Background of the Murder Case
Pete Moss, the special agent who was involved in analyzing the investigation has carried out the investigation. Moss and S.A. Pearson assisted Sherrif’s office in carrying out the investigation. SA Moss has drafted the search warrant while Pearson carried out an interview of the key witnesses. Moss was also helped by Pearson in carrying out the search warrant. They had evaluated the complete process very minutely to identify the victim. The use of search grid, scale ruler and drawing of the sketch ahs helped them in identifying the victim. When three different detectives were involved in following the information of Smith, Jones and Fish, Moss kept a close watch and checked the copy of the witnesses with the detectives. The gridding method used in investigating the blood stain by SA Pearson was also justifiable and no shell casings were recovered from the scene. They also carried out fingerprint test of Marshall and Jenkins and thus the entire investigation was done correctly. The fingerprint test was also done very well in the investigation. Although the investigation process was carried out cautiously, but there were certain things which were needed to be done in a better way. Before arresting Smith, Jones and Fish, the special agents must conduct their interviews individually. This would help them to know the mental state of each person and it would help them in carrying out the investigation process in a short span of time. The fingerprint test must be done in the first stage and this was the mistake of Pearson and Moss because they did not conduct this step in the first stage.
The trio must not be put in the jail initially when they were caught. This was the biggest mistake done by Moss and Pearson. They must understand that when Smith refused to give the interview directly and asked a lawyer, there must be certain reason behind that. This needed serious consideration and the entire process would not require much time if this was taken into consideration. The informal information needs to be collected through diplomatic channels and this was missing in the entire process. The case needs to be inspected by the senior gazette officer or the police forces before involving the CBI. There must be a medical officer who must be present in determining the preliminary cause of death. This was done mistakenly and it needs improvement in the next time (Schmalleger et al., 2014).
The terms which are related to criminal investigation are detective, bloodstain evidence, gridding method, murder, labeling the stains, DNA testing at the crime lab. The research process conducted by me can be compared with the case mentioned. It is necessary to get a plan of the scene of offence (LePard et al., 2015). The senior agents or the investigation officer’s has to procure the plans or the area in which the crime was conducted. Photography or videography if taken in a conventional method must be preserved. This will help in ensuring that the exact image of the crime scene remains with the investigating officer or the special agent. It is also necessary to ascertain the facts and circumstances of the entire case and this is possible only with the approval of the Superintendent of Police (Imwinkelried, 2016).
Documenting a crime scene, relates to the courtroom presentation of a case. The reports and notes must be carried out in chronological order and it should not include any analysis, opinions or conclusions. The investigator should only document what he/she sees and not what he/ she thinks. The final report must contain descriptive study. It is necessary to provide a summary, include a detailed description of the incident, process it, collect the evidence and keep it pending for further investigation. If a case becomes a cold case and is not solved for more than thirty years, there must be new technical methods that must be developed after the case is used for surviving evidence to analyze the cause with conclusive results (Bijleveld et al., 2015). If the case remains pending for a longer period of time, it is necessary to take the help of DNA database agencies and check the samples. It is also necessary to arrange funding for the police labs. Moreover, giving them manpower for further investigation will help in solving the cold case (Davis et al., 2014). If I am given to prosecute the case to the jury after 30 years, I will use the sketches for further documentation. I may also provide advisory assistance to the police for further investigation to confirm that the evidence i.e. required for conviction is present. I may also assume the responsibility for the lawfulness of the investigated activities.
References:
Bijleveld, R., de Kok, J., van der Zwaag, B., van Wijk, R., & Diekman, T. (2015). Solving a cold case of haemolysis: Back to the basics. From exposome to microbiome to infectome–pathogens vs.‘sanogens’ 51, 86.
Davis, R. C., Jensen, C. J., Burgette, L., & Burnett, K. (2014). Working smarter on cold cases: Identifying factors associated with successful cold case investigations. Journal of forensic sciences, 59(2), 375-382.
Imwinkelried, E. J. (2016). Criminal Minds: The Need to Refine the Application of the Doctrine of Objective Chances as a Justification for Introducing Uncharged Misconduct Evidence to Prove Intent.
Innes, M., & Brookman, F. (2013). Helping police with their enquiries: international perspectives on homicide investigation.
LePard, D., Demers, S., Langan, C., & Kim Rossmo, D. (2015). Challenges in serial murder investigations involving missing persons. Police Practice and Research, 16(4), 328-340.
Schmalleger, F., Donaldson, S., Kashiwahara, K., Koppal, T., Chase, S., Brown, A., … & Marash, D. (2014). Criminal justice today. Prentice Hall.