On an early Las Vegas morning, Crime Scene Analyst (CSA) supervisor, Joseph Matvay and his team, responded to a call from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and arrived at the scene of an apparent Robbery/Homicide. In the front retail section of the store, the CSAs observed that the cash register had been broken into and emptied of money. Matvay continued the examination of the crime scene by walking to the dimly lit back room. A dead woman lay on the ground, her face and neck brutally mutilated from an attack with a bread knife. Matvay shined his flashlight over her body, the floor, the counter, the cabinets, and the walls, looking closely for all physical evidence that would help tell the dead woman’s story and bring the perpetrator to justice. As Matvay scrutinized one of the cabinets, amongst the blood spatter, he noticed a tell-tale bloody fingerprint.
“Who… are you?” the audience would hear Roger Daltrey sing, if they were watching the critically-acclaimed and Emmy-winning CBS television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. CSI premiered in 2000 and is currently in its eighth season. This popular show has glamorized and brought public attention to the work accomplished, in its entirety, by the Crime Scene Investigation section of LVMPD. In the 1990s, the show’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, was searching for a television show idea. CSI’s creator, writer Anthony Zuiker, followed through with his wife’s suggestion that he explore the idea of a forensic science-based show and spent time with Las Vegas’ Crime Scene Analysts. This experience convinced Zuiker that a forensic science-based law enforcement drama would be successful and CSI wasborne.
The immense popularity of CSI has given rise to a phenomenon called the CSI Effect. The CSI Effect refers to the portrayal of forensic science, its practitioners, and the criminal justice system on many dramatic television series, such as CSI, Cold Case Files, and Law and Order, and how this portrayal has influenced the presentation of many real life trials. Although these shows are reality-based, they often glamorize the field by streamlining laboratory tests or procedures, overstating the accuracy of forensic techniques, and exaggerating the abilities of forensic science. Vincent Roberts, a senior Las Vegas CSA, described the portrayal of just one CSA on television as doing “the work that, in reality, is done by the CSAs AND many other people – including police officers, detectives, and the scientists employed in the Criminalistics Department.” Indeed, the writers of CSI, for the interest of plot advancement and heightened, slick drama, have exercised a fair amount of artistic license.
CSA Roberts gave an interesting example of the dramatic license that CSI has taken with regard to latent (hidden) fingerprint identification. In the show, a latent fingerprint is lifted at a crime scene. The fingerprint is entered into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and a match to a specific person is made within minutes. Additionally, the dramatized AFIS displays on the computer screen that person’s picture and current contact information. Voila! Almost instantly the CSA has a new lead to investigate! In reality, the fingerprint is entered into AFIS and the software creates an algorithm which is used to find the closest possible fingerprint matches within the database. For example, say AFIS determines a total of 50 possible people the fingerprint could belong to. At this point a fingerprint examiner manually examines each possible match to the unknown fingerprint, in order to make a match with a person.
“There’s no better physical evidence than a bloody fingerprint,” thinks Matvay, for a bloody fingerprint was most likely imprinted upon the cabinet close to the time of the woman’s death, which establishes the person to whom the fingerprint belongs to, to have been present at the crime scene. Matvay removes the cabinet from the wall and brings it to the Las Vegas crime lab, in order to preserve and process this possibly valuable piece of evidence. Meanwhile, the woman’s body is transported to the coroner’s office to establish the victim’s identity and the time and manner of her death. At the autopsy, Matvay takes the victim’s fingerprints and compares them to the unknown. The bloody fingerprint does NOT belong to the woman. The bloody fingerprint retains its value. Who are you?
Although the validity of the CSI Effect has yet to be established by more research, the television dramatization of the work done by Crime Scene Analysts has created the need for judges, lawyers, and forensic scientists to educate the public and jurors about the application and abilities of forensic science. Because of the shows, the general public is now aware of certain tests that CSA conduct during their investigations, such as DNA tests, the use of luminol, (a chemical that is used to detect presence of blood not seen with the unaided eye), and the lifting of fingerprints from a crime scene or on objects suspected to have been linked to a crime. However, the public is usually not aware of that.
CSAs do not conduct tests indiscriminately, but rather, must determine on a case-by-case basis, if and when a test should be conducted. CSA Roberts asserts that courts “expect more (education) from forensic scientists, including negative testimony.”
Negative testimonies are statements that explain to a jury why a forensic test was not necessary given the circumstances of a particular case; they are also statements that explain, if a forensic test was conducted, why no results were found. Take, for example, a case in which a violent crime was committed in a victim’s home where the suspect and the victim were known to spend time together frequently. CSA may choose not to dust the entire home for the suspect’s fingerprints, because the suspect’s fingerprints would have been left throughout the home by matter of the suspect casually touching things during visits. However, if a suspected murder weapon was recovered in the victim’s home, then the CSA might determine it relevant to test the weapon for the suspect’s fingerprints, because the presence of prints would confirm, at the very least, that the suspect handled the weapon. Negative testimony is given to explain the logic behind CSA thought and action.
CSI has clearly brought to the mainstream a fascinating world that combines science, violent crimes, and the United States legal system. The show has also affected the way in which the public perceives crime scene investigation. In order to better discern fact from fiction, let’s delve into the world of the real Crime Scene Analysts in Las Vegas. “Welcome to Crime Scene Investigations. Douglas C. Gillespie, Sheriff,” reads the shiny silver letters in the reception room of Las Vegas Headquarters. The unmarked, large buildings that house the CSI facilities are located in a discreet location, not surprising, given the physical evidence – such as blood-stained knives and bedsheets recovered from a crime scene that sit in the drying room, expensive and sophisticated equipment, such as DNA electrophoresis equipment and gas chromatography instruments, and the sensitive information that lies within the CSAs’ minds. The Acting CSA Departmental Manager, Randy McLaughlin, CSA Supervisor Joseph Matvay, and Senior CSA Vincent Roberts, are several of the people who have devoted their professional lives to processing and interpreting the physical evidence, in order to help solve Vegas’ violent crimes.
Who are you? Since the fingerprint did not belong to the victim, it then had to belong to someone who was present at the crime scene. Standard protocol requires that the persons closest to the victim be questioned and ruled out as suspects. The victim’s husband claimed that he was on a business trip to California, buying more products for their fruit and nut store. His alibi proved to be true, as he produced receipts that placed him out of town. Even then, Matvay compared the husband’s fingerprints to the unknown. The comparison did not yield a match and the husband was ruled out as a suspect. Next, Matvay compared all the store employees’ fingerprints to the bloody one. Still…nothing…. No more leads. The case had turned cold. Who are you?
These real Las Vegas CSAs operate in the field of forensic science, which may be defined as the application of science to those criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in the criminal justice system. Science occupies an important and unique role in the criminal justice system, which directly relates to the scientist’s ability to supply accurate and objective information that reflects the events that have occurred at a crime. As scientists, it is the CSA’s responsibility to apply scientific method to their work, summarized as follows:
1. Define the question. The questions CSAs ask include – What occurred at the crime scene and what was the sequence of events? – Who is the victim? – Who is the perpetrator? – What weapons or tools were used to commit the crime?
2. Gather information. A uniformed police officer is the first to arrive at a crime scene and CSAs ask them for any information they may have regarding the crime. They then proceed to examine the crime scene using specific techniques and begin to gather physical evidence. For example, the CSA may observe an unidentified residue close to a hole in the wall.
3. Form a hypothesis. The hypothesis in this case is “A bullet from a gun used in a homicide caused the hole in the wall.”
4. Perform experiment and collect data. The CSA carries in his/her work kit a qualitative test that determines whether or not the unidentified residue is from a gunshot.
5. Analyze data. The residue kit tests for the presence of lead or copper in the residue. If the test is positive, the hole in the wall was most likely caused by a bullet (Bullets are made of mostly lead or copper). If test is negative, then unidentified residue was most likely not left by a bullet.
6. Interpret data and draw conclusions. Test results are positive. Therefore, the hole in the wall was made by a bullet shot from a gun.
CSAs must think in this fashion during each step of an investigation, putting together the pieces with the goal of establishing enough information to reconstruct the events of a crime, submit their findings, and testify to these findings in a court of law competently and without bias.
CSAs operate within the legal system and must adhere to strict legal protocol and procedure during their investigation. Prior to seizing evidence, CSA must make sure that they have a search warrant, (a court order signed by a judge that directs owners of private property to allow the police to enter and search for items named in the warrant). The judge must be convinced that there is probable cause, that a crime has been committed. Additionally, court orders may be required for blood samples, hair specimens, medical tests, teeth impressions, and similar items. Failure to secure a search warrant or court order may result in the physical evidence seized at a crime scene being inadmissible in court. Furthermore, under the “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree” doctrine, any subsequent information derived from illegally seized physical evidence may also be inadmissible in court.
Any physical evidence that a CSA collects must be preserved and labeled according to departmental policy. To ensure that the evidence presented in court is the same as that gathered at the crime scene, a chain of custody is maintained. This “chain” proves to the court the integrity of the evidence, by documenting who had contact with the evidence, at what time, under what circumstances, and what, if any, changes were made to the evidence. The storage of physical evidence also has legal ramifications. It must be held in a specific locked area, called the evidence vault, with access kept to a limited number of authorized persons. Evidence that reasonably may be assumed to have been tampered with by unauthorized persons because it was held in an unsecured storage area may be inadmissible in court.
Who are you? Meanwhile, the man who killed the woman in the backroom of her fruit and nut store arrived home with the stolen money. He casually mentioned to his girlfriend that he had robbed a store. He did not mention to her that he had killed someone. The girlfriend remained silent about the robbery and soon thereafter, the couple moved to North Carolina. The family and friends of the dead woman mourned and moved on without closure… Who are you?
Keeping legal aspects of the job in mind, CSA Roberts asserts that a CSA “must be an excellent generalist,” that is, have enough knowledge about many fields, in order to recognize evidence, understand how to collect it, process it, and analyze the information. Part of a CSA’s job is to recreate the crime scene for a jury in a court of law. Therefore, CSAs must document the crime scene as they found it, taking pictures that show the bigger picture and then focusing on detail. CSAs also write meticulous notes of all observations, as well as draw sketches of the crime scene on graph paper that may later be transformed into a more formal computer graph using Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) software. These are some of the ways in which CSAs document their findings. Now what evidence might a CSA encounter at a crime scene?
A CSA might find human blood that was shed as a result of a homicide. Human blood has specific physical properties and by observing its color and viscosity, blood droplet shape, edge, and size, the surface type upon which blood landed, and blood spatter patterns, a CSA can ascertain much information about a crime. For example, if a victim has been beaten by a blunt object and the force generated as the assailant swings is great enough to overcome the adhesive force that holds the blood to the object, then blood will be flung from the object and form a castoff bloodstain pattern. This pattern can give the CSA important information about the crime, such as the location of the victim and the assailant during the beating. A CSA could also find biological fluids such as urine or semen, fingerprints, unidentified substances in powder, liquid, or gas form, bullet casings, or blowfly larvae within a dead body that can help determine time of death. The CSA must know all the possibilities of what to look for, how to find it and the best method by which to enhance and preserve it as evidence in a court of justice.
Once the CSA has collected the evidence, it is stored securely in the evidence vault and then, if needed, further analyzed by a scientist or examiner in the crime laboratory also called Criminalistics. Las Vegas boasts a modern and fully-equipped crime laboratory. This stellar crime lab contains many specialty departments including in-house photo developing and storage, a fingerprint examiner’s area, DNA and biological substances, firearms, questioned documents (for examination of handwriting and validity of documents), trace analysis, and toxicology. Additionally, the CSA spends a fair amount of time at the Clark County coroner’s office, where the CSA attends and photographs autopsies to confirm time and manner of death. Once all the information about a crime and physical evidence has been gathered, the CSA combines knowledge and reason to reconstruct the events of a crime.
The work of a CSA is often tedious, requiring great patience and flexibility. A successful CSA must acquire a wide knowledge base and apply intelligence and intuition when unveiling the truth behind a crime. They must have a desire to learn and think in a clear and unbiased fashion. Every day the men and women of the Las Vegas Crime Scene Investigation section witness the violence and destruction that humans inflict upon each other. Because they so frequently see death and the ugly side of human nature, they must stay positive and find healthy ways of coping, whether by discussion with peers or by pursuing their own passions and interests outside of work. By finding a balance and by developing mental and emotional fortitude, CSAs may stay resolute in their purpose to ensure that justice is served.
Who are you? “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury, like a woman scorned.” (William Congreve, 1697) Seven years later, the man who killed the owner of the Las Vegas fruit and nut store and the man’s girlfriend ended their romantic relationship. Although the now ex-girlfriend had remained silent for seven years, she no longer felt obliged to keep the robbery her ex-boyfriend had committed to herself. Sweet, sweet revenge. The woman alerted the police authorities in North Carolina of the Las Vegas robbery seven years prior, giving them her ex-boyfriend’s personal information. The North Carolina police authorities alerted the Las Vegas police of this new possible lead to a case that lay unsolved. The Las Vegas police reopened this cold case. Matvay compared the suspect’s fingerprint that was on file in Las Vegas’ database to the unknown fingerprint. After several painstaking hours of analysis, Matvay determined that one of the suspect’s fingerprints MATCHED the bloody fingerprint. The WHO was solved. SLV |
