Case Study: Murder of Ashley Smith Essay -- Scott Jones, Frederick Joh

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze the practices conducted by law enforcement during the investigation of the murder of Ashley Smith. The following pages will discuss the crime scene investigation, the evidence collection, the investigative steps following the initial crime scene investigation, the interviews of witnesses and suspects, and other strategies performed by the acting case investigators. Constitutional challenges have surfaced regarding specific pieces of critical evidence and a section of this paper will analyze the admissibility of this evidence. Lastly this case’s law enforcement processes will be contrasted with textbook processes in an effort to determine the validity of the case’s outcome. The Crime Scene On 11/3/00, two truck drivers discovered the deceased body of fourteen-year-old Ashley Smith in a wooded area behind the Pizza Hut, located on Old Annapolis Rd. Local authorities were dispatched and D/CPL. Glenn Case was designated as the primary investigator on the case. Upon arrival, D/CPL. Case observed that the medical examiner had already examined the body, evidence had been collected, photographs of the crime scene had been taken both on ground and from a helicopter (aerial view), and D/CPL. Case was advised that the victim had not yet been identified. The victim’s body had what appeared to be several stab wounds to her neck and abdominal area. D/CPL Case will later be advised by medical examiners that the victim had been stabbed thirty-four times and had also been manually strangled. The victim’s body was positioned with her head facing towards the Pizza Hut parking lot. The positioning coupled with bloody drag marks on the concrete suggested that the victim had been ... ...e resulted arrest of the suspects reflects this applicably. References Bond, J. (2007). Value of DNA Evidence in Detecting Crime. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 52(1), 128-136. Moston, S., & Engelberg, T. (2011). The Effects of Evidence on the Outcome of Interviews with Criminal Suspects. Police Practice & Research, 12(6), 518 - 526. State by State Compliance. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.vegress.com/index.php/can-i-record-calls-in-my-state Swanson, C. R., Chamelin, N. C., & Territo, L. (2012). Criminal investigation. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Technical Working Group on Crime Scene Investigation (2000). Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement-Research Report (NCJ 178280). Retrieved from U.S. Department of Justice website: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/lab/forensic-science-communications/fsc/april2000/twgcsi.pdf