EVENTS SUMMARY Season 17 Episode 02 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, “Criminal,” follows the members of New York City’s Special Victims Unit as they work on a complicated case involving the murder of Rebecca Wheeler. The episode begins with a florist transporting flowers across Central Park while talking to a police officer, when the florist makes a comment about a marked-off crime scene that has been untouched for days. To the officer’s surprise, there is no record of an ongoing scene at this location, thus he walks over to the taped-off region of the park to discover a body underneath a pile of leaves. Detective Elliot Stabler and Detective Olivia Benson arrive at the scene, where they are informed by Crime Scene Unit Captain Judith …show more content…
There are also a number of forensic techniques employed when searching Rebecca’s apartment. CSU is seen photographing the scene and Detective Benson, while wearing gloves, presents a turkey baster in an evidence bag that she collected from the bathtub that was likely filled with rubbing alcohol to wash away DNA. Additionally, Special Agent Dr. George Huang provides a behavioral analysis of the perpetrator’s actions. He explains that the killer is organized, intelligent, has a good knowledge of forensics, and demonstrates meticulous post-offense behavior. He also infers that the crime scene tape was used to send a message that the perpetrator is smarter than the detectives, but also cared about the victim, as she was laid gently on the ground in the park, posed, and covered with leaves. In searching for evidence related to Professor Vega, Detective Benson finds condoms in his apartment that match the latex material found inside the victim and the fiber from Rebecca’s trachea matches the material of one of Vega’s …show more content…
In addition to the wrongful level of significance placed on the class evidence, there was also a level of bias throughout this case because Professor Vega is an ex-convict of murder. Once the detectives take a better look at the evidence, another trial is held in which ADA Novak explains to Judge Lena Petrovsky that, in light of the new evidence, the People and the Defense are filing jointly to dismiss all charges against Vega. Judge Petrovsky granted the motion to set aside the conviction of Vega in the interests of justice and, thus, he is free to go, with the court’s apologies. ENTERTAINMENT COMPONENT This episode does a thorough job of illuminating the various forensic techniques and legal components that are important to and must be considered by the detectives working on a case. However, this is a television show and, thus, an element of entertainment is present and inevitably skews the depiction accuracy of forensic science as a whole. Firstly, when Detective Benson is at the initial crime scene with Rebecca’s body, she examines the victim’s
The suspect of the two rapes was known to smoke cigarettes, wear white gloves, ride a bike, use a knife, wear shoes that had rubber soles, and have a flashlight. When Ronald Cotton went into the police station to start things out, they took the knife that he always carried out from his front right pocket. Once Detective Gauldin started to question him, Ron told Gauldin that he smoked Newports, which is a type of cigarette. After he was questioned multiple times, they showed him a pair of black canvas World Cup shoes. He said that his shoes insoles were falling apart, but they weren’t that beaten up when the police showed them to him. They then showed him a piece of material that came from his shoe, which was left in Jennifer Thompson’s apartment. After that, they then showed him a red flashlight and accused him of taking batteries from Mary’s house, the other rape
On the night that Jessop’s body was found, the first snowfall of the season was challenging police to find any evidence related to the case at the scene. The police conducted their search ...
On May 21, 1980, Katherine Reitz Brow was stabbed over 30 times in her Ayer, Massachusetts home. There were bloodstains throughout the house and her purse, some jewelry and an envelope where she had been known to keep cash was missing. Investigators found hair, blood ladened fingerprints on the toaster and the kitchen faucet which was left running. A bloody paring knife which was perceived to be the murder weapon was found in the waste basket. Mr. Water’s became a suspect because he lived next to the victim with his girlfriend, Brenda Marsh. He also worked at a local diner that Ms. Brow frequented and employee’s revealed that she had been known to keep large amounts of cash in her home.
In addition, the defendant’s erratic behavior that raised suspicion could also be used to prove the burden of proof. The fact that the defendant indicated that his wife was deceased, while she was still alive, can demonstrate that the murder was planned. Moreover, the defendant’s strategic travel to San Diego after Laci’s Peterson body and fetus were discovered and the change in the defendant’s physical appearance can be used to allude to the proof of the defendant’s consciousness of guilt. Also, the items removed from the defendant’s car during the traffic stop, specifically the thousands of dollars in cash, can indicate that the defendant planned to flee the country at some point during his trip to San Diego. Lastly, the chain of events that took place during the period of the victim’s disappearance and the discovery of her body, and the defendant’s secret lover becoming a key witness, was used to strengthen the circumstantial evidence.
Since the airing of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and the other televised series that followed have led jurors to compare fiction with reality. The shows have changed the view on the real world of forensic science as the series have a world of forensic science of their own. For this paper the televised series titled Bones by forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs will be used as an example for comparison. In the series Bones Dr. Temperance Brenan arrives at the scene of the crime to examine the skeletal remains found in the scene of the crime equipped with one or more forensic kits. Upon momentarily examining the skeletal remains Dr. Brenan is able to determine the gender, ethnicity, and age. When this type of scenario is compared to nonfictional
The discovery of this crime began as a fishing trip for Chris Henkle, Dee Connors and his two children Sam and Claire on May 5, 2004. While relocating the boat to find better fishing, Connor spotted a suitcase floating in the water. As young Sam opened the suitcase hoping it contained pirate’s treasure, he found its contents to be wrapped in black plastic trash bags. Upon opening the trash bags, Sam exposed two human legs. Shocked at what they had found, Henkle immediately contacted the police. After Master Officer John Runge of Virginia Beach’s Marine Patrol Unit took possession of the suitcase from Henkle and Connors, he looked inside and called his superior asking for a homicide detective. Virginia Beach Homicide Detective Janine Hall joined by senior technician of the Forensics Unit, Steve Stockman, and Dr. Turner Gray, Virginia Beach Medical Examiner, arrived at the scene. The suitcase was photographed, then the body parts were taken back to Dr. Gray’s office for an autopsy. Detective Hall took the Kenneth Cole suitcase to the Virginia Beach police headquarters for forensic examination after the legs were removed for autopsy. Forensic unit supervisor Beth Dunton and Steve Stockman then tested the suitcase for trace evidence. To test for fingerprints, the bags were hung in a cyanoacrylate chamber in which fume...
In the opening statements both side of the case make opening statements to lay the foundation of their cases. Opening statements are not allowed to be argumentative and cannot be considered evidence by the jury; they are the road maps laying out where each side intends to take its case. First the prosecution presented its case. They alleged Peterson killed his wife in their Modesto home because he was having an affair, then drove her body nearly 100 miles to San Francisco Bay and heaved it overboard from his small boat. Prosecution offered a steady drum beat of small bits of circumstantial evidence. From the Russian poetry Peterson read his mistress to the fishing gear in his alibi to the dessert featured on a particular episode of Martha Stewart Living, it added up to Peterson's guilt, they suggested. The defense countered that Modesto authorities unfairly targeted Peterson, ignoring important leads that didn't fit their theory. Defense said that, while prosecutors had only assembled a circumstantial case, they had five witnesses that were direct evidence of Peterson's innocence.
One of the most coveted trials in terms of popularity and media attention the O.J Simpson trial which took place between 1994 and concluded on October 2,1995 with O.J Simpson being acquitted of charges laid upon him during the Murder Trial Due to handling of physical evidence and questions over whether Mark Fuhrman planted the bloody glove at the scene to frame O.J. so in an attempt to understand how a deviation from standard operating procedures in the handling of physical evidence can affect the outcome of a criminal trial; One most first understand evidence and how to preserve it. When the crime scene technician took blood samples from Simpson’s Ford Bronco (1996) she used a cotton swab to take samples; but instead of using
In the following literature review, scholarly and peer-reviewed journals, articles from popular news media, and surveys have been synthesized to contribute to the conversation pertaining to forensics in pop culture in the courtroom and the overall criminal justice system. This conversation has become a growing topic of interest over just the past few years since these crime shows started appearing on the air. The rising popularity of this genre makes this research even more relevant to study to try to bring back justice in the courtroom.
In Sharon Old’s “The Victims,” the narrator highlights the effects of divorce as perceived by him or her as a child. Throughout the poem the narrator clearly seems to hold resentment toward his parents’ divorce. As the parents split, the effect of divorce is made clear—everyone in a family becomes the victim of a divorce, and that there is no clear winner or loser; there is only grief and pain. Although the father is criticized early in the poem, the tone later shifts towards distaste of the mother who has affected the children’s view of their father. The poem, “The Victims,” emphasizes that the effect of divorce is harmful to all parties involved using a major shift from a tone of resentment toward the father to a tone of pity toward him as the narrator has aged and become more
Two towels hanging on a rack in the bathroom. The towel that said “hers” looked as if it was used, however, the towel that says “his” isn’t used. So that proves that Mrs. Verbmockle used her towel to dry her hands after placing faulty evidence at the scene. Also, there was a broken scale lying next to Mr.Vermockles’ body, this evidence lines up with the fact he had a fracture at the back of his skull, Mrs. Verbermockle could have used this as the murder weapon. Moreover, wet footprints were coming from the shower, the footprints appear to be women's shoes based on the shape.
EVENTS SUMMARY Season 17 Episode 02 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, “Criminal Pathology,” follows the members of New York City’s Special Victims Unit as they work on a case involving the murder of Susie Frain by prime suspect Dr. Carl Rudnick. The episode begins with members of the SVU team reporting to a crime scene where a dismembered body is found in the water off of a beach. This body is identified as that of Susie Frain, romantic partner of Dr. Greg Yates, who is already in jail after being charged with various murders the SVU team believes medical examiner Dr. Carl Rudnick is also associated with. Susie was the prime prosecution witness for the crimes tied to Dr. Rudnick, who is now missing after posting bond, leading the team to
No magnifying equipment was available to search for tiny clues. Clues were found at the crime scene. A bloody cloth was found at one of the victims' body, however this was useless to the police, as they could not analyse the blood on the cloth that could have made that catching the killer was possible. The note written on the wall could not have been fingerprinted for clues because this technology was not available.
4). This is written in a negative tone implying that a change needed to happen in order for them to be more successful; this change being an increase in visual evidence. Expressing a very similar opinion is Michael Diamant, a business attorney. He states the following, “What I’m trying to do with the jury is to focus the issue so they can understand [it] in a clear graphic way, and take away all the noise around it” (INSERT, 2012, para. 6). This will allow the jury to focus solely on what’s important, influencing their decision in the way that the lawyers want it to. Speaking on the contrary to his previous statement, Carney argues, “Lawyers can get overenthusiastic about creating visuals. They forget they have to be directly connected to the evidence.” He then explains that the jury will get tired of it. The jury wants to be engaged and informed. This requires a balance between visual evidence and non-visual evidence. To put the summary of this article into perspective, it’s easy to use an example: the murder case of Susan Wright. Visual evidence will surely help the jury understand the actions that took place on the night of the murder. But what’s important and what’s superfluous? Some important visual evidence for the jury to see
In the beginning, (point of entry) the door was locked from the inside and the suspect did not have a key to the apartment. The castings from the scratches on the door could determine what type of tool was used. As you walk into the first room, which was the living room, the victim’s wallet is located in the middle of the floor. In the kitchen floor, there are blood drops, which indicate a sign of struggle. Also, there is a knife on the floor. The flashlight on counter contains a fingerprint and blood residue. The fingerprint on the flashlight would be able to confirm it was used by the suspect for self-defense. In the bedroom, at the end of the bed there is a bloody footprint on the rug. There are also blood spots