Case Study 1

Case Report

Student’s Name

University Name

Date
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Introduction

Forensic science is applying scientific knowledge to legal proceedings or problems. This

discipline is an important tool for investigating crime scenes. This is mainly concerned with

analysing the physical and biological evidence that helps determine the facts about what and

when was happened and who all are involved during a crime scene. Investigating the scene of

a crime (SOC) is the starting point in dealing with any case. The general thumb rule applies to

all the cases is that all the death investigations are considered as a homicide until proven

otherwise. On 30th October, after getting an emergency call from Mr. A. Lias who found a

disturbance in a flat, scene of crime officer (SOCO) at the crime scene. The crime scene was

secured by the police to avoid any interruptions. SOCO must identify and collect evidence from

the scene. The two important pieces of evidence found at the scene was brown stains on the

floor, carpet and stained knife.

The scene was preserved by taking photographs of evidence and by collecting and identifying

the traces left at the crime scene. Crime scene officer search the crime scene, recover and then

collect evidence from the crime scene by using appropriate methods. The forensic expert

should always have certain equipment such as a hand lens, camera, pencil, pen, and paper while

leaving for the crime scene investigation. Sketching was also done for instant recording of the

crime scene. Now the forensic experts will reconstruct the crime scene and establish the link

between the recovered evidence and crime scene (Mwaheb, Marwa & Al-Galad,2019).).

Discussion

The goal of a first responding officer during the crime scene investigation is to identify, record,

collect and preserve physical and biological evidence found at the crime scene. This should be

done carefully and with a thoughtful approach. Forensic officers solve the crime by combining

the pieces of evidence to form a presentation of what happened at the scene. After reaching the
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flat (crime scene), the first and foremost duty as a crime scene officer is to secure the crime

scene to prevent the access of unwanted people (Kanth and Lal, 2011). This should also

maintain the integrity of the crime scenes. Mr Liaz who called the police is interrogated as he

heard the neighbors shouting and then driving away in a pickup truck. Interrogation should be

done carefully as to what was the color, number of the pickup truck, what was there in the

vehicle, who was driving. Then, a preliminary survey is conducted to establish entry/exit

points. Ensure that all evidence found at the crime scene should be properly documented,

photographed and collected. The overall photography is performed from the flat entry, then the

mid view and after this, the close-up view is taken of the evidence. The photography is always

performed with or without scaling device or some standards (Pokupcic, 2017). The crime scene

sketches i.e., the rough sketch should be made at that time which might further be used during

crime scene reconstruction. The flat is disturbed with brown stains on the floor, tore documents

and messed up room that might indicate a kind of violence between two people. So, adopting

the wrong method to assess and search the crime scene may contaminate the evidence or may

step onto that evidence. So, officers should adopt an orderly process for assessing the crime

scene so that any material evidence is not left out. After recovering the evidence, start collecting

them by wearing gloves, a protective mask, and an eye mask while collecting biological

evidence to prevent inadvertent contamination. The wet or moist biological samples on the

floor of the crime scene should be dried, if possible and then the dried stains are packaged and

preserved into paper containers. The packaging of dried biological evidence prevents the

sample from degrading. Then the packaging is marked as biohazard label. For long time

storage, this biological evidence is refrigerated wet and freeze the dried evidence. Blood

evidence is common in crimes, but a forensic officer cannot say that the brown stains present

are blood or not without performing a test (phenolphthalein or benzidine strips). The wet or

moist biological evidence is collected by a moistened cotton swab. The stain is allowed to swab
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gently using a moistened cotton swab tip till the swab absorbs the blood. Then, the swabs are

allowed to air dry and then the dried swabs are placed in a paper container. The stained knife

is collected to a paper bag or envelope by wrapping their pointed ends in stiff immovable

cardboard. Then the container is labelled (Bharadwaj, 2016). The labelling of evidence should

be done on the cover and should also bear the signature of the forwarding officer. The collection

of Biological evidence is important as it directly associates a victim or suspects to the crime

scene. If this is found to be blood, then DNA matching should be performed which might help

solve the crime. The stained knife is considered to recover as important as it might be the

weapon of offense. The knife is stained with brown stains so it might be used for any violent

act. And if the stain present on the knife is found to be blood then the forensic expert can relate

the blood with the stain on the floor. Forensic investigators should be careful that they do not

dry stained material by placing the item in sunlight or by heating it. One evidence is collected

into one container only to avoid contamination. The recovered and collected evidence is

transported to the laboratory as soon as possible for further testing procedures. The crime scene

samples after collection should not be handled excessively as it may deteriorate the evidence

integrity. The size of the container solely depends on the size of the recovered evidence (Lee

and Ladd, 2001).

Conclusion

Crime scene is a treasure of information. The crime scene investigators should apply their skill

and knowledge to establish the facts in the crime scene. The present case report provides

valuable information in a homicidal cr9ime scene and highlighted the value of wet or moist

biological evidence and stained knife. If the stain is blood, then the presence of blood and
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bloody knife not only indicates the violent cases but also helps in solving suspicious death

cases as well.
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References

Bharadwaj P. (2016). Analysis of blood samples in Forensics. University college of Southeast Norway.
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28185.42088.

Kanth ZS, Lal BR. (2011). Importance of crime scene visit: A case study. J Indian Acad Forensic Med,
33(4):372-374.

Lee HC, Ladd C. (2001). Preservation and collection of biological evidence. Croat Med J. 42(3):225-
228.

Mwaheb, Marwa & Al-Galad.(2019). Principles of Crime Scene Investigation. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331745757_Principles_of_Crime_Scene_Investigation

Pokupcic, K. (2017). Blood as an Important Tool in Criminal Investigation. Journal of Forensic

Sciences & Criminal Investigation, 3(2). doi: 10.19080/jfsci.2017.03.555608