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Investigation Question
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Susan
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Dec 31, 2013 07:06AM
So happy to discover this group!! How long would a case stay open if there is little in the way of evidence and no witnesses? It's an assault - the victim lives but the assailant did a good job of covering up and there are no witnesses. The victim fully recovers. Thanks & Happy New Year!!
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It's what they call a cold case which will never be destroyed by most depts. In the computer age, all known details will be filed and if a look alike crime occurs with no suspects, they can be compared as a possible serial.
Depts will reopen cold cases with a special squad or retired officers on contract but this is for more serious crimes of a capital nature.
Of course there are those victims and families who will not let it go, and so, hire PI's and/or demand more from the depts. If the family is high-profile, the case will probably stay open longer.
These are always great novel characters and there are hundreds of ways to twist this theme.
John wrote: "Not very long. It may languish on a desk for 90 days or so with little to no action until a supervisor orders it closed.It's what they call a cold case which will never be destroyed by most dept..."
Thanks so much John - that's what I thought and that helps my story along!!! Happy New Year!!
Mod
Great new group! I had a question about DNA evidence. What percentages of murder trials would you say it is crucial to the case? I guess what I'm trying to say is that in my book, there is no DNA evidence to support the charge, but the suspect is on trial for murder. Thanks.Wendy Byrne
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It's what is known as the "totality of circumstances" where the rationale, prudent person (the jury) will convict based upon all factors presented.
Think the Charles Manson trial. Even back in the 70's, it took a lot of moxie to put him on trial for murder knowing he wasn't present. What Bugliosi relied on was the Totality presented.
For your story, what kind of prosecutor do you have? Timid or gutsy? What kind of pressure is there to prosecute? High-profile case and/or victim? If all you have is hearsay, poor decision to go to trial. Even a strong motive won't do it. Remember, motive never has to be proven or even shown as an element of the crime (though it is swell to show one).
Hope it helps. Good luck.
Thanks so much for your quick response. You brought up some great questions for me to ponder in order to strengthen the story. You made me think about Lacey Peterson (before they found her body) and the Casey Anthony trial and the public pressure involved in bringing these cases to trial.
Mod
Hmm....so that's got me thinking, what is the chain of command. The defense attorney hand picks her cases where she feels the state is railroading to get a conviction (sort of like the Innocence Project but before the trial :) the lead detective is sure the guy is guilty and has an eyewitness but of dubious character. So now my question is what exactly is the chain of command regarding evidence? I assume the detective would be involved in that but how? He's a good detective but could he have done something to effect the chain of command. Your help has been wonderful for helping me evolve my story.
Mod
Their is no chain of command concerning evidence; it's a chain of custody. Each agency has it's own procedures but basically everyone who takes possession of the evidence must be on the chain (a police form). If A finds evidence at the scene, hands it to his partner B to hold while A does an interview, then B gives in to patrolman C and tell shim to bring it to the evidence room, there will be 3 names, signatures, times and dates on the chain. The evidence room then logs it in. If A wants to take it out to bring it to the lab, he resigns, dates and times it once again.
In court, if defense sees the alleged drug sample was found by A on 10/12/2010 at 1400 hours but not turned to the evidence room until 10/13/2010 at 1100 hours, and neither B nor C has their name on it, "Detective, please tell the court where the evidence was for those 21 hours?" "I gave it to B who I think gave it to someone to bring to the lab." "Hmmm, Detective, B isn't on the chain of custody. No one else is either, just you. Were you the one who actually turned it into the evidence room or did someone else?" "Well, it was a few months ago; I thought someone else did but maybe it was me." "So for for 21 hours, detective, you're telling the court that you really don't know where this evidence was, which means it could have been anywhere, with anybody, so anybody could have put cocaine into this package and you can't testify that this package is the same one you found at the scene."
Without a good chain, it can get ugly real quick. All the defense needs to do is bring forth a shadow of a doubt. It was up to that "good" detective to insure the chain was complete and accurate. Hopes this answers it for you.
Hi John,Another question. This one about Luminal. If no blood is visible, how would a detective check for blood spatter? Would he just liberally spray an area to see if anything came up? Or would there be some kind of strategy involved in terms of how he went about it?
Thanks,
Wendy
Mod
Sorry not much help, maybe someone on this site can offer more. Here is a very through website on the matter has some useful terminology:
http://www.crime-scene-investigator.n...
That's still good information since if you don't know chances are readers won't call me on it. :) And that link you sent me is wonderful. Thanks, Wendy
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Crime fiction is rightfully working to improve itself in all areas, esp procedurals, so the more we hone our skills the better the product.
Heres another website that might help you. http://forensics4fiction.com Tom Adair is a retired forensics' guy, who now writes books. He's usually pretty good at answering questions!Diane
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