Process Server and Investigation
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Process Server and Investigation
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There are important things that all detectives investigating murders, whether law enforcement officials or murder private investigators, must do for a thorough and proper investigation into a homicide. Though not an all-inclusive list and recognizing that all murders can happen under different circumstances which can require investigative techniques, the following is a partial list of best practices for these types of cases:
Many consider DNA evidence to be “junk science” and a discredited method of evidence. Indeed, there are plenty of occasions where it is ineffective and unhelpful, but other forensic experts swear by it and use it to help solve cases. DNA can come from, but is not necessarily limited to, the following sources:
Experts who swear by forensic evidence involving investigative genetic genealogy and DNA often present this evidence in court or even use DNA evidence to construct visual depictions of what the person might look like via services like Othram and Parabon Nanolabs. Indeed, these two companies have helped bring justice to victims and their family and friends over a broad variety of criminal activity.
Many law enforcement agencies and private investigation agencies in Norman, Oklahoma use rape kits to help collect vital evidence. Nurses at hospitals usually facilitate the collection of this evidence, which police and prosecutors often use at trial. Rape kits often collect evidence that may include the following:
The collection of this kind of information, which is vital to helping prove rape or other sexual assault occurred, must happen quickly to properly preserve the evidence. While not absolutely required when securing a criminal conviction if other substantial evidence like video footage, witnesses, and/or perpetrator confessions exist, this evidence sure does come in handy for prosecutors. Indeed, the best criminal defense attorneys in Oklahoma City will even use it to help exonerate their clients, if the DNA and other evidence comes back negative.
While sometimes hard to get, skilled police detectives and private investigators from the best private detective agencies love getting confessions from suspects. While law enforcement professionals must follow certain procedures like reading Miranda Rights, allowing suspects to have attorneys present during all questioning, if the accused criminals desire, not coercing confessions, etc., confessions nonetheless are exceptionally valuable pieces of evidence. This is especially true when other strong corroborating evidence exists to back up the confession itself.
Closed caption television footage and other modicums of privately owned and government-operated video and audio feeds can also help solve crimes. Nowadays, many people use video camera footage to help protect themselves, their loved ones, and their businesses from criminal activity. CCTV footage is an excellent source of evidence, when available, that can incriminate or exonerate criminal defendants going through the legal system. Overall, this type of evidence is something criminologists, courts, and juries accept as very dependable and accurate.
While modern artificial intelligence, also known as AI, can create videos of people and things that never happened, special apps and websites exist to detect AI-created content. This is important, because unless murder private investigators from private detective agencies and their police colleagues check video footage for AI content, an unscrupulous person could try to sneak it in as evidence into criminal trials.
Today’s technology also scans license plates, both on the highways via license plate readers and via satellite technology. Airplanes can also supplement this information, with some governments issuing tickets for traffic violations that aircraft detected.
So, too, can this technology help track potential murderers, and thus a murder private detective must make sure to thoroughly investigate these as part of homicide private investigations. Law enforcement personnel can track both fleeing murders and accused suspects with greater ease, finding out where they are/were before, during, and after the murder occurs.
While some witnesses are more dependable than others, our private eyes and police nonetheless rely upon witness testimony to help piece together puzzles often known as criminal private investigations. If someone sees another person commit a crime, then they can testify in court to a judge or jury about what they saw. Indeed, witness testimony has been a key part of the evidence process since the beginning of American jurisprudence.
However, our private investigators in OKC warn that some people lie for a variety of reasons or might not properly remember what they thought they saw. From jailhouse snitches looking for a lighter sentence to unscrupulous people looking for revenge and even grandma who has dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease, our homicide private eye always stresses that it is vital to properly vet witnesses and to compare what they say to other available evidence.
Cell tower data is another vital component of evidence that the best criminal private detective denotes can show where people were before, during, and after the commission of a crime. This is especially true, because nowadays most people carry their cell phones with them about everywhere they go. Every time they pass by a cell phone tower that helps provide cell phone service, it records that they were in the area and can thus serve as evidentiary proof of presence at or near the scene of a crime at a particular time.
Bryan Kohberger, the brutal mass murderer who brutally slaughtered numerous innocent, young college students at the University of Idaho on November 13th, 2022, as they slept in their beds, thought he was so smart as he tried to circumvent this type of evidence. A murder private investigator near me noted that he turned off his cell phone right before he committed the crime and turned it back on thereafter, making him look incredibly suspicious even though cell phone towers could not place him at the scene of the crime. Of course, his DNA and video footage of his vehicle certainly put him at the scene of the crime, so the police found the psycho anyway.
If Bryan Kohberger had been smarter, he would have left his phone on and just left it at home. At least that would have placed his cell phone tower data far away from the crime scene in a location he would have good cause to be at. But despite being a doctoral student pursuing an advanced degree in criminology, he instead turned it off right before he committed the crime and back on thereafter. His lawyer tried her best to explain this, claiming he had “gone out for a drive” by himself in his lonely, spare time.
Some criminals will also purchase supplies to murder others with before it happens. If a killer used a revolver during the commission of a crime and the prime suspect also purchased a revolver from a nearby store before the crime occurred, the receipts and video footage can become circumstantial or even concrete evidence, if law enforcement or private detectives in Oklahoma City can trace the firearm’s number directly back to the one the murderer used while committing the crime.
Police used Bryan Kohberger’s purchase of a USMC K-Bar knife on Amazon as proof he had committed the crime, even finding his DNA on the knife sheath he accidentally left behind as he fled. Yes, our murder private investigator points out that this oversight was likely Bryan Christopher Kohberger’s biggest mistake.
Likewise, the Guymon, Oklahoma murderers like Grandmother Tiffany Machel Adams, also purchased supplies she and her goons, Tad Bert Cullum, Cole Earl Twombly, Cora Gayle Twombly, and Paul Jeremiah Grice used to murder two innocent females. These sadistic killers bought burner phones, straps for a freezer, and stun guns. Then they brutally slaughtered a mother and her advocate they did not want to have custody of her children.
Alibis are also another method of exoneration that criminal defendants often use, when available, to show they were somewhere else at the time the crime occurred. If the alibis are credible and no other hard evidence points to the criminal defendant, our Oklahoma homicide private detective can use these alibis to help criminal defense attorneys secure a dismissal or acquittal at trial. Indeed, even if other corroborating evidence does exist, credible alibis can provide evidence which contradicts and disputes the prosecution’s contentions.
Motive is another factor that prosecutors, police, criminal defense lawyers, and criminal private detectives at our private investigation agency in OKC must consider when reviewing a person’s legal case. This is especially true for homicide private investigations and other serious crimes like sexual assaults and human trafficking. While the motivations might seem obvious, such as to kill, rape, or exploit, motivation, while not required to commit or prosecute a crime, helps the courts decide whether to prosecute someone and, if so, to what degree.
The staff at our private investigation agency near me point out that people who commit homicide can have motives that include, but are not limited to, the following:
As you can see, our private detectives have identified many different types of motives for one crime – murder. Perpetrators can have many reasons for killing another person, and as our private eyes in Oklahoma pointed out earlier, some motivations like self-defense and non-war crime killings in a war are what society considers noncriminal and thus non-prosecutable.
Fingerprints are another form of evidence that homicide detectives in Oklahoma and law enforcement personnel collect and analyze when conducting murder private investigations. Since every human has different fingerprints, discovering some at the scene of a crime can help point to the killer. However, always remember that if many people had access to the same crime scene, fingerprints might help narrow down the list of suspects but may not conclusively identify who committed the crime.
Shoeprints are another piece of evidence that investigators can use to help determine who killed someone else or otherwise committed a crime. This is particularly true if the alleged perpetrators left footprints in the mud, where a shoe’s tracks clearly show what type of shoes the individual who was in the area wore. Our private investigation agency in Oklahoma City uses footprints and shoeprints as corroborating pieces of circumstantial to both building and refuting criminal cases against accused killers and other alleged criminals.
Having video footage of a particular vehicle speeding away from the scene of a crime, as was the case with convicted sociopathic killer Bryan Christopher Kohberger, can be very helpful to solving criminal cases. Tire prints, much like shoeprints, and footprints, are likewise invaluable pieces of evidence that the best homicide private detectives at our Oklahoma private investigation agency use during criminal cases whenever they exist. Having a clear photo or video footage of the driver of the vehicle while it is speeding away is icing on the cake.
Accomplices are another source of evidence that private investigators in Oklahoma City and police alike will try to use as evidence. If they can get an accomplice to turn on the other perpetrators of crimes in exchange for a lighter sentence via plea deals, then prosecutors can use their testimony as evidence in criminal cases. Indeed, a criminal statute known as “felony murder” in backwards states like Oklahoma means prosecutors can charge people with other crimes, such as homicide, even if they were only the getaway driver and never actually fired a shot at or stabbed anyone.
Often simultaneously loathed and appreciated by law enforcement and Oklahoma private investigation agencies alike are jailhouse snitches. These individuals are already incarcerated in prisons and jails throughout the nation, while other criminal snitches may be out on bond or about to face arrest. Whether on the streets or during incarceration, they may hear things like confessions or other vital information that incriminate suspects. These alleged perpetrators may already be in jail or prison or may have thus far successfully flown under prosecutors’ radar.
In exchange for a lighter sentence or even complete criminal immunity for a crime, law enforcement personnel and prosecutors can offer these individuals incentives for testifying or otherwise providing helpful information that private eyes near me and police can use to help solve crimes. Many judges and juries look at their testimony with skepticism though, and snitches who offer this information often faced reprisals because, as the old saying goes, “Snitches end up with stitches” or even worse, lie in ditches.
Whenever someone uses a firearm to commit a crime, it leaves special gunpowder residue on their skin and clothing that police and the best criminal private detectives can use to help identify and locate a suspected murderer. Indeed, serial killer private investigators and prosecutors alike love using ballistics tests as evidence, especially if the alleged criminal has gunpower on her/his/their hands immediately following a brutal homicide.
Many local, state, and national criminal databases keep things like fingerprints, DNA, photographs, and other identifiable information about criminals in special databases. When someone commits a crime and especially when convicted of felonies, most judges order them to submit DNA samples and other identifiable information. That way, they can link them to other crimes that have no current suspects, as well as to future crimes.
Other criminal databases exist for sex offenders, such as the Oklahoma Sex Offender Registry. This is a system that the rape private investigators at our private investigation agency in Edmond say helps identify convicted sex offenders. That way interested parties can look the up online and know who they are. Perpetrators convicted of especially heinous sex crimes may find themselves forced to register for twenty-five years or life, going to each police department and neighborhood and announcing their sex offender status every time they move.
One of the definite downsides to these kinds of criminal registries, is that it prevents reintegration into society even after they have paid their debts to society by serving jail or prison time. Dating, getting jobs, housing, securing adequate employment, or other basic life functions can become exceedingly difficult.
Indeed, some wayward, self-appointed vigilantes even take it upon themselves to murder people on the sex offender registry, thus becoming brutal murderers themselves. Nevertheless, supporters of these kinds of registries, our criminal private detective says, believe that the benefits to society outweigh the risk to the offenders. Many supporters of sex offender registries contend, “They should have thought about the consequences before the molested that child or raped that person.”
Many larger retailers, like the detestable Walmart, use facial recognition recognition software services to help quickly identify people they have banned from their property. By helping to recognize people who re-enter their stores, they can prevent theft and other crimes.
Governments like those in China, often via their police departments and other law enforcement agencies, also utilize facial recognition software and Google Glass to help recognize people walking down the street. Their use of this technology on everyday people is extremely creepy and alarming, because it invades people’s privacy. Our private investigator in OKC, OK at our private investigation agency in Oklahoma City does not feel comfortable with its use for these circumstances by governmental agencies.
A private eye in OKC can also help determine where someone was by accessing their GPS history on their phone or other GPS devices many people used in cars and other vehicles. If their GPS travel history shows they went to or around the scene of a crime, then it can help implicate them in criminal proceedings.
Likewise, an absence of such information is yet another thing that criminal defense attorneys can use to exonerate their clients, provided that the accused perpetrator did not have prior knowledge of how to travel to a particular location and did not use another resource like the somewhat antiquated MapQuest.
Our sexual assault private investigators also point out that many perpetrators boast about or otherwise discuss their crimes via communication mediums like text messaging, Facebook Messenger, Discord, WhatsApp, and other social media and communicative outlets. They may message others, post comments or photos, or even list their location before, during, or after the commission of a crime.
Indeed, many police also find pornographic photos of children on suspects’ phones, iPads, desktop and laptop computers, and other electronic devices, often implicating them as well. Thus, law enforcement officers will scan cell phones for criminal activity, geocoding, and other evidence they can use at trial against accused suspects they wish to prosecute.
As states earlier, the items our Oklahoma private detective agency has discussed above only constitute a partial list of the types of evidence many murder private investigators near me and police use to help solve a wide array of crimes. This is not a conclusive list, but rather an excellent starting point for potential pieces of evidence that criminal investigators must consider. Every criminal case is different and, as such, may require the examination of different types of evidence.
If you have a criminal case that you need help with, please contact us for more information. Our dedicated homicide private investigator will collaborate with you very diligently to help solve your case, whether you are the grieving family and friends of deceased mass murder victims or a criminal defendant on trial for homicide.
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