During my career there was a four-year span when I was a Detective assigned to the Crime scene unit. Crime scene detectives were responsible for processing the physical evidence at crime scenes. We processed burglaries, homicides, and everything in between.
Myself and another detective were dispatched to a double homicide at an apartment complex. The other Detective was the lead, and I was his assistant. The incident took place in a second-story apartment.
Witnesses had observed a woman come out of the apartment screaming and running down the stairs, she had some blood on her clothing. An unknown individual came out of the apartment, grabbed her, and dragged her back up the stairs into the apartment and closed the door.
By the time the Police had arrived, it was unknown if a hostage or hostages were inside. Dispatch could not get a response via the phone and Patrol Officers could get no response at the door. SWAT was called and eventually made entry. As they moved into the apartment, they deployed flash-bang devices and cleared the interior.
In the living room they found two deceased individuals and one severely handicapped teen age girl. She was alive and sitting on a mattress in the living room.
When I arrived, I observed bloody drag marks on the steps leading up the stairs and into the apartment. Myself and the other detective observed the two deceased individuals in the living room. A man and a woman who appeared to be 30-40 years of age. The man was curled up in a corner sitting on the floor with his knees up against his chest. He was covered in blood. We noted blood spatter on the walls around him.
The woman was sprawled out on a couch. She was also covered in blood. The man had a perfectly round hole in the middle of his forehead that did not penetrate his skull. Both victims had been stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife.
We documented the scene with photos, measurements, and collected the evidence to take to the Police property room. We also documented the blood spatter on the wall where the male victim was found. The lead detective utilized trigonometry measuring the blood spatter. He was able to determine the exact position where the male victim had been stabbed. I assisted him in the measurements.
Investigation determined that two suspects approached the victim’s apartment and knocked on the door. When they opened the door, the two suspects forced their way in. The hole on the male victim’s forehead came from a pistol that was placed against his skull and misfired. The hole was caused by the force of the barrel breaking the skin which also caused the slide to recede just enough so that the firing pin never engaged the round in the chamber.
The suspects then used a kitchen knife and stabbed both victims to death. The suspects fled the scene before police arrived.
While processing the scene, I lifted a latent print off the glass on a television cabinet in the living room. This print ultimately led to the identity of one of the suspects.
Processing crime scenes is slow methodical work. It is often dirty, nasty, and smelly beyond description. There have been occasions where we processed scenes for a whole week. The Hollywood version of detectives in high dollar suits and footwear is simply not accurate.
Next time you hear of a homicide that has occurred or one that has been solved remember their were men and women detectives that put in countless hours of work to see justice served.
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