research question: murder investigation

[goofy foot]

Scenario:
A minor is found murdered outside (rural area) near her place of employment (a dude ranch) by a early a.m. jogger. Jogger calls police, which in this case is a small town force that consists of a chief, a couple of investigators, etc. The victim works(ed) at the ranch with an ex-con currently on parole. This parolee had killed the guy who murdered his sister several years ago, served his time, and is now trying to rebuild his life. The police in this town know the parolee and his history.

My questions are:

--I assume the police will be talking to everyone in the area and everyone who knew the victim. How would they go about talking to the parolee? Would they, for instance, tend to grill him more deeply about the crime because of his past?

--Would they ask him to come to the station or would they show up at his house and start asking questions? Would they ask him for a statement? Would they tape-record the session?

--Who would go? Would it be the lead investigator, the chief, and another officer? Two of them? Just the investigator?

--What if they found out while gathering information from the parolee that he had spent time talking to the victim just hours before she was killed? How would they handle this?

--Would they ask him just basic information regarding his whereabouts and whether he saw anything strange, or would they press him for more details?

--Your question: No, the parolee did not commit the crime. But the police and everyone else do not know this yet.

Thanks for any help/information. It is much appreciated!

[retdetsgt]

Scenario:
A minor is found murdered outside (rural area) near her place of employment (a dude ranch) by a early a.m. jogger. Jogger calls police, which in this case is a small town force that consists of a chief, a couple of investigators, etc. The victim works(ed) at the ranch with an ex-con currently on parole. This parolee had killed the guy who murdered his sister several years ago, served his time, and is now trying to rebuild his life. The police in this town know the parolee and his history.

My questions are:

--I assume the police will be talking to everyone in the area and everyone who knew the victim. How would they go about talking to the parolee? Would they, for instance, tend to grill him more deeply about the crime because of his past? Not especially

--Would they ask him to come to the station or would they show up at his house and start asking questions? Would they ask him for a statement? Would they tape-record the session? Depends, if they interviewed him at the station, they would probably record it

--Who would go? Would it be the lead investigator, the chief, and another officer? Two of them? Just the investigator? Probably both investigators

--What if they found out while gathering information from the parolee that he had spent time talking to the victim just hours before she was killed? How would they handle this? Depends

--Would they ask him just basic information regarding his whereabouts and whether he saw anything strange, or would they press him for more details? Depends again

--Your question: No, the parolee did not commit the crime. But the police and everyone else do not know this yet.

Thanks for any help/information. It is much appreciated!

Answers embedded. Every investigation is totally different and there is no way to answer your questions anymore specifically. Everything depends on initial reactions, gut feelings, etc. Nothing is black and white in a homicide investigation. Sorry I can't be more help, but answering most of those in detail would give away investigation techniques I don't care to share with the general public.

[manahmanah]

Police Chiefs don't investigate crimes, they're politicians.....and lousy ones at that.

[retdetsgt]

Police Chiefs don't investigate crimes, they're politicians.....and lousy ones at that.

And look out when they do try to do police work....:rolleyes:

[goofy foot]

Nothing is black and white in a homicide investigation.

This is actually a great answer, and it helps more than you might think. I sort of figured "it depends" would be a common answer, but it's nice to have it confirmed. Thanks again for your time!

[vengeance05]

They probably wouldn't beat him with a telephone book, but that would make for good storytelling. I can provide better ideas for a small fee. Good luck with your fiction novel.