Crime Scene Investigator (8 page)

The experience of examining many scenes over a long period of time can build a database in your mind. You have to be careful that this is not corrupted by assumptions that damage your view.

On the question of ‘How fresh is a finger mark?’ there are rarely occasions when the answer can be accurate and specific. If a mark were placed on a newspaper or letter which bore a date then that might indicate the mark was made between that date and the date it was recovered. A mark in blood might indicate that it was deposited whilst the blood was still wet, useful if that time were known. Finger marks in sweat dry out in time and in hot conditions.

All I could say in this case was that the finger marks which I found were clearly visible and still wet when I arrived, to the extent that I needed to let them dry, fearing that I could wipe them away as I tried to develop them so that they could be recovered. And dry in my presence they did. The vehicle itself was clean and I suggested that the marks were made since the vehicle had been washed. The detectives were covering this point, as I had suggested they should do. So, were the marks fresh? Yes, based on my experience and observations within the parameters I had described.

Defence counsel then suggested that I had only examined the small area described by the lady witness who saw the offender fall. He went on to suggest that had I examined further areas of the security vehicle I would have found a large number of fingermarks from many other people who had recently touched it. My statement and evidence in chief contained the factual description of the vehicle and where I had found the finger marks. My notes contained a lot more. To his surprise, I stated that I had examined the whole of the pavement side of the vehicle and had found no more finger marks. The sense of incredulity passed over his expression. His eyes frowned and he said, ‘But Mr Millen, why did you do that? It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.’ My reply was swift and for once it came to me straightaway. ‘Sir, I spend most of my professional life looking for needles in haystacks,’ I said. Shocked and surprised by my retort, he sat down with a slump. He appeared mortally wounded. It is unusual for a barrister to ask a question to which he does not know the answer. But this had done it for him.

My evidence finished and with no re-examination by the prosecution counsel, I left the court.

The defendant was found guilty of the robbery. He wasn’t the only one who probably didn’t sleep too well that night. I trust one barrister at least was polishing up his technique. As for the ruddy-faced juror with the gin and orange takeaway, he probably didn’t care.

Friday evening was traditionally a debrief night in the CID office at Forest Gate Police Station. It usually involved a drink and was a good way to unwind and get to know the close colleagues you worked with.

The CID office at Forest Gate was on the first floor of the small Victorian building. The office stretched almost the whole length of the building. My desk was immediately inside the door, and overlooked the small rear yard. The detective inspectors (DIs), of which there were two, shared an office sectioned off on one side.

It was early evening, the rush hour traffic still clogging the Romford Road outside and the ‘debrief’ was going well. A uniformed officer came into the office and shattered the atmosphere.

Uniformed officers had been called to a house where two bodies were found and a man wielding a blood-stained hammer had been arrested. He too was injured.

The office scattered into action. I grabbed my folder and went straight to my van to make my way to the scene. The traffic was awful. The scene was only a mile or so away but it seemed to take me ages to get through the traffic which clogged up all the side roads.

When I got to the scene, the road was properly cordoned off. Some further details were available. ‘It was alleged’ (a good old police phrase) that the man under arrest had a severe mental disorder. His name was Alan Wood. His wife (Alice) had called their doctor to visit him at their home. It appeared that for some reason the suspect had then attacked his wife and the doctor with a hammer. Both had received serious hammer wounds to the head. The suspect’s wife was dead at the scene. The doctor, although seriously injured, was still alive.

Dr Goss was a well-known medical practitioner in the area. She had run her surgery, serving the people of Forest Gate and Stratford for over twenty years. She was well respected.

The man had been arrested but, given his condition, he was on his way to Whipps Cross Hospital. So too was the injured doctor, but at this stage it was doubtful that she would live.

The scene was preserved, the initial medical response complete and no one else needed to go into the scene at that time. Following a review of what we knew with the DI, I suggested that an immediate priority was to deal with the female victim and the suspect at the hospital. This was based on the fact that the scene could wait (nothing was going to change immediately) but the events unfolding at the hospital could not. I summoned help to attend the scene and then made my way to Whipps Cross as soon as I could. Ideally, I would need a colleague so that one of us could deal with the female victim and one with the suspect. The reason for this is to ensure that there is no contamination between areas which may need examination and comparison later. I did not have that time or luxury. I decided to review that when I got there and see if I could get someone to take steps to advise others so that any evidence was properly preserved for examination later.

When I arrived at the Accident and Emergency department at Whipps Cross the atmosphere was highly charged and sombre. The hospital’s Emergency unit covered a large part of northeast London and was always busy. Now it was full of police as well as medical staff.

Dr Goss was well known to the staff at Whipps Cross, after all she was a doctor, one of their own. I identified myself to the medical staff. Both Dr Goss and Alan Wood were in separate cubicles and were being dealt with by different medical staff. This was an important first step to ensure there was no contamination. However, if the paramedics who attended had dealt with both of them at the scene and then transported both in the same ambulance to the hospital, there would be some contamination. I had yet to find that out. Even if they had, we would have to consider what it meant in the light of what we could or needed to prove. There was a lot of action going on. There was serious concern for the condition of Dr Goss. The looks on the faces of the medical staff said it all. They too were in shock. I didn’t want to interfere in any aspect of their work or distract them in any way, but I was going to be ready to pick up the pieces as soon as the time was appropriate. Whatever forensic issues I had, I would have to wait for the medical team to finish their work and stabilise their patients. I asked to see the medical staff dealing with Dr Goss and I was directed to her cubicle. I decided I would just stand at the entrance to the cubicle so as not to intrude and also to limit any risk of contamination as I still had to deal with Alan Wood. Drawing back the curtain, I found the cubicle full of medical staff standing around Dr Goss’s motionless body. All the attending medical staff were silent and there was little activity. Looking at Dr Goss I immediately realised why. She had a massive head injury, her brain was exposed and there was nothing the medical staff could do. She was alive, but it was only a matter of time, very little time before she died. There was a look of helplessness on the faces of the nurses. Their professional armour breached by the emotion of the situation.

I advised the doctor dealing with Dr Goss that we would need to take some steps to preserve the forensic evidence once she had died, but then I left quietly, respecting the tragedy of the situation that was in its final moments.

As I made my way to the cubicle where Alan Wood was, the doors to the unit flew open and in marched a tall man in his thirties. Scurrying, he looked around frantically. There was fixed horrified gaze on his face. It was Dr Goss’s son, himself a doctor and he was about to hear the terrible news about his mother.

I continued to Alan Wood’s cubicle. As I opened the curtain I found him lying on a couch, with a nurse attending to him. There were three uniformed police officers with him. He was, after all, under arrest. He was on the edge of unconsciousness. Either through his apparent mental condition, drink or drugs, or possibly all three, he was an extremely troubled man. Occasionally, the officers would have to hold him as he roused. His condition was not life-threatening, but he needed care.

Information from the scene and what we were observing at the hospital indicated that, either before the attack or immediately after, Alan Wood had consumed the contents of a tablet bottle. It was not known exactly how many tablets he had taken as the bottle was now empty. His lack of consciousness indicated to the medical staff that he was under the influence of some drugs and they would have to take action.

One of the uniformed police officers there was a friend, John Cronin. I had known John before he joined the police. He was a friend of my young sister-in-law. John was a big jovial man, always with a smile on his face.

I wanted to recover Alan Wood’s clothing as soon as practical. There was also the sticky subject of consent. He was under arrest, but he was also unconscious. The information we had about the whole event was hearsay. That is, it was yet to be determined. As far as I was concerned, I wanted to help establish the truth. For all I knew, the story on which we were basing our actions could be completely wrong. Alan too may have been a victim of an as yet unknown suspect. Taking samples without consent could be seen as contrary to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Although not law at that time, it was due to be so within a few months. We were undertaking to work within its guidelines as, for the first time, it offered protection for the rights of detained persons and the police who dealt with them correctly.

Although Alan Wood could not consent due to his condition, recovering evidence could help establish what happened, what was the truth. It could prove or disprove any allegations. Failure to take action to recover this evidence would make it harder to do so. We might not be allowed to use such samples if consent were not subsequently given by Alan Wood or his legal representative to use them. We also had to be careful that we were not accused of assault by taking the samples without his consent. I explained the situation to the senior nurse and to John and his colleagues. I suggested that we (the police) would advise and help recover the clothing and other samples, some which we would need and some medical staff would need and some we would both need. In order to allow any legal argument regarding the right of the police to take and retain these items, they would all be preserved but left in the secure possession of the hospital staff. This I confirmed with the medical staff and hospital administrator. It was a tightrope walk between the rights of the unconscious Alan Wood and the quest for evidence, evidence which I hoped would establish what had happened, and establish the truth about the events and even the medical condition of Wood at the time of the attack.

At the very least, I would be seeking to retain Wood’s clothing, any blood stains on him (he had no wounds himself) and samples of blood grouping, drugs and urine. Normally these samples would be taken by a forensic medical examiner, but the casualty officer was happy to assist. Any external swabs I could direct or take myself, mindful still that I had no consent, although I did obtain, by phone, the authority of a superintendent. This allowed me to take external (non-intimate) samples of a suspect in a serious arrestable offence, where evidence was likely to prove or disprove involvement. It gave me some protection, although that could be tested in court.

The medical staff indicated to me that they wanted to pump out Alan Wood’s stomach. This seemed like an opportunity to establish not only if he had taken any drugs but what they were and how much. I think when I indicated that I wanted a sample they thought that I wanted just a small pot. I had decided that I wanted the lot. This I found out was likely to be a couple of gallons as they would force water into his stomach through a tube in his mouth and then pump the contents out. I quickly obtained three large clean glass jars from my van. They were designed for debris from fire scenes but they would do for this purpose.

As we began, we got the sad but inevitable news that Dr Goss had died. It was a sobering moment. I ensured that her body would be preserved so that we could examine her and prepare for a post-mortem examination. The Home Office pathologist was going to be busy.

The dynamics of the room changed when the stomach pumping began. I realised that John and his two colleagues moved from around Wood’s head to his feet, whilst the nurse and I found ourselves at the business end of the procedure. I glanced at John and got a knowing smile. We got on with it. We filled nearly all three jars before the nurse was happy that there was nothing left in his stomach.

I recovered some blood-staining from Wood’s forearms as well as his clothing. The medical staff also took the blood samples for blood grouping and also one for drugs. I also managed to persuade the doctors to take a second blood sample for drugs an hour after the first. This, I hoped, would help determine the effect of the drugs on Wood’s action at the time of the attack. Had he taken the drugs before or after? I thought two samples with a known time in between might determine the length of time the drugs had been in his system, indicating whether the levels were increasing or decreasing in his blood. Further timed samples would be better still, but that would be asking a little too much. A urine sample was also needed but that would have to wait until Wood awoke or the medical staff decided to empty his bladder by other means if he remained unconscious. Two blood samples for drugs was one more than the toxicologist normally got.