Ken’s Comments (group member since Nov 10, 2012)

Ken’s comments from the Q & A with Detective Ken Lang group.

Walter wrote: "Warning contents include Spoiler
Ken - I just finished the first chapter and wanted some clairification. Of course Iunderstand that your interview of the subject was cut short so you were unable t..."

That was my very first homicide case I ever handled and now that after having attained more experience I look back on the case and am just frustrated that she wasn't charged. She hadn't seen the boyfriend in over a year and suddenly he shows up late at night throwing a fit at her apartment door. She says she opened it to quiet him down. None of the neighbors heard anything resembling the confrontation she indicated at the door. I started raising an eyebrow at this point.

She indicates in her statement that he made her watch porn--this actually happened for sometime (about 30-60 minutes). It was still playing when we arrived on the scene and hour later. But as you pointed out it was her porn. She also makes the claim of a rape, but other than the blood soaked sheets, they were in order, not reflecting a struggle as I had seen on some scenes when working in the Sex Crimes Unit.

As I describe in the scene, she waits until he falls asleep before sneaking out of bed, finding the gun, and shooting him directly in the head at close range while he slept. She told me "he never saw it coming."

She also indicated in her statement that she placed the knife in his hand to make it look good--the shooting that is, which tells me that she was unsure in her mind if she had the legal right to even shoot him in the first place.

I think she should have been charged. I understand the burning bed syndrome, but that is usually used in current domestic relationships where domestic abuse is an everyday occurrence.

There were a number of things she could have done to have prevented this from occurring: (1) not unlocked the apartment door, (2) called the police, (3) she could have shot him during the rape and I would have been good with that, (4) she could have left the apartment after he fell asleep and called the police.

The biggest problem I had was when she indicated that she waited for him to fall asleep before shooting him and then placing the knife in his hand to make it look good...sounds like criminal acts to me.

Kate wrote: "Hi Ken, thank you for the invitation. I'm Katie from Orlando, Florida, my day job is as a sales person and I write as a hobby. One of these days I might finish a book!"

Keep at it Kate! If you do well at it you just might be able to quit your day job! Which is my goal... ;)

Welcome aboard!

Walter wrote: "Ken, Is that you on youtube performing with a trumpet in Nashville, Tn. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHZpbN..."

Yes, that's me! I had a music ministry a few years ago and made a few CD's...

Here is a point of interest I found on a website of Cina Wong--one of two document examiners who evaluated the ransom note to Patsy Ramsey's handwriting samples. I do know that from taking handwriting samples in my own investigations the subject providing the sample almost always makes some effort to mask their true writing when they are the guilty party--which may explain the variations in Patsy's samples.

In their examinations the two independent document examiners both concluded that Patsy was most probably the author of the ransom note. In fact, Liebman attributed a percentage of 90-95% (which would fall well short of a required 100% needed for a prosecution).

here is the full story: http://www.cinawongforgeryexpert.com/...

Lynn wrote: "I haven't read it yet either Ken but I really do plan to do so. I'm so glad that you pulled that "guard duty" and found yourself a way into the writing world.

Lynn"

I am thankful for that turning point in my life also...

I've always been an artist (art, music, etc.) and the process of creating is something that I really enjoy. I'm looking forward to next week as I will be laying down the foundations of my first crime novel that I hope to finish and have published in 2013. It will be based on a character who is a detective in the Baltimore area. I plan to make it a series.

Sherrie wrote: "Ken,
I won your book through Goodreads Giveaways and I really enjoyed it! I was wondering what crime that you investigated has haunted you. Is there an unsolved crime or a cold case in your past t..."

I'm glad you enjoyed the book. If you could post some quick reviews on Amazon and B&N that would be most helpful.

There are a couple of unsolved cases that I think about now and then, but I can't say that they haunt me. Probably the most frequent one was a case I was the secondary detective when a young man was kidnapped for ransom and found executed. The technical information coming in was so overwhelming I often wonder if we took the wrong approach...the remaining unsolved murders involved known drug dealers, so I can't say that they keep me up at night.

Michael wrote: "Sad about the Ramsey case. The girl never had any justice. I believe, as it would for me, that the investigators would feel like they failed her. People don't realize that the investigator is the l..."

It was the child deaths that always messed with my head, especially when the victim was the same age as one of my kids. It makes it that much harder.

Walter wrote: "Ken - I think the mother passed away some years ago. speaking hypothetically, if solid evidence were to now come forth indicating the mother did murder her daughter without a shadow of doubt. Woul..."

Jun 24, 2006 Jon Benet Ramsey's mother dies...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10892646/...

Actually, the PD wouldn't need to build a solid case against the mother, just enough evidence to identify her as a suspect and they could write it off the books. But that would be risky considering the potential for co-suspects in this case (say mom & dad).

But if it was just mom and the detective had some evidence, no, they wouldn't just sit on it, they would want to clear it off their books (increase the clearance rate) and close the book on that investigation. But considering the amount of publicity it received, the detective better be darn sure that he/she is conclusively identifying the mother before releasing that to the press. Because, if that should ever happen, we would all know how the case would be tried in the press.

Donnell wrote: "Ken, the Ramseys did take a polygraph test, but I believe their attorney hired the person administering the test and it came back inconclusive. There was all kinds of controversy surrounding it."

Oh yes... its coming back to me ;)

I remember the controversy about the polygraph examiner being one in the pocket of the family attorney.

Shirley it's great to see you here. With your experience in investigating your son's death you should be able to add much to these conversations.

For those of you who are now curious, check out this vid I produced: go to YouTube and search "One Detective: Denied Justice" (sorry my wifi and 3G just went down--couldn't copy the link). :/

Michael,

When summer arrives I hope to be finishing the last course of my MCJ. I would like to do some adjunct teaching online and local universities (Towson or Stevenson) here in the Baltimore region. But honestly, I'd like to retire from the PD and move to East, TN and teach online.

I've found that if the answer to your questions isn't glaring you right in your face your guy instinct becomes your next best friend. It's hard to describe, though terming it the "6th Sense" is the best title I would give it. It's never profound. It just kind of rises up in an investigation and you get this feeling that something is wrong.

I once had a case where I was helping a detective with a rape investigation. He obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect and a search warrant for his house. We knocked and knocked and knocked at 2am when someone finally answered. We entered the house and cleared it. But when I went upstairs to the second floor I sensed something wasn't right. The only thing out of place was a loaded revolver lying on a dresser. But no one was upstairs. I walked downstairs where everyone else was and the unsettling feeling grew worse. So I went back upstairs and started nosing around.

I looked through all the rooms and closets. Nothing there. But when I grabbed a blanket on the top shelf of the linen closet and it moved I in holstered my gun and started ordering the subject out of the closet. Turned out to be our suspect.

The 6th sense is a funny thing.

I would suspect that Jon Benet Ramsey's case wasn't really put away given the media attention it received. That is one of those cases that it ALWAYS on a detectives desk. I can imagine that the detectives would review the case and try little things here and there to start a spark that may get the case moving forward.

It's been so long since this case was in the media I'd have to go back for the particular facts. Does anyone recall if the parents took the polygraph and if they passed?

Regarding the Jessica Ridgeway case...yes, I do think a 17 year old is capable of such a horrific crime. We as citizens often think that juveniles are not capable of this, but the reality is that we are all individual from one another. In my studies for my masters I have read that juveniles develop at different rates--so it is plausible to believe that the 17 year old suspect was further along in his growth.

However, we must also consider that most suspects who dismember a body usually have some background of mental issues. This too would contribute to the rationale of the 17 year olds capability.

Michael wrote: "No prob Billy. Didn't want to overstep my bounds but I think any police, mystery, PI or crime writer struggles with this one. It's hard when you want it to be authentic and realize that the authent..."

I think only crime writers who haven't experienced this lifestyle struggle with it because its hard to measure how much to put into the prose. Granted, I don't write like officers actually speak either or my books would be filled with an overwhelming amount of foul language that would turn the reader off. Likewise with the jargon. I say this about foul language and jargon use just enough to season your writing as if you were using seasoning on your food. Too much salt and pepper could ruin the dish.

Billy wrote: "Hi, Ken,

How important do you think it is for a fictional mystery writer to always use PD jargon? Is it okay to be innovative with lawman lingo? My central character sleuth is a 'fuse and muse' ki..."

Billy, we cops are individuals too. We are no different than everyday people and do have a way of using jargon. There are two levels of jargon that you do need to become familiar with.

1.) On a whole, a geographic area (like NYPD) may use certain terms that another area (Baltimore) doesn't use. For example. NYPD officers refer to a suspect as a 'perp.' But we in Baltimore call them a 'suspect.' Then, we get some occassional cross over where, say, a NYPD officer retires, moves to Baltimore, and starts a second career (old habits are hard to break).

2.) Then there is the level of jargon used by your character learned from their upbringing. I'm a good example of that: my dad is from Texas and moved to the Maryland area in his late teens. After marrying my mom and having me I grew up to greet people by saying "howdy," (not your common Baltimore lingo). Now mix that with some of the Baltimore jargon that I learned (like calling ladies "Hon" and you've got one unique character.

Jargon, I think, is very important so long as you don't over use it or refer to rare words that the reader may not be able to identify with.

Michael wrote: "Ken wrote: "Yes Brenda, DNA typing did begin in the late 80's but didn't become affordable to my agency until the late 90's. Plus, with it being so new in the 80's there always seems to be a time p..."

I've only ever watched one episode of CSI and it was because of the unrealistic realities I stopped watching the show (it was a wonder I didn't shoot out the TV - ha!)

In one episode they had a murder at a bar where the tech lifted a print, raised it to the light, and identified the suspect (as if people can recognize fingerprints without comparing it to a known source print). The tech then started bossing all the detectives around and they went back to the station where they accessed a computer system that contained a complete set of prints, background, history, and DNA file.

I was so agitated in 10 minutes I turned off the show never to watch it again!

Michael wrote: "Walter wrote: "Ken - A person I knew from High School was murdered back in the late 80's. What was interesting about this crime was; all the identifying parts of the body were removed (head, hands ..."

Walter, wow, I never knew about these types of animal classes. Typically, we would just rouse up the academy class and execute some cordon grid searches, starting close to the main find and working our way outwards. Another tactic would be to bring in a cadaver dog, but I'm not sure how well they execute when all you have left is human bones. I was always under the impression that these dogs sniffed out the decomp smells.

Cj wrote: "Great blog, Ken! I really enjoyed hearing your take on some of life's simple and not-so-simple moments. I'm very much enjoying the Q&A also. Thanks!"

Thanks CJ, be sure to include your true crime friends in on these conversations by inviting them to join the group! ;)

Walter wrote: "Ken - A person I knew from High School was murdered back in the late 80's. What was interesting about this crime was; all the identifying parts of the body were removed (head, hands and feet). The..."

I know of a case in Baltimore, Maryland where a husband was prosecuted and found guilty of murdering his and the body was never found. It was a huge case based on the overwhelming evidence with her sudden disappearance.