Crime Scene Staging Dynamics in Homicide Cases

410 Pages·2015·25.292 MB·English

by  Laura Gail Pettler

FORENSICS & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
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investigators, homicide detectives, and law enforcement to understand all aspects
of crime scene staging dynamics.
K25052
Laura G. Pettler, PhD
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K25052_cover.indd 1 6/26/15 1:00 PM

Crime Scene
Staging Dynamics in
Homicide Cases

Crime Scene
Staging Dynamics in
Homicide Cases
Laura G. Pettler, PhD
Forensic Criminologist
Monroe, North Carolina, USA
Boca Raton London New York
CRC Press is an imprint of the
Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2016 by Laura Gail Pettler
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business
No claim to original U.S. Government works
Version Date: 20150616
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-1119-7 (eBook - PDF)
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For my Dad, without whom,
my life would not have been possible
and
In remembrance of the victims
In honor of their families
In partnership with colleagues
And in pursuit of truth and justice
This book is thereby dedicated

Contents
List of Figures xvii
Foreword xix
Preface xxiii
Author xxxi
Contributor xxxiii
Section I: INTRODUCTION TO STAGING
1 History of Crime Scene Staging 3
Early Historical References to Crime Scene Staging 4
1514 The Story of Richard Hunne 5
1841 The Story of Mister 5
1859 The Budge Case 6
1882 Bloodstains on the Doorjamb 6
1882 Dr. Carl Liman and Staged Weapons 6
1887 Dr. Eduard R. von Hofman Murder Staged as Suicide 7
1892 Lizzie Borden 7
1902 Glaister 7
1924 Hans Gross 8
1936 O’Connell and Soderman 8
1962 Soderman and O’Connell 9
1972 O’Hara and Osterberg 9
1974 Svensson and Wendel 10
Contemporary References to Crime Scene Staging 10
1984 Puschel, Holtz, Hildebrand, Naeve, and Brinkman 12
1989 Ueno, Fukanaga, Nakagawa, Imabayashi, Fukiwara,
Adachi, and Mizoi 13
1992 Douglas and Munn 13
1996 Geberth 14
1996–2006 Geberth 15
1996 Leth and Vesterby 16
1998 Yamamoto, Hayase, Matsumoto, and Yamamoto 17
vii
viii Contents
1998 Mallach and Pollak 18
1999 Adair and Dobersen 18
1999–2011 Turvey 18
2000 Turvey 19
2001 Meloy 20
2002 Adair 20
2004 Hazelwood and Napier 21
2004 Keppel and Weis 22
2006 Douglas and Douglas 23
2007 Eke 24
2007, 2011 Chisum and Turvey 25
2009 Cobin 26
2010 Geberth 26
2011 Ferguson 27
2011 Pettler 28
2012 Schlesinger, Gardenier, Jarvis, and Sheehan-Cook 30
2014 Chancellor and Graham 31
2014 Ferguson 32
2015 Pettler 36
Summary of Crime Scene Staging Literature 44
References 44
2 Introduction to Crime Scene Staging 49
Introduction 49
Staging versus Scene Alteration 51
Staging versus Precautionary Acts 52
Deception 52
Crime Scene Staging Statistics and No Repository 54
Crime Scene Staging Is a Problem 54
References 57
3 Crime Scene Dynamics 59
Heart of It All: Ethics 59
Death Scene Characteristics Indicative of Homicide 61
Anatomy of a Homicide 62
Physical Evidence 62
Behavioral Evidence 64
Circumstantial Evidence 65
Body as Evidence 66
Staged Scenes versus Other Types of Scenes 67
References 68