A
  1. Failure to make a scene investigation: this can cause mistakes to occur
  2. Alteration of scene prior to investigator’s arrival: positive working relationships with other agencies reduce the chance for mistakes to occur
  3. Inadequate photographic documentation of the body and scene: a picture is worth a thousand words
  4. Not correlating body/scene information with statements made by interested/involved parties
  5. Failure to interview family/friends/eyewitnesses at the death scene
54
Q

Pitfalls: body mistakes

A
  1. Failure to record body info at death scene
  2. Assuming ID based on presumptive and or circumstantial evidence
  3. Mishandling and mislabeling bodies
  4. Failure to recognize, record, and safeguard personal property
  5. Failure to notify next of kin in a timely manner
55
Q

Pitfalls: follow-up failures

A
  1. Failure to determine critical facts that determine what examinations need to be conducted
  2. Failure to complete a thorough, accurate and timely death investigation report
  3. Failure to develop decedent’s family/social history
  4. Failure to prepare for courtroom testimony
56
Q

Pitfalls: personal pitfalls

A
  1. Fallacy that length of service ensures competence
  2. Jumping to conclusions
  3. Failure to verify information received from other sources
  4. Talking too much, too soon-to the wrong people
57
Q

Death certificate

A
  1. A legal document which confirms a death
58
Q

Death certificates vs death pronouncements

A
  1. Death certification is often confused with death pronouncements
  2. Death pronouncements declare individuals dead; physicians generally pronounce death
  3. Don’t need to pronounce death if body is decomposed or decapitated
59
Q

Family death certificates

A

-these certificates are needs for insurance companies, other benefits (reduced airfare) or permission to take family leave

60
Q

Death notification

A
  • very difficult
  • reactions can be disbelief, denial, and anger to unexpected acceptance
  • a person suffers the death of a loved one only once every 12 years
  • primary goal of death notification: “break the news” of a person’s death
  • approx 70% of deaths occur in health care institutions handled by staff
  • deaths outside institutional settings:notification by emergency personnel, police, or medical examiners/coroners

Death Investigation (2 decks)

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