Attention to Detail

Death investigations are never an easy task, but if done correctly, the outcome of the case will be successful, said Jim Sparks, a certified crime-scene analyst and senior crime scene technician with the Louisville Metro Police Department.

“The officers and first responders have a lot coming at them,” Sparks said. “The so-called death scene can be several things. It can be a homicide, a suicide or natural causes … so you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

The primary elements in a scene involving a death include scene safety, isolating and securing the scene, minimizing the number of people who enter the scene and documenting the scene.

Scene Security

Once an officer has determined a death has occurred, they must secure the scene, which includes rendering necessary first aid, suspect apprehension (assuming the person is in the immediate area) all while maintaining scene integrity. 

“That is where crime-scene management comes into play,” Sparks explained. “When they get to the part when they know it is a valid crime scene, they need to isolate, secure and contain it.”

Louisville Metro Police Department Senior Crime Scene Technician Jim Sparks said scene security and safety are two of the most important elements of any death investigation. He also said establishing a single scene entry and exit point is critical. (Photo by Jim Robertson)

Often, they perform this task while working on mobile data terminals, radios and answering phone calls from their supervisors, Sparks said.

Securing a scene is where law enforcement breaks out the yellow tape, and Sparks said there is a method to the madness.

“I have a moniker I call the law of halves,” he said. 

The law of halves involves yellow tape placement, Sparks explained.

“If the crime scene is 100 feet, then I go out 100 feet, then go an additional 50 feet and set up the first barrier tape,” he said. “Then I would go beyond that, and you would use your best judgment, and set up the second barrier tape. The second barrier tape is where the public and media would be.”

The area between the two barriers of tape is the staging area, an area where detectives and crime-scene unit personnel meet, Sparks said.

Once the scene is established, it should be secured and isolated, Sparks said.

“You want to eject everyone that is not essential out of the scene,” he explained. “You want to keep it as clean as possible.”

A detailed scene log must also be kept, Sparks said. 

“Document whoever comes across the yellow tape,” he stressed. “If the chief comes out there, you log them in. You’re legally documenting whoever entered the crime scene. If you are in an outdoor situation, and you have a scene that is a block or two long, you have officers putting up tape down the block. You need to instruct them nobody crosses that barrier tape, and I mean nobody. They must enter and exit at an established point.”

Evidence

Establishing the barriers helps maintain the most important type of evidence – the physical evidence.

Sparks said there are four main categories of evidence in every case. Each type has a crucial role to play in a case.

Physical evidence is the most critical of the four, Sparks said.

“Physical evidence establishes a crime has taken place,” he explained. “It links the victim to the crime scene, and it also links the perpetrator to the crime scene.”

When it comes to physical evidence, scene security with controlled entry and exit points are of the utmost importance, Sparks said.

“It’s a scientific principle – the Locard Exchange Principle,” he said.

Dr. Edmond Locard was a pioneer in forensic science. He formulated the basic principle in forensic science as “Every contact leaves a trace.” 

“Every time you go into that scene, you are introducing contaminants into it,” Sparks explained. “Conversely, every time you leave that scene, you’re taking stuff out.

Louisville Metro Police Department Crime Scene technicians Stephanie Silsby, left, and Jim Sparks, right, talk about the evidence Silsby is working on. (Photo by Jim Robertson)

“I work with a lot of our cold case detectives, and they’ve been working on a homicide case that is 10 or 20 years old, and it comes down to a hair on a sock,” Sparks continued. “We can get DNA off that hair, but the case comes down to a single fiber of hair, and now you (the patrol officer) go stomping through that crime scene, and through static, that hair attaches to your pants, and you walk out without knowing it. That is why we want to try to minimize access to that scene.”

There are many things a patrol officer can do to help the case, Sparks said. For example, they a piece of evidence such as a shell casing, they can use their business cards and fold them in half to mark the location.

“If you chase someone, and they throw drugs or a handgun over in a bush, you know where it is, and you can place another officer there to secure it and make sure no one illegally takes it or tampers with the scene,” Sparks said.

The other three classifications of evidence are testimonial, documentary, and demonstrative.

The testimonial is simply that – statements from witnesses and suspects on the scene.

“That is why you Mirandize the individual,” Sparks said. “You tell them their rights.”

Documentary evidence is any material that may be available at the scene—for example, surveillance camera footage or a suicide note.

Demonstrative evidence is often used in court where legal counsel asks the officer to demonstrate something for the court, such as what they did to take the suspect down, Sparks said. 

Documentation and the Five Senses

More often than not, a patrol officer will arrive on the scene long before a detective or crime scene technician. From the moment they arrive, they must start documenting the scene.

Crime scene technician Stephanie Silsby performs detailed photography on collected evidence in a case she is working on for the Louisville Metro Police Department in the crime scene lab. (Photo by Jim Robertson)

“I tell patrol officers that if they have a camera issued to them, take as many photos as quickly as they can, with the understanding they have many responsibilities on them, to begin with,” Sparks said. “As people come in, such as fire, EMS, and detectives, they are introducing all kinds of outside stuff to that crime scene, and it’s being contaminated. If officers can take some photos of that scene before anyone else arrives, the old saying of a picture is worth a thousand words comes into play.”

Note-taking must be beyond reproach for the good of the case, officer and agency, Sparks said, adding that after a while, the many different scenes begin to blur together.

“I’ll get subpoenaed, and I’m like, ‘Did I go to that scene?’ The report says I did, but I don’t remember it,” Sparks said. “In Louisville, there are so many of those cases. If you’re in a small town, that might not be the case.”

Good initial note-taking can aid the detectives once they arrive on the scene.

Taking detailed notes and using your five senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste – can be critical to a case.

If you go to a scene where smoke is involved, and maybe there is a metallic taste in your mouth. Is that not important to note?” Sparks asked. “It sure is. While it may not mean diddlysquat to you, an investigator will say, ‘There is a certain chemical that causes that,’ and unbeknownst to you, it could be very critical. So put it in your notes.”

Smaller Agencies

LMPD has the resources to field a robust unit dedicated to working crime scenes. Many smaller agencies may not have that luxury, but it doesn’t mean the quality of the investigation should suffer.

“I know budgets and personnel limit many smaller departments, but having people who’ve gone through courses like the Kentucky Criminalistics Academy is vital,” Spark said. “(KCA) is where you can learn how to take good, quality pictures with a digital camera, whether it is a point and shoot or a single-lens reflex (SLR). It is as vital as being proficient with your weapon. Your weapon protects you and the camera documents and tells the story. (Officers) need to know how to do it.”

KCA also teaches officer skills such as bullet trajectory and blood-spatter-pattern analysis, Sparks added.

Through proper training and technique, such as photography and note-taking, once the case moves into the trial phase, everything will pay off, Sparks said. Without attention to detail, things could go south in a courtroom.

“Taking good notes helps with memory when it comes to trial,” Sparks said. “It may be a year to two years down the road (before it comes to court), but when you’re trying to remember the details about the scene, taking good, copious notes is very important.”

A wrecked SUV sits in the garage of the Louisville Metro Police Department Crime Scene Unit. Crime scene technicians will go over the SUV for evidence in a case LMPD is working. (Photo by Jim Robertson)