CRJ320 - DEATH INVESTIGATIONS - ASSIGNMENT TWO

DEATH INVESTIGATIONS
ASSIGNMENT TWO
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Death Investigations
Strayer University
Felicia McCaw
Professor Tamara Mangum
CRJ320
Online Winter 2017
February 18, 2017

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In the field of death investigations is the unique examination of factors and variables used to determine the state of demise as well as the compository steps that caused the propelled act of death. During the query for answers in the criminal justice field is the eternal escalating ride during the criminal investigation segment. A field of sophisticated complexity it involves the analytical attention to detail and laborious minutiae searches throughout land, water, building, atmosphere and sea.

Basically investigators must be able to establish a familiarity with crimes, criminal element, criminal intent, modus operandi and the goals of a successful investigation that includes strategic purpose as a major. Firstly, investigators are not themselves a unit but have to adhere to conditional constitutional safeguards and the legal parameters with which an investigative process can be facilitated.

Case law and conditional constitutional safeguards act as a parallel to the investigative process along with deductive and conductive reasoning. Further with that thought is also emphasized that assumptions are not certainties or a true actuality. As each case develops the logistics prevail which supports all physical evidence collected legally, interviewing of witnesses that can be people or positive imprints left in the scene itself. During the paroling of the case suspects are legally questioned and thoroughly interrogated which might possibly stimulate a lead as the conversations are analyzed. Also, eventual leads may surface in relation to questioning, camera surveillance or from evidential findings.

As investigations require precision of working scientific knowledge also does it require the artful usability of learned techniques acquired by study, experience and skillful application. Further the persistent investigator relies on patience, creativity, knowledge, intellectual value,

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psychological mental adroitness, diverse cultural fluency and an adsorptive memory. Thereby intuition coupled with “street savvy” and “know” is a great prevailer of a find and beginning track zone.

One of the most profound and truthful reasons why a crime scene is more or less seized, secured and locked down is because of Locard’s Principle of Exchange. As a forensic theory it reliably asserts and states that a high prevalence of exchange occurs when objects come into contact with each other and as such evidence transferred by magnetic encounter can be the smallest of molecules but is effective evidence.

During the beginning process of investigation is the knowledge of the “fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree” doctrine and as such it reflectively reveals that all investigations have to be conducted above board with all legality entailed. There are four types of death that require the need for investigation and they are natural death, accidental death, suicide and homicide.

Because of the fundamental differences between the deaths the need to explain the correlating pattern is first needed to adhere to stand and that is they all are cessation of life and the finalized progressive stage of a human life cycle. For example, a natural death would be classified as a conclusionary stage when the human body and its conception cannot function as a self-centralized unit. Usually a statement is issued when a person who is under a physician care dies from unmitigating circumstances that has been revealed to be irreversible.

Unlike natural death, accidental death is caused by circumstances that occur that are unintentional and unplanned that precipitate an injurious state that results in unfortunate death. As with natural deaths, accidental deaths should be viewed as a possible homicide and approached with a suspicious nature until both circumstantial and evidentials prove that a

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homicide or suicide did not occur. Another category of death is suicide and that is the intentional killing of self which can be done by overdose, shooting, stabbing, slitting of wrists, poison, burning, hanging, asphyxiation, or ingesting of non-eatable substances. Even though suicide is not regarded as a criminal offense it is still regarded as a stage of mental instability and dysfunctional phase. As such it differs from both natural death and accidental death because the criteria differs but it should also be viewed as possible homicide when circumstances prove evident that life and its activities prove a natural state of denial and vigorous state for life exists.

Lastly, the last death is listed as homicide and that is the state when either direct or indirect cause of harm not initiated or provoked by an individual results in cessation of life by force. Unlike natural death, accidental death or suicide, homicide is facilitated by deliberate intent to harm either with malice or with no prior malice. It is a state of premeditation, selection and study without provocation to plan and kill an individual(s).

Further homicide is divided into two categories criminal homicide and noncriminal homicide. The nature of homicide is subdivided into the categories of murder and manslaughter and further subdivided into the following categories as follows: Murder, First-degree murder, Second-degree murder, Third-degree murder, manslaughter, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

Noncriminal homicide is listed under the classification of homicide and that includes excusable homicide and justifiable homicide. With homicide and noncriminal homicide running parallel where no similarity exists to say they are comparable except in the instance of all resulting in death.
As example to further deliberate upon is the state of accidental death by drowning. Brandi Odom, age of nine years and a resident of Bear Creek, Alabama drowned in a

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pond saving her younger brother when she lost her footing in deeper water. After being pulled from the pond Brandi was given CPR until the paramedics arrived and she was then rushed to Lakeland Community Hospital in Haleyville where she was pronounced dead.

The key factor involved that would concern the police to establish accidental death would include investigating as a possible homicide to ensure that all accuracies are established and all legalities are addressed to subsequently report on death of demise is accidental and by drowning. Further the securing of scene to help facilitate that an accidental drowning occurred and the looking for verifiable evidence to support theory. As a prudent investigator the death scene is to be treated as a possible homicide until forensic evaluation states otherwise. In the examining of the death scene the accidental as well as homicide has to be an exemplary scrutinized examination to clarify the accuracy of determination,

During the investigating process a death signifies a possible nonhomicide to homicide and its perpetuity to all crimes is that it is a wrong. A wrong that has caused injurious harm whether from death, during the taking of personal property, intimidation, stalking or the sheer magnitude of what mens rea means. Culpability stands for itself in acts of crimes that parallel and are arguable as a point of what is right or wrong or the acts that certify these acts are against the law.

As such probable cause is an active note that is present in all investigation of crime. Therefore, other types of crimes requiring different approaches that includes canvassing large segments of area, media capture, categorical breakdown of differing crimes and determination to allocate which has been done. Also, since crime has many segments and categories they create special challenges to determine whether the altercation is a civil or criminal matter. If the act is determined noncriminal a possibility of lawsuit could surface to seek restitution for loss by

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victim’s family or attorney elect against either a person, government, city or town or active entity. Consequently, the psychological effect against the victim’s family is steadfast escalating hurt that causes prevailing guilt and emotional suffering and questions of why.

Thereby, the need for a preliminary death investigation becomes a hovering now and starts with the initial response, point of arrival that includes a sweeping analysis of situation or scenario, setting of priorities of handling emergencies first, securing the scene and initialized investigation. As a facilitator and support of the preliminary investigation the questioning of witnesses and possible suspects is primary. Secondary would be neighborhood canvass, measuring and photographing, videotaping and sketching of scene, request for video now interviews, identifying and collecting and examining and processing of physical evidence. Lastly, recording all statements and observation in notes and as well as the need for know-how to deal with news media and non-disclosure of any names until given permission by Chief of Police, victim’s family at a reasonable acceptable time frame with agreeable time slot and appointment.

Conclusively, the goal and preliminary investigation main goal of a death investigation is to ensure all details, peculiarities to quirks are discovered and assured a good ninety percent chance of all “t’s” are crossed and all “i’s” are dotted. Therefore being accurate, detailed oriented and professional assures all of concern, willingness to discover, confidence and knowledge to facilitate a sound base for court as well as for protection against civil liability and recordation for police records.

For example, in the activity of exploration of the active drowning of Brandi Odom, the securing of scene would be first, addressing attention to witnesses, bystanders and determining who needs medical care and relaying to them aid first. The next step is searching for evidence

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even though the scene may have restrictions due to flow of traffic when assisting Brandi, interview of witnesses and canvass and lastly closing scene with parameters drawn for restudy and visit.

Also, the knowledge is prominent that the investigation of an adult and child differs and is inclusive of factors and relative stages that help render a judgment of fault or non-fault in the examination of a child compared to an adult’s vital signs. Also, during the process of investigation obtaining information from adults when a child’s death is being investigated is harder and conclusively more difficult. Further because this is a small locality the family is possibly known by the local police and are aware that the family is struggling with trauma, shock and grief of a sudden death will impede the questioning process. Therefore, a trained empathetic approach is needed as well as respectful probing, compassion and slight detachment.

Further as Hochschild states (1979:562) when exposed to a potentially emotional situation such as a death scene police officers can become conscious of a “pinch” or discrepancy between what they actually feel and what they should feel. Thereby, they try to reconcile the gap of feeling between awareness and cold actuality and reality. Because of this the adherence to code and procedure is prevalent and causes stricter ways of approach and allows continuance to ways to bring emphasis from the preliminary by firstly acquiring DNA evidence to first support identification, acquire imbedded evidential findings from mouth, hair, eyes of dilation, fingers and feet.

The question that probably surfaces in everyone not familiar with DNA is that it is a genetic molecule that holds encoding and hereditary information of an individual and serves as a identifier and confirment. Each individual has differing DNA and allows the providing of information from the biological soecimen found at the death scene. Also, another factor of DNA

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is inclusive of dental identification that helps prove identity as well as the DNA from teeth and its dentin polymerase chain reaction and enamel that provides mitochondrial DNA for basic analysis to also confirm identity. Further DNA is a good stabilizer and proof against false claims with fingerprints and other tests to confirm death and certainty of an individual. Also, the active autopsy prevails and support the determination of stage of rigor mortis when the need to determine the act of how and when.

Further the act of autopsy also facilitates the testing of eyeballs that reflectively reflect a consistency in the eyeballs that indicate drowning and then surface to land. Thereby proving a death by drowning and the interior contents of water, algae and substance should parallel and match the liquidity in the lungs to pond water vs cleaned and filtered water. Lastly as a parallel link the investigative forensic query also acts as a facilitator to determining death as well as helping to prove possible foul play or not. Certifying the act of death also can lead to being classified as undetermined if in relation to drowning since “undetermined deaths” includes a great part of suicide and accident cases. Therefore, the manner of death would be inclusively listed as accidental fall in water and hindered respiratory function due to central respiratory depression as a true cause of death.

Also, some of the main ways in which various environmental factors may influence the medical examination and autopsy in death investigations may be a contaminant in the water which would require a separation of the contaminant from specimen and then a reanalysis. The reanalysis may render positive or the same findings. Also, if the body has reached differing stages of decomposition then alterating steps have to be done to conclusively analyze or try to determine the time of death as well as the cause. Further exterior scar tissue age can be determined by ultra-violet light to establish a possibility toward death or maybe a reflection that

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person had been exhibited to violence prior to death but has to be determined if the environment has caused a hidden scene that has to be dissected, determined and acknowledged.

In conclusion, as with all investigations death investigations hold the theory of being accurate and true means success and success means no impediment to halt forensic analysis to prove a foul or not.






References
Carpenter, B., Tait, G., Quadrelli, C., & Thompson, I. (2014). When death is not a crime. Papers From The British Criminology Conference, 143-16.
Anderson, J. C. (2012, July 26). Brandi Odom, 9-Year-Old Alabama Girl, Drowns Rescuing Brother At Pond. Retrieved February 19, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/26/brandi-odom-9-year-old-alabama-drowns-rescuing-brother_n_1706147.html
Sampath, K., & Jagannathan, N. (2014). Role of DNA in Forensic Identification. Indian Journal Of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 8(2), 43-47. doi:10.5958/0973-9130.2014.00679.3
Advenier, A., Guillard, N., Alvarez, J., Martrile, L., & Lorin de la Grandmaison, G. (2016). Undetermined Manner of Death: An Autopsy Series. Journal Of Forensic Sciences (Wiley-Blackwell), 61S158. doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12924
Chintalwar, R. S., Gajbhiye, S. M., & Dhawane, S. G. (2016). Estimation of Time Since Death From Rigor Mortis. Indian Journal Of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 10(1), 197-199. doi:10.5958/0973-9130.2016.00045.1
Kanable, R. (2011). Crib deaths. Law Enforcement Technology, 38(8), 16-21
Carpenter, B., Tait, G., Quadrelli, C., & Thompson, I. (2014). When death is not a crime. Papers From The British Criminology Conference, 143-16


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