The Art of Criminal Investigation

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Initial Investigation
Evidence Search
Crime Scene Reconnaissance
Forensics on the case
Investigative Leads to the crime
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The art of criminal investigation is very crucial in solving criminal cases and ensuring that justice and fairness is achieved for victims of crime. Criminal investigation is not limited to the police department but it is also used in the justice system to determine criminal cases. During the investigation of a crime, very many techniques and technologies are used in assisting the police to come up with a conclusive report against a suspected criminal. In the winding up of a criminal case the police or investigators have to come up with evidence and circumstantial proof that there is certainty in the crime report(s) they present (Tong 42).

In this case we are going to consider techniques and approaches that are used in solving crime. This report is going to examine the case of the ‘Boston Strangler’; the case involves sexual assault and subsequent murder of 13 women from the Boston area. In the case of the ‘Boston Strangler’ I was brought in as an investigator by the Boston police department to assist in solving the case when it became apparent that the homicide carried out was of a complicated nature. The circumstances that led to me being brought into this case were that I had worked on several homicide cases and due to my expertise in forensics I had the capability of capturing the ‘Boston Strangler’.

Initial Investigation

The techniques of solving a crime are varied, in almost all crimes forensic science is used. Forensic science is the art of solving crime by use of techniques like forensic science, during this case I went to the first murder scene after the murder of the sixth victim. The victim was a young black woman by the name of Sophie; she had been killed 3 months after the first victim a 55year old woman was killed. Sophie’s murder was not common in that she was young compared to the other five victims, who were aged. The first step I took was to secure the crime scene and I took a chronological log before assessing the crime scene.

Then I took a look at the scene of the murder, together with other officers working on the case we search the crime scene for evidence using various search methods. We conducted point-to-point searches and used other search techniques including narrowing in for any unusual activity, the search was conducted in the lady’s apartment but the main centre of focus was the bedroom were the crime occurred (Becker 124).

After securing the crime scene, we collected evidence from the crime scene and all evidence was recorded and kept safely in the plastic bags. I accounted for all the evidence collected and I signed my name against the evidence collected. Most of the evidence was collected from the victim. The victim had been bore marks of physical struggle and her neck had been strangled by stockings and her ears had been bit. All evidence including the stocking, blood stains and the crime scene was dusted for fingerprints. Evidence collected from the crime scene of Sophie’s murder was transported to the lab for further investigation accompanied by a report.

We finally conducted a final survey of the crime scene and ensured all evidence was collected and that no equipment was left in place. The body’s victim was taken to the forensic lab for further investigation while we dealt with the media, we informed the media of the crime committed, victim’s identity and that no suspects had been arrested.

Evidence Search

From the crime scene of Sophie’s murder, we had to establish circumstantial evidence and in this case no blood was found. The only circumstantial evidence that was found was an old stocking that was wrapped around the victim’s neck and lab results showed that the victim had indeed been sexually assaulted. During the investigation of this murder, a witness came forward who was the victim’s roommate. She was the one who found the victim’s body and informed the police.

We at the Boston police force made a plea to all witnesses who knew anything on the case to come forward and give their testimony. Sophie’s roommate testified for having been out when the murder of Sophie took place and we checked with other witnesses but nobody witnessed the crime. Important and circumstantial evidence that was found at the crime scene were imprints of fingerprints on the victim’s body and semen was found on the victim’s to suggest likely cause that the victim was sexually assaulted. Also hair was collected from the crime scene for further identification.

During the period when investigation was going on and lab tests were being conducted, another victim was killed three weeks later. The victim was a 23year old white woman by the name of Patricia and she had been killed at her apartment. The circumstances under which the new victim was murdered closely resembled the murder of Sophie, both victims had been strangled using their personal effects in this case their stockings.

The bodies of both victims laid exposed as if they had been sexually assaulted before being murdered. Circumstantial evidence found on the second victim included stocking, imprints on the victim’s body and the blood stains from the bit ears. The murder of Patricia was the 7^th in a series of killings whereby all the victims were strangled and sexually assaulted. The killings bore the approach of the ‘Boston Strangler’ and as I arrived at the scene of the murder, I noticed that there had been no forced entry. At the murder scene of Patricia we secured the crime scene and photographed the scene as a means of securing the evidence.

Crime Scene Reconnaissance

After all evidence had been collected on the two murder scenes, we at the Boston Police formed a squad that would solely deal with the case of the ‘Boston Strangler’. The squad’s purpose was to investigate all leads using evidence gathered from the two scenes and to eventually arrest the ‘Boston Strangler’. From the murder scenes of Sophie and Patricia I was able to gather from the preliminary investigative report that both victims were women and they were murdered at their apartments. In both crimes the report of their murders was reported by close friends who discovered their bodies.

Evidenced gathered from the preliminary investigation demonstrated that the modus operandi of the perpetrator was influenced by psychological problems that he/she faced. The report classified the crime as murder and that the victims were attacked when they were alone in their private premises. From the report we gathered that the trademark of the perpetrator was to physical abuse women and then murder them. The perpetrator however didn’t steal any property from the victims and his main aim was to inflict pain on the victims and leave a lasting impression of his victim as the murder of his victims were gruesome (Tong 68).

In addition to the preliminary investigative report, we at the police department took photographic shots of the crime scenes. The photographs were up-close and they served the purpose of representing how the objects appeared at the crime scene. The photographs were to be used as testimony in court if the perpetrator of the murders was found and they would also be used to support what the investigators found at the crime scene. In this case the photographs were used in searching for specific evidence during the investigation and to be used in finding leads that could take us closer to the perpetrator.

Photographs were also used in this case to trace the modus operandi of the perpetrator, for instance measurements and markers were taken and recorded for comparison with other crimes. From the photographs we were able to establish that the perpetrator was very careful in leaving no traces of evidence and that all his murders were sexually related (Becker 96). Subsequent to photographing the crime scenes, we sketched details of the crime as a procedure; this was done in order to look at major scenes of the crime. Finally the crime scenes were videotaped in order to provide evidenced that could later be carefully examined in case there were some facts that were left out that could help in the case.

Forensics on the case

In addition to evidence found at the crime scene, we at the ‘Boston Strangler’ squad used forensics to solve the crime, the squad used the criminal lab to find more evidence of the two crime scenes using scientific methods. At both crime scenes, the victims and their surrounding were dusted for fingerprints. DNA fingerprinting was put into use and the fingerprints that were found at the scene of the murder were sent to the DNA data bank where they were compared to other fingerprints of criminal offenders using the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). This system is used in linking similar cases which have not been solved through a system which links all state databases (Becker 85).

Laboratory examination of evidence is used in assimilating as to the exact position and nature in which the crime occurred and in this scenario the crimes were on women through the use of physical force. Laboratory examinations are conducted using determinants such as blood, hairs and fibers or imprints such as fingerprints. In the case of the murders of the women, hair and fibers and fingerprints were found at the crime scenes.

The Laboratory examination into the murders of the two women unearthed evidence that fingerprints found at the crime scene were multiple. This was to show that the murders were committed by multiple persons and the hair and fibers found at the crime scene was later deduced to be that of a male individual. Blood stains found at the crime scene were of the victims and the only circumstantial evidence found of the perpetrators was strains of semen due to the fact that the women had been sexually assaulted.

The traces of semen were examined and the results sent to all other state offenders list to check for a match with other related cases of sexual offenders. The lab results confirmed the possibilities of several perpetrators were involved in the murder of the women. From the fingerprints sent across to all states no match found of the perpetrators involvement in the crime. This was indicative of the crime committed by the perpetrators was either their first crime or they had never been caught and convicted of any criminal charges.

Investigative Leads to the crime

During the period in which the ‘Boston Strangler’ murder cases were being investigated, I received a call from the police department concerning new leads on the case. New evidence had been unearthed that a suspected sexual offender had been found and that evidences from the crimes in which he had been convicted against matched that of the murdered women. The suspect in this case was Albert Disalvo; he had committed several rapes and had pleaded guilty in his case.

However Disalvo had not been jailed but instead he was taken to a mental institute (Tong 79). From that point onwards we focused on him as the prime suspect in the murder of Sophie and Patricia. I investigated on the leads on Disalvo and asked how he would benefit from the murder of the women. When we interviewed Disalvo he admitted to having committed the crime of murdering the two women, but we had our doubts due to the fact that his fingerprints were not found at the crime scenes.

Our investigations now shifted to Dislavo, we wanted to know if ha had the opportunity and knowledge to commit the crimes he had confessed to. We also wanted to establish his accomplices or in case if he was covering for someone else. I questioned Disalvo and I established that he had thorough knowledge of the crime scenes, although we ruled out that maybe he had carefully read of the crimes from the papers who had given much publicity to the cases.

As a police procedure the fingerprints found at the crime scenes did not match Disalvo’s fingerprints, they only evidence that tied him to the murder of the women was the detail that he had a previous criminal sexual record and he had psychological problems. The modus operandi of the ‘Boston Strangler’ cases fit well with the profile of Dislavo; however no witnesses ever came forward and identified him as the perpetrator. We put pressure on Disalvo to mention his accomplices or confess on who he was shielding. Our searches on computer databases and through the use of informants did not yield much evidence except the fact circumstantial evidence had been found against Disalvo of the murder of several women in Boston.

Conclusion

In the case of the ‘Boston Strangler’, many circumstances and the peculiarity of the case made the homicide very difficult to solve. However we wanted to know the motives and modus operandi of the perpetrator of these gruesome murders. From the evidence gathered and examination of the evidence we were able to establish that the perpetrator was indeed a psychological disturbed individual who took pleasure in killing female victims especially those had old age. From the evidence gathered we also established that the perpetrator was not an aggressive person and that he did not use any force in getting in contact with the victims. The perpetrator did not steal any belonging from his victims and he only attacked and killed his victims at their place of residency.

Circumstances leading to the arrest of Disalvo were due to the nature of his knowledge of the crime scenes, he had a past record of sexual offences and the fact that he confessed to having committed the crimes. The case of the ‘Boston Strangler’ was complicated given that nobody had witnessed the crimes being committed and information obtained from the forensic examination pointed out that the killings were conducted by more than one individual.

Disalvo’s confessions to the murder crimes were so vivid and that made him a potential witness, however some of his confessions did not tally and on more than one occasion he did not get the facts of the crime right. In my opinion Disalvo might have committed some of the crimes he confessed and he was being used by the real perpetrator and he might have been an accomplice to the murder of the 13 women in the Boston Area.

Works Cited

Becker, Ronald. Criminal Investigation. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2008.

Tong, Stephen, and Horvath Miranda. Understanding Criminal Investigation. Chicago: John Wiley and Sons, 2009.

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