Staged Murder Cases: Conflict at the Core of 100%
By Stephen Thornthwaite, LPAteam Blogger
Conflict is found in the empirical data in 100% of all staged homicides (Pettler, 2011; Pettler, 2016). Murder is how the offender resolves the conflict they are having with their victim. However, killing someone inside the same living area shared by offender and their victim, creates a secondary conflict for the offender. The killer is now in direct conflict with the crime scene investigators called to the scene. Staging of the crime scene is how the offender attempts to resolve this secondary conflict and get away with murder. So, how can investigators recognize a staged crime scene? I believe the best thing for all investigators to use even before stepping foot onto the crime scene is, Pettler’s Crime Scene Trilogy.
Pettler’s Crime Scene Trilogy, is a series of three questions that investigators should be actively trying to answer even before they arrive at the scene (Pettler, 2011; Pettler, 2016). The first question is
Is someone in conflict with the victim? If so, who? Who is in conflict with the victim?
This is a crucial question to answer regardless, if the death of the victim was reported as a suicide or a homicide.
The second question is
Who discovered the victim dead, injured, missing, etc.?
Empirical studies have shown that partners who were the last to see the victim alive and the first to discover the body is a reoccurring theme in intimicide (Pettler, 2015).
The third question you should ask is
Who reported the death and what was said on the 911 call?
Remember, conflict is present in 100% of staged homicides. Ask yourself, Is the same person who found the body, the same person who he/she had conflict with? Did the same person call 911? If you find the same person comes up as the answer multiple times, after asking these three questions, a red-flag should go-up to alert you that you may be encountering a staged crime scene. Make no conclusions or assumptions before you enter the crime scene, but, getting the answers to the crime scene trilogy of questions will help your investigation immensely.
Every crime scene should be investigated as a homicide. Regardless, of how it was first reported as. A wide net should be cast so no information or evidence is missed. Once a crime scene is turned back over to the potential suspect, any potential or missed evidence is lost forever. There are no do-overs when it comes to crime scenes.
Next blog: Conflict-Resolution-Benefit Matrix
References:
Pettler, L. G. (2015, August 6). Crime scene staging dynamics in homicide cases. Boca Raton,FL: CRC Press.
Pettler, L. G. (2011). Crime scene behaviors of crime scene stagers (doctoral dissertation). ProQuest (2251577601).