 Military police station, Sergeant Martin speaking. I hope you sir. This is first Sergeant Hankins headquarters company, US Army Garrison. Look, we've got a possible murder here in the unit. They have already called for a doctor and ambulance a few minutes ago. A violent crime or death means that CID's special agents will be called to the crime scene immediately. A competent crime scene investigation demands specialized training, an understanding of basic procedures, and close attention to detail while carrying them out. During the initial phases of processing the crime scene, the critical tasks were performed in a logical and systematic manner. These included initial notification, verifying the crime scene as reported, noting weather conditions, identification of persons at the scene, setting up crime scene security, and initial observation of the crime scene. The absence of signs of life were immediately verified and procedures coordinated with the doctor. The scene was photographed and documented in the photo log and sketch. Overall observations were recorded. The crime scene was measured, evidence triangulated, and the data recorded. Evidence was collected, identified, preserved, and accounted for. The body was processed and accompanied to the morgue. And finally, rechecks of the immediate crime scene were conducted until the results were negative. After thoroughly processing the interior crime scene, where specialist Williams was found apparently shot to death, CID special agents Franklin and Bruce are ready to process beyond the immediate scene. The window could have been used as a possible route by the perpetrator. Right. I'll take the camera and get the floodlight from the vehicle. The sequence of any crime scene search depends on the particular circumstances, such as the security difficulties, oncoming darkness, and changing weather conditions. This may require investigators to begin searching beyond the crime scene immediately after rendering aid to injured persons or confirming death and verifying the crime scene. In this case, with security established from the outset and stable weather, the investigators chose to process the interior scene first. But even at night, scene investigators should make every reasonable effort to locate evidence outside. Waiting until daylight may put any evidence found in legal jeopardy. Also rain, wind, or other natural events could change or destroy evidence. In any case, the investigators will keep the scene secured and conduct their final search during daylight. A detailed search is made along any possible path of flight, where the perpetrator may have discarded evidence. If assistance is needed in the search itself, everyone participating is briefed on what sort of evidence is being sought, how it may have been hidden, and what to do and not to do if anything is found. Suspected evidence is never touched or moved. The first action is to secure the area and inform the crime scene investigator. There are several methods of search, the strip, the grid, the circle, and the zone or sector search. The senior agent in charge will determine which method of search will be used. For this area, the strip search has been selected. In a large outdoor space such as this, it's advisable to divide the area into strips about four feet wide. The searcher then sweeps back and forth across each strip. There's some footprints in the soft soil here. We can get impressions of these. Not much fine detail, so plaster pairs should be good enough. OK, but remember, those impressions are fragile, especially in soft soil. I'll photograph and document them while you get the casting equipment. Right. The impression of a footprint at the scene might be evidence linking a suspect to the crime. But to confirm that, it must be examined and compared with other evidence by a crime lab examiner. The primary concern after finding an imprint is to protect it from alteration or destruction. The first step is to take a series of photographs to establish the relationship of the footprints to other objects. Show maximum detail and a sense of size. Secondly, the impression is triangulated, entered in the notes and on the rough sketches. Finally, the investigator casts the impression following prescribed procedures. Before the cast is dry, the investigator marks it with his initials, the date, time, and an arrow indicating the compass direction of north to establish orientation of the footprints at the scene. There's a fibrous drain and a possible blood stain here in the window. Also, tool marks here in the window frame in the damaged lock suggest that the window was jimmied. Should we take the whole thing out? If it is small enough, the entire item showing tool marks should be sent to the crime lab. Original evidence is always more useful for evaluation than a photograph or a cast. When items are too large to send, it may still be possible to remove a section for examination by the lab. A large enough piece of the surrounding area is also removed to prevent bending or splintering of the tool marked evidence. This could be the tool that jimmied that window. This is just too easy. The investigators must describe, photograph, triangulate, and sketch the lug wrench before moving or touching it. It is then carefully collected and examined for additional or trace evidence and marks or features not previously visible. The lug wrench is then carefully checked for additional and or trace evidence, additional marks or features recorded, dusted for latent prints, marked for future identification or containerized, and the container marked for identification, tagged with the DA Form 4002 and later entered on the DA Form 4137. Related to crime scene investigator, I've just located a revolver in the branches of a bush, approximately 10 feet from the sidewalk. That will be just about halfway between your location and the parking lot. Make a police. Spread this for me. Thank you. All right, I'm ready. Ha, ha. Look out. All right. Better take an evidence shot, establishing location than close-ups with and without the ruler. Enter the data in the photo log, and we'll need a separate rough sketch of the bush and the revolver on the ground. Is it necessary to take measurements and triangulate the revolver since it's fallen from the original position? Well, it is necessary to measure the diameter and height of the bush and fix its location by triangulating from the base edge of the sidewalk here. We can then triangulate the revolver by using the fixed points along the sidewalk and the trunk of the tree. I'll also make a specific entry in the notes explaining how the revolver fell out of the bush. The value of firearms evidence is dependent on its proper recovery and handling by the investigator. Legal and scientific requirements must be observed with particular care. Before picking up a firearm, the position of the hammer should be noted as being down, half-cocked or fully cocked. OK, ready to collect the revolver? Firearms must be picked up with care to preserve any prints or other trace material, and of course, to avoid an accidental discharge. A handgun should be lifted by either the checkered part of the grips or the edge of the trigger guard, areas that don't usually yield useful prints, but never place any object into the barrel of a gun. Next, determine if the firearm is loaded or not. With revolvers having loaded cartridges or fired cases, a diagram is made of the rear face of the cylinder showing the position of the loaded cartridges or cases with respect to the firing pin, and an arrow is scratched on each side of the rear face of the cylinder lying under the firing pin. This should also be indicated on the diagram. Finally, dust for any latent prints on the weapon. If it's decided to mark the cartridges themselves or containerize each item separately, a separate number should be added to match those assigned to the chambers of the cylinder. The investigator also determines whether to mark the revolver itself for identification or containerize it and mark the container. Want a container for the revolver too? No, I'll mark it directly. With direct marking, he must inscribe his initials, date, and time on all major interchangeable parts of the weapon that normally leave in prints on the bullet or cartridge cases. When the preliminary outside search has been completed, the investigators must make sure the crime scene remains secure until daylight when a final outside search will be conducted. In the meantime, the special agents are ready to finish up their job inside. We'll keep the whole crime scene secured, at least until the autopsy is done. I'd better take care of the necessary coordination now. Right. In the meantime, I'll get the evidence and the equipment packed and ready to go. Great. And would you double check all of our notes, sketches, and photos to make sure there's no conflicts between the documents and the sequence in which we process, tagged, and label all the evidence? We'll do it. Good. When working a death investigation, the crime scene is always secured until after the autopsy is completed. At that time, a final search of the crime scene may be indicated. Sir, we're about to finish for now. As you know, the inside and outside crime scenes must remain secured until at least tomorrow. We'll make a final outside search in the morning. I understand. I'll coordinate that with the Provost Marshall. Thanks, sir. Remember that military police personnel will likely be key witnesses in court. Their notes, observations, and actions taken at the scene will be vital. Official duty rosters, including shift changes and security instructions, should also be available. The agents also work with the individual who is responsible for the building and area where the scene is located. When circumstances eventually justify releasing the scene, the full identification of the responsible person to whom the scene is released is documented. Only then are the crime scene security personnel released from duty. All right, I guess we're ready to go. Special crew, thanks for your help. Investigators take every precaution to protect evidence from alteration. This includes avoiding the use of unclean containers that might introduce chemical or bacterial contamination or allow spillage, evaporation, or seepage of a sample. In packing or transporting evidence, any bending, scratching, or cross-touching of evidence items is avoided. All physical evidence will be recorded on an evidence property custody document, regardless of how it is obtained. When heat seal bags are used to containerize evidence, procedures provided with the equipment will be followed. Evidence to be submitted to the crime lab for serological tests will not be sealed in any type of plastic container. Except in unusual cases, physical evidence will be released to the evidence custodian not later than the first working day after it is acquired. Evidence acquired during non-duty hours will be secured in a temporary evidence container. It will be controlled by the CID agent. At least one special agent with detailed knowledge of the crime scene must be present to brief the pathologist prior to the autopsy. Polaroid photographs of the crime scene will give the pathologist a better grasp of the overall aspects of the incident. The clothing and exposed parts of the body are examined again by the special agent for any trace evidence. Doctor, we'll perform the gunshot residue test now. The gunshot residue collection kits used by the criminal investigation command have all the items needed to detect primer residue, which can indicate if a suspect is handled or fired a weapon. The test involves simply swabbing the victim's hands and collecting the residue for shipment to the crime lab for analysis. The crime lab's trace evidence branch advises that the primer residue test should be performed on living subjects no later than six hours after the incident. There is no time limit on deceased persons. Doctor, we think a bullet's still in the body. All right, let's do the body x-rays. The clothing is then removed. Care is taken to avoid tearing or cutting of clothing items. If a cut must be made, stained areas and points of obvious damage, such as weapon or bullet holes, should remain intact. When garments are wet or bloody, they are laid out flat on a clean sheet of wrapping paper to dry in a ventilated space at room temperature. They should never be shaken out. Dry clothing can be folded, but do not allow stained areas to contact each other. Each item will later be wrapped separately in clean paper and recorded on form DA4137. Once the victim is undressed, the body is carefully examined by the pathologist and special agent. Any marks or wounds must be described in the notes. A medical wound chart prepared by the pathologist provides an accurate record. Next, close-up photographs with and without a measuring device must be taken of each wound. Doctor, we'll need hair samples from the victim's head, arms, chest, and back of hands in addition to fingernail scrapings from each finger. Fine. What about blood samples? Right, blood samples as well. We'll take major case prints after you finish the autopsy. Fine. It's important that investigators remain during the autopsy procedure itself. They must take appropriate photographs and make notes on the cause and estimated time of death, the depth and nature of the wounds, and any other contributing factors described by the doctor. The bullet went through his heart, so I would say he died instantly. Any spent bullets or other objects recovered during the autopsy are usually identified as evidence by the pathologist and released to the investigators. Please record this evidence on year 4137 and we'll need the doctor's signature in that chain of custody when he finishes up. So far, there have been three separate DA Form 4137s completed pertaining to the same investigation, one for the crime scene, the one completed when the body was undressed, and this one prepared for evidence received from the pathologist. Any evidence that should be technically examined or analyzed at a crime laboratory should be processed as soon as possible for submission to the supporting US Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory. Physical evidence will be released to the evidence custodian for accountability purposes before it is submitted to a laboratory for analysis. The lab will not make final disposition of any item submitted unless canceled by the contributor. A laboratory report will be prepared for all cases and return to the requester along with the evidence submitted. I suspected both Bachman and Edwards during the early stages, but I never expected a lab report like this. I can understand that. But the physical evidence and the report from the lab not only associates Edwards with the crime but places him at the scene. I hear you. It goes on. The composition of the fiber strands from the window frame matches Edwards sweatshirt, and the unique frayed ends of the fiber match the torn area. That makes the tear on the sweatshirt one of a kind. Not to mention the chemistry examiner reporting that the bloodstain in the window is type AB. And Edwards is the only person on the case with that blood type. Uh-huh. Plus, the revolver, lug wrench, and the trophy from the shelf all carried good enough ridge characteristics to identify the prints as Edwards. Did the latent prints on the inside of the windowsill belong to Edwards? Right, according to the report. Edwards must have touched the glass as he pulled himself through from outside. We already know that the revolver wasn't registered with the Provo Marshal's office. But now we have proof that Edwards bought it from a pawn shop two months ago. And the firearms examiner confirmed that the two bullets were from the revolver. You were right about the cocaine, too. High quality stuff. OK, let's see if the hypothesis we've developed fits the framework of these facts. Now, we know that Backman and the deceased probably would deal. The success of any investigation is always dependent on the intellect and experience of the investigator, who must develop a hypothesis that will serve as the initial framework. That hypothesis, based on the crime scene investigation, is simply a set of reasoned assumptions concerning how the crime was committed and the general sequence of events. But you think we should tell the CQ something happened? Hey, we're going to make it to the fuzzy duck where the action is. Maybe I'll get you there later, after I shower up. Well, I'll tell the CQ about Williams. We know Edwards left the others at that point. Maybe he figured he could grab some of the cash, or even drugs from Williams' room, and it would be blamed on Backman. But why didn't he use the door? Too risky. He probably figured he could check out the situation first through the window. OK. So he looks in and finds Williams out cold, as Backman claims, and the money on the table. He knew he had to move fast, so he probably went to his car for a tool to jimmy the window. And somewhere along the line, picked up his gun. Maybe it was in the car. Edwards probably cut himself going in or out the window, which is how the AB blood got there. OK. Once inside, he pockets the cash. But instead of just leaving, he must have started to search for drugs or more money stashed in the room. Whatever it was, Williams must have caught him. After that, a lot of things could have happened. The angle of the bullet hole in the wall, the positions of the cartridges, and the fired case and revolver all indicate that Edwards must have missed with the first shot. Yeah. Well, I think our general theory of events here seems reasonable. But I'm still not satisfied about that shot the witness heard when Backman was in the room. Yeah, I forgot about that. You know, we performed the gunshot residue test on Backman within the six-hour time limit. And the lab results show negative. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Remember those manuals we found on the floor of the crime scene? Yeah. They could have fallen down when Backman and Williams scuffled, right? Maybe. Could be. Under the circumstances, that sound could very well be perceived as a gunshot. Let me check some of these facts again. I don't think Edwards will confess, or even acknowledge any guilt in this crime. That remains to be seen. I briefed his commanding officer in the case and made arrangements if he want Edwards for questioning. The commander advises the appropriate charges will be brought against Edwards, even if he declines to be questioned. I know you've been talking to the staff up at the judge advocate's office. What advice are they offering? With the quantity of valuable physical evidence we've got in this case, an outright confession from Edwards may not be necessary for conviction. When we talk to the witnesses again, we'll try to interrogate him if legally possible. Questioning witnesses and suspects are an investigator's means of obtaining information from or about persons connected with an incident. Technically, we use the term interview when we are questioning witnesses and or victims. The term interrogation refers to the questioning of a suspect. No law enforcement official may interrogate a suspect without informing them of the nature of the suspected offense, the right to remain silent, and that any statement made may be used against them. A suspect in custody has a right to counsel. The suspect may not be questioned unless he or she has waived these rights. All right, wait. Before you go any further, I want to tell you what happened. I went in there just to see if he was OK. But he thought I was trying to rob him. I was lucky I had something with me to protect myself. I had to kill him before he killed me. The resolution of this case by CID special agents has grown directly from their methodical processing of the crime scene, which involved investigating and recording by the foremost common means, investigative notes, photographs, sketches, and evidence custody documents. The critical tasks were performed in a logical and systematic manner, including initial notification, verifying the scene, noting weather conditions, identifications and status of persons at the scene, setting up security, and initial observation of the crime scene. The absence of signs of life were immediately verified and actions of the doctor coordinated. The scene was photographed and each photo documented in the photo log and rough photo sketch. The overall observations of the scene were properly recorded. The crime scene was measured, evidence triangulated, and the data recorded in notes and sketches. Evidence was collected, identified, preserved, and accounted for. The body was processed and released to the morgue accompanied by a CID special agent. Rechecks of the immediate crime scene were conducted, and the search continued beyond the scene. The autopsy was witnessed, notes and photographs completed, and evidence collected. The crime scene was secured until the investigation was completed. Finally, all evidence was released to the evidence custodian, and subsequently appropriate items were shipped to the crime lab for examination. The lab results were received at the CID office. The crime scene investigation results were tied in with the appropriate interviews and interrogations. Court decisions in recent years have emphasized the importance of physical evidence in the solution of crimes and the prosecution of offenders. Physical evidence can have crucial value in verifying that a crime has been committed, in identifying who committed it, and just as importantly, in exonerating those who did not. To realize the full potential value of physical evidence, investigators, crime lab examiners, and prosecutors alike must join to produce a set of facts that make it unreasonable to believe any conclusion other than the one those facts support. Physical evidence plays a vital role in the investigation and solution of crimes. Trial counsels recognize that collaboration of testimony by physical evidence is essential for the successful prosecution of cases. Cues and counsel, please rise. By the first class, Jeffrey Edwards, it's my duty as military judge to inform you that this court martial finds you of all charges and specifications guilty. Please be seated.