The crime scene and preliminary investigation.

The crime scene and preliminary investigation.

The BTK serial case was one that had several unresolved murder cases that dated from the periods of the year 1972 to 1991. The serial killer and rapist Denis L. Radar would stalk his victims, and this allowed him to know about the life behaviors and patterns of the would-be victim (137). Once Radar got to know the residence of his victim, he would break into the house, cut the telephone cables and this would prevent the victim from calling out for help (137) Due to the weak criminal analysis that presided during the initial years of Radar’s serial killings, the cases would go unresolved until one cold case file of a murdered woman in 1986 was reopened in 2004. The important investigative steps that led to the arrest of was the collection of the DNA specimens that the serial killer left in various crime scenes. Through the DNA sample collected under the fingernails of one of the 1986 victims, it indicated that it was the same DNA found in previous crime scenes in the previous years of 1974 and 1977. (137).

The important functions of patrol officers at a crime scene are accessing the scene and later determine if the scene is a crime scene or not. If the scene is found to be a crime scene, they will take photographs of the scene, collection of evidence that might be present at the crime scene such as weapons and placing DNA samples in their appropriate containers, special handling of DNA samples which might be found on walls or floors of the crime scene, interviewing of witnesses, recording the facts of the crime, reporting the crime incident to other police officers, securing of the crime scene until some other form of relief arrives, relaying of investigation clues to other police officers since the patrol officers are always the first to arrive at a crime scene, assisting the victims found at the crime scene, and writing down the facts that are found on the crime scene. 139

A dying declaration is a statement made by a victim who is assaulted in a life-threatening manner and is about to die, hence the victim gives the name of a suspect who might have attacked them. It is a credible source of evidence since most victims who are about to die do not give false information. 142

Individuals have different fingerprints due to the genetic and womb pressure that each person faces while in the womb.

Modus operandi is a Latin word that means mode of operation. The phrase is used in police work to describe the characteristics, patterns, and behavioral patterns of a criminal’s work. 137.