Writer needs Murder Investigation Advice

[melodychef]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the editing process of writing a romantic mystery and I want to make sure my crime scenes are authentic. I'm looking for experts to advise me about police procedure during a murder investigation. Here are my questions:

A. If a body was found in a place of business (like a Theater) how long would that crime scene be closed to the theater employees and the public?

B. If a murder took place, and then one of the murder victim's friends started getting threatening letters, what would the police do with the letters, and how would they protect the person who's getting the threats?

If you have any thoughts or any procedure rules that might help me, I would be very grateful. You can either post them to this board, or email me at melodychef@gmail.com

Thanks very much in advance,

Melody
www.melodyplatz.typepad.com

[JR_23]

I'm not sure what you mean by the crime scene being, "Authenic." A crime scene could be composed of anything, anywhere, with any amount of people involved, and any amount of evidence.

As far as the other stuff, I'm just a Patrol guy...so I get to just secure the scene and wait until the dicks (detectives) get there :D .

[retdetsgt]

It would be closed for as long as it takes to gather whatever evidence is there. If it's a whodunit, it will probably be closed for about a day or so to make sure all available forensic evidence is found. If there are witnesses, a suspect in custody, etc., it would probably be for only a few hours.

The reason is if there is plenty to put the suspect at the scene, then a microscopic check for that type of evidence is unnecessary.

Another factor might be where the crime takes place. If it is in a small town where resources aren't readily available, it would probably be closed longer. If it is a larger city where skilled crime scene people can be there quickly, that would cut down on the closure time.

Hope that helps.

[retdetsgt]

B. If a murder took place, and then one of the murder victim's friends started getting threatening letters, what would the police do with the letters, and how would they protect the person who's getting the threats?

Sorry, didn't notice the second part until I posted and I can't edit this section... Must be getting old.... :(

The letters would be taken into evidence, but no extraordinary measures would be taken by the police to protect the person. We don't have the resources to do that to everyone who gets threatened. Personally, I'd look at the person getting the letters with a pretty hard eye. Usually, things like that are fabricated in an amateur attempt to throw suspicion off them.

[cecilVA]

Oh come on now RDS...thats how the love story gets started! Some lonely divorced burnt out cop gets told by his gruff captain that he has to babysit some overly attractive woman and they end up falling in love...of course he isn't supposed to get involved. And then he saves her life and they live happily ever after!

[Kimble]

Oh come on now RDS...thats how the love story gets started! Some lonely divorced burnt out cop gets told by his gruff captain that he has to babysit some overly attractive woman and they end up falling in love...of course he isn't supposed to get involved. And then he saves her life and they live happily ever after!

There's your story, melodychef. Just be sure to include cecilVA on the royalties!

[cecilVA]

There's your story, melodychef. Just be sure to include cecilVA on the royalties!

And the lead role in the movie adaptation ;)

[melodychef]

You people are great! Thank you for helping me...and so quickly too.

Now I know where to get my expert police advice. Watch out for me. I'll be back to bug you again. : )

Melody

[JR_23]

Glad we could help...however if you happen to dive into something that I know about or do on a frequent basis, I won't give to much information...not to be a jerk, but some of it I won't share on an open forum.

Your best bet would be to do a ride along, and try to arrange a quick 7 with a detective while you're at it.