Free Essay: Forensic and Physical Evidence Gathering of Murder Case

Solving a case is a complicated process as detectives are forced to convince the jury the involvement of the accused person. The work of the detectives is to convince the jury by the presentation of evidence gathered from the scene of a crime that shows the involvement of the accused person. Forensics is one of the keys to solving a criminal case. Forensic utilizes science to analyze and determine what happened at the scene. The vital step is securing the scene and ensuring only permitted personnel has access. The crime scene should be obtained to ensure no one tampers with the evidence. It is part of managing a crime scene to help detectives get a picture of what took place, and the appropriate plan of action. The evidence is crucial, and without it, a case can turn cold quickly. The picture should comprise witness testimony, physical exhibit, photos of the crime scene, and the analysis of the evidence collected. The use of forensic and physical evidence gathering from the crime helps the jury to convict the accused person. This paper is going to discuss the purpose of forensic and physical evidence gathering in a murder case.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

To solve a murder case the first step which is vital is the crime scene management (Sutton, Trueman & Moran, 2016). It should be handled since it provides both physical and forensic evidence which can be presented as evidence in the court of law. The scene should be photographed, video recorded before collecting any evidence. The photographs help in documenting the state of the crime scene before any interference it. The investigator then takes notes that explain everything that happened at the crime scene. The notes help the investigator to refresh their memory as well as providing testimony at the court of law. Once detectives have collected the evidence, it is preserved to a avoid tampering with it. Also, to be intact until it is presented in the court of law. Another is searching the entire area to locate any other physical evidence which can be related to the case. Detectives search the area to find anything like the murder weapon. Also, they examine the scene to locate anything that belongs to the suspect such as blood or fingerprints.

The evidence collected at the scene is utilized in various ways. The critical one is establishing if the crime took place there or not. It is not apparent during the first time to determine if the homicide took place there. The team of the detectives at the crime scene starts to locate any evidence that can be used at the court of law. The forensic team will try to determine if it was a suicide or homicide. They concluded by analyzing the crime scene to determine if the victim suffered at the hands of the offender. The forensic team will look at the blood splatter to determine what took place at the scene. The blood at the scene of the crime mainly ranges from the pool to splatter patterns (Schiro, 2018). The stain of the blood pattern is used by the forensic team to determine; the direction of the blood just before hitting the ground. Another is the type of the object used. Detectives can determine the murder weapon used. The force that is used at the scene is established that led to the shedding of the blood. Another is the distance of the source toward the ground, and the sequences of what happened where there is multiple bloodsheds at the scene.

The blood pattern at the scene and any other physical evidence collected at the scene should be appropriately documented. Once documented properly help to determine the position of the victim, suspect, and the witness once the crime took place. Also, it indicates if there was evidence of a struggle or it was just one-sided until the victim succumbed (Holowko et al., 2016). It confirms the statement given by the witness who was at the scene. The forensic officer at the scene searches for any DNA evidence of the offender. The DNA sample includes fingerprint, blood, hair, clothing they were wearing anything that belongs to them. Mostly detective collected blood or any other physical evidence without thinking about the fact they want to base the case, for instance, a victim who was shot in his house. It is complicated since collecting the blood of the victim near the body will lead to indicate the victim died of bleeding.

The primary objective is to recuperate legitimate and useable proof the most essential at the scene of the crime. The scene is secured, and movement of people is restricted where all those who enter are identified. Inside of the scene perimeter the team clears creates a common approach path (CAP) which is made by the use of plates, tapes or a combination of the both. The CAP restricts an unauthorized person from entering the scene, and only detectives and the forensic team are allowed access. Additionally, any individual permitted to access the crime scene they must wear specific clothing. The clothing they are supposed to wear includes gloves, head cover, boots, and the crime suits which is changed before and after entering the crime scene. It prevents the forensic team from interfering with DNA evidence at the scene and furthermore to protect anything covered from being exchanged somewhere else; the two of which can trade off the examination (Horswell, 2016). The scene is the principal connect in the chain of analysis and on the off chance that any proof is imperiled, so is the entire examination. In this way, in a request for evidence to be utilized, it must be deliberately and methodically taken care of all through the insightful procedure. The evidence discovered at the scene should be consistency and pointing at one particular story which is provided by the witness. The forensic evidence is then transferred to a laboratory for a further test where it is then stored awaiting to be presented in the court of law.

The scientific research center is crucial to the murder case since it looks at the proof that is, explores the evidence collected at the scene to answer the question of what might have happened. The facility tries to unveil and find a connection between the suspect and the crime which can be used in the court. The end goal is the uncovering of the murder case, and prosecute the person behind such crime. Also, the forensic team examines the evidence at the scene approving the same which is subjected to a brutal test in the court by counsels. The forensic examination can bolster a murder case from multiple points of view, among others, it can demonstrate that a crime has been carried out, by distinguishing medications or liquor in man blood (Taupin, 2016). Also, it can give leads, for instance, by recognizing shoe size, type of blood, and it can help distinguish a suspect through DNA found in the victim's seminal fluids.

The laboratory facilities offer diverse fields of ability relying upon the full range of kinds of proof they look at. For instance, the toxicology and medication recognizable proof research center would be utilized to test medications and harms, and the criminological serology lab would be used for the investigation of body liquids, for example, blood, and semen. Hence, the lab assumes a critical job in the analytical procedure, however except if due consideration and coherence have occurred to safeguard the proof at all phases of the examination, and they include protection, storage, documentation, and transportation, of all the work carried out.

Consequently all recuperated proof must be marked and put away correctly, various samples types must be set away in multiple ways, and for instance, blood stains should be air dried before bundling to maintain a strategic distance from bacterial action which can block the examination. Also, there is a need of connecting the physical evidence at the scene that is photos and notes with the scientific ones to take the case concrete and to avoid giving counsel any room to raise the question. The scene where the crime took place is the first important step in the chain as it connects it with other and if it left out, then the entire process is useless. Hence, the whole procedure of examination is vital with the end goal to keep the legitimacy of the proof, so it tends to be utilized in the court of law

In conclusion, the crime scene and forensic laboratories are essential in solving a murder case. The two of them needs to cooperate successfully to resolve a murder case and convict the offender who committed the crime. Hence, even without the utilization of the forensic lab, the scene would be valuable to providing evidence.

References

Holowko, E., Januszkiewicz, K., Bolewicki, P., Sitnik, R., & Michonski, J. (2016). Application of multi-resolution 3D techniques in crime scene documentation with bloodstain pattern analysis. Forensic science international, 267, 218-227.

Horswell, J. (2016). Crime scene investigation. In The Practice of Crime Scene Investigation (pp. 29-72). CRC Press.

Schiro, G. (2018). Collection and Preservation of Blood Evidence from Crime Scenes. Retrieved from https://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/blood.htmlSutton, R., Trueman, K., & Moran, C. (Eds.). (2016). Crime scene management: scene specific methods. John Wiley & Sons.

Taupin, J. M. (2016). Using Forensic DNA Evidence at Trial: A Case Study Approach. CRC Press.