Page 4 of The Scene of the Crime

‘No, sir.’

Anderson frowned. ‘Then you have no recognised expertise in using or giving detectives behavioural advice.’

Jessica noticed Williams’s expression tensing. Anderson was about to continue, but again Williams stopped him. ‘That’s not necessarily correct, DCI Anderson. Tell me, Jess, the case where the profiler was involved, was it the murder of a young woman in Maidstone?’

‘Yes, ma’am, she was strangled to death in her own house with a pair of tights. I was the crime scene manager.’

‘As I recall, the senior investigating officer went with the profiler’s theory, which was . . .’ Williams deliberately paused. ‘The husband had snuck home during a night shift, murdered his wife for the life insurance, then staged the scene to look like someone had broken into the premises and killed her. You told the senior investigating officer you disagreed with the profiler and thought someone else might be responsible, but he ignored you.’

‘In fairness, he listened to what I had to say but disagreed and charged the husband.’

‘But you were right, and he was wrong. Tell us why,’ Williams asked.

Jessica nodded. ‘For me, the crime had none of the hallmarks of a staged scene. I considered that it might have been a burglarygone wrong. A rear window was broken using a lump of wood, which we recovered nearby. I had the window pieced together, found an ear print on it, and the scientist recovered black woollen fibres on the wood, which made me wonder if someone wearing black gloves had been listening for any movement inside the premises, as aburglar might do. The husband went to work at seven p.m. He said his wife told him she was tired and would have an early night. It was possible the wife had gone to bed and turned all the lights off, leaving the premises in darkness and I . . .’

‘How could you know she was in bed at the time?’ Anderson scoffed.

‘I didn’t, and I could still be wrong. However, I noticed the duvet on the left side of the bed was thrown back, and one of the bedroom curtains had been pulled open. Her bedside cabinet had been knocked sideways, and a glass of water was spilled on the floor. I considered the possibility the victim had heard the window break, woke up startled, jumped out of bed and looked out the front bedroom window, thinking the sound had come from the outside. The suspect heard her moving about and entered the bedroom. A brief struggle ensued beside the bed, knocking the cabinet out of position. He then took her into the living room and strangled her with a pair of tights.’

‘The person who killed her could have pulled the curtain open,’ Anderson suggested.

‘I agree that was possible. However, I considered it unlikely that someone who had just committed a murder would pull a curtain open so wide to look outside. If this were the case, I would have expected the curtain to have been pulled back just a few inches.’

‘That makes perfect sense to me. Was any property stolen?’ Morgan asked, while Anderson huffed.

‘The jewellery she was wearing and her mobile phone, which was on a charger in the living room.’

Morgan nodded slowly. ‘And what was the evidence that led you to her killer?’

‘Although we didn’t find any DNA evidence to link another suspect to the crime scene, his mistake was leaving the tights around the victim’s neck. I considered they might not be hers and had the crotch area tested for DNA. The vaginal fluid didn’t match the victim, but it did match a local woman who had a criminal caution for a minor assault. Her boyfriend, who had a record for burglary and assault, was arrested, and his right ear matched the print on the broken glass. We also found black woollen gloves at his flat, matching the fibres on the wood used to break the window.’

‘Did the girlfriend assist the investigation?’ Morgan asked.

‘Thankfully, yes. She said he had come home drunk on the night of the murder and had a scratch on his face. He said he’d walked into a low-hanging tree branch and became physically aggressive when she questioned him further. She also said he had sexual fetishes and liked to put a pair of tights around her neck and tighten them during sex. On one occasion, she found a pair of her tights in his jacket pocket . . . his excuse was that it made him feel she was always close to him.’

‘Did he admit the murder?’ Anderson enquired.

‘No, he tried to blame the victim’s husband but was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.’

‘Why do you think he killed her?’ Morgan asked.

‘He was a heavy drinker with a short temper and sadomasochistic tendencies. It’s possible she may have seen his face and recognised him. He then panicked and strangled her, which may also have given him some sexual gratification.’

‘Was the victim sexually assaulted?’ Morgan asked.

‘I think she may have been, but there was no forensic evidence to support that conclusion.’

‘Then I guess we’ll never know if your profile was correct,’ Anderson said smugly, leaning back in his chair.

Jessica had finally had enough of his demeaning remarks. ‘The jury convicted him on the evidence presented to them . . . not my theory alone.’

‘How did you feel when he was convicted?’ Morgan asked.

‘I felt proud that our scene of crime and forensic teamwork had saved the husband from possibly going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.’

Williams nodded in agreement. ‘Did you receive any recognition for your work on the case?’

‘Yes, the trial judge commended my crime scene investigation, and I was also awarded a Chief Constable’s Commendation.’