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Packaging and Labeling:Each piece of evidence is packaged separately to avoid cross-contamination. It’s then labeled with details about the evidence, where it was found, who collected it, and the date and time of collection.

5. Chain of Custody

A log is maintained to record everyone who handles the evidence from the scene to the lab and eventually to the courtroom. This chain of custody is critical for ensuring the integrity of the evidence and its admissibility in court.

6. Difficulty of the Process

The difficulty can vary widely depending on the type of evidence and the conditions of the crime scene. For instance, collecting DNA evidence in a clean indoor environment might be straightforward, while collecting evidence from an outdoor scene affected by weather can be challenging. The process requires meticulous attention to detail, patience, and sometimes creativity to preserve the integrity of the evidence.

7. Recording the Process

NOTE: The entire process is meticulously recorded:

Photographsare taken before and after collecting evidence to show its original state and how it was handled.

Notes and Formsdetail each step taken during collection, including descriptions of the evidence, how it was collected, and any observations made by the CSIs.

Evidence Logstrack the chain of custody, documenting every person who has handled the evidence and when.

Collecting physical evidence is a crucial and often intricate part of the investigative process, requiring specialized skills and tools to ensure evidence is preserved in a way that it can be effectively used in legal proceedings.

Autopsy

An autopsy is usually conducted to determine the cause of death, time of death, and any other details that might be apparent from the body. This can provide critical information about the murderer’s methods and intentions. You will not be describing autopsies. Your characters will not be attending autopsies. Random citizens are not invited to attend autopsies.

However, you should know what helpful facts about the crime might be discovered during the autopsy.

1. Cause of Death:This is the primary goal, determining what caused the person’s death. It could be a disease, a physical injury, poisoning, or another condition.

2. Manner of Death:The autopsy can help establish whether the death was natural, accidental, suicidal, homicidal, or undetermined. This is especially crucial in criminal investigations.

3. Time of Death:While often not as precise as depicted in fiction, estimates can be made based on body temperature, rigor mortis (the stiffening of muscles after death), and livor mortis (the settling of blood in the lowest parts of the body).

4. Injury Analysis:The pathologist examines the body for injuries or signs of violence, such as stab wounds, gunshot wounds, signs of strangulation, or evidence of blunt force trauma. The characteristics of these injuries can indicate the type of weapon used and sometimes the sequence of events.

5. Toxicology Results:Chemical analysis of tissues and fluids can reveal the presence of drugs, alcohol, poisons, or other substances, which can be crucial in determining cause and manner of death.

6. Identification of Diseases:Autopsies often uncover diseases or medical conditions that might have contributed to the person’s death or were simply undiagnosed during their life. Detailed examination of organs and tissues can reveal signs of diseases such as heart disease, cancer, or infections, providing insights into the person’s health prior to death.

7. Confirmation of Identity:Though usually known before the autopsy, in some cases, the process can help confirm the deceased’s identity through dental records, surgical implants, or unique physical characteristics.

The findings from an autopsy can be pivotal in criminal investigations, helping to clarify the circumstances of the death and providing crucial evidence for legal proceedings. Moreover, in non-criminal cases, autopsies can provide families with closure or understanding about their loved ones’ final moments and contribute to medical knowledge.

However, while autopsies provide a wealth of information, there are limits to what they can reveal: exact time of death; psychological state of the victim or perpetrator; detailed circumstances of death; exact cause in complex cases; long-term effects of injuries or poisonings; some neurological conditions; privacy and personal experiences.

In other words, the results of an autopsy must be combined with other investigative techniques to form a complete picture of the events leading to death.

Witness Interviews

Your character will almost certainly be interviewed by the police at least once. If they become a prime suspect, they will be interviewed again, and possibly even interrogated (which is a much more intense experience). It’s important to understand what information detectives are trying to gather during those initial interviews. They are not expecting to hear a confession, although in real life that does occasionally happen.

Through the interview process, detectives attempt to gather comprehensive information to piece together what happened before, during, and after a crime. Each witness can offer a unique perspective, so detectives try to cover a wide range of questions to construct a detailed picture.

Here are some of the key facts detectives attempt to learn during these interviews:

1. Witness Identification and Background:Basic details about the witness, including their name, age, address, and relationship to the crime scene or victim. This helps establish their potential bias or reliability.

2. Details of the Event:Detectives ask for a step-by-step account of what the witness saw, heard, or experienced. This includes actions, conversations, or any specific details about the crime itself.