crime scene

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Crime Scene Investigator Preps for Murder Probes in Space
Future Space Criminals
Will Face 'Astroforensics'
NEW STUDY
Mar 12, 2024 1:18 PM CDT

Future Space Criminals Will Face 'Astroforensics'

Crime scene investigator Zack Kowalske has been testing blood spatters in zero gravity

(Newser) - The emerging field of astroforensics will be called upon whenever humanity faces its first murder in space. Until that time, Zack Kowalske, a crime scene investigator in Atlanta, says "broadening the understanding of all forensic sciences in nonterrestrial environments is critical as we expand into a space-faring species."...

At Sandy Hook, They Saw the Horrors We Can't Possibly Imagine

The 'New York Times Magazine' speaks to the crime-scene investigators

(Newser) - The horrifying scenes of school shootings are impossible to picture for all but a few people: those tasked with meticulously documenting the scene. In a lengthy piece for the New York Times Magazine , Jay Kirk recounts what Detectives Art Walkley and Karoline Keith and Sgt. Jeff Covello took on when...

'Vigilante' App Raises Eyebrows in NYC, LA

Controversial neighborhood-watch app pays users to livestream crime scenes, other emergencies

(Newser) - There's a new twist to local journalism in New York City and Los Angeles, and it's raising eyebrows. Citizen, which already has upward of 7 million users in dozens of US cities, promises safety alerts in real time, but recent job listings seen by the New York Post...

Deputy Actions at Kobe Bryant Crash Scene Will Be Illegal

Law bans unauthorized photos of accident or crime scenes

(Newser) - Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva's wish has come true . Beginning Jan. 1, it will be illegal in California to take unauthorized photos of a crime or accident scene, as occurred in the aftermath of the Jan. 26 helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and...

She Fell Out of Burning Car: 'He's Poured Petrol on Me!'

Ex-rugby player, wife, their 3 young children die after car fire in Brisbane, Australia

(Newser) - A former rugby player for the New Zealand Warriors, his wife, and their three young children have died after a car fire, and Australian police say they're now treating the site of the deadly blaze as a crime scene. Per the Australian, via the New York Times , witnesses who...

Sorry, Dexter: Blood Spatter Analysis May Be Bogus

ProPublica looks at how one man nearly single-handedly created the field

(Newser) - It looks like unassailable science when presented on shows like Dexter or CSI, and, far more significantly, in countless courtrooms across the nation. But as a report in ProPublica explains, the science behind blood-spatter analysis may not be as sound as people think. The story looks at how one man,...

Bird Takes Off With Knife From Crime Scene

 Bird Takes Off 
 With Knife 
 From Crime 
 Scene 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 26, 2016 1:49 AM CDT

Bird Takes Off With Knife From Crime Scene

Cops had to chase city's 'most notorious crow'

(Newser) - The CBC describes Canuck as "Vancouver's most notorious crow," and it's not hard to see why: After cops in the Canadian city shot and injured a man who confronted them with a knife on Tuesday, a crow believed to be Canuck—because of a distinctive red...

When the Long-Dead Are Finally Found, He Cleans Up

Scene Clean goes in when the cops leave

(Newser) - "Diabetics' bodies have a stronger odor when they decompose. There’s certain diseases that smell stronger." That is one of the things Nate Berg has learned over the past three years of cleaning up after the dead. Berg is president of Scene Clean, a Minnesota biohazard business that...

7 Dead in Christmas Shooting

Apparent shooter was among the victims

(Newser) - Police found seven people dead today in a grisly Dallas-area Christmas shooting, the Dallas Morning News reports. Authorities have not yet identified the bodies of four men and three women in the apartment, but say the shooter is likely among them. Two guns were also found on the scene. "...

Parents Sue Facebook Over Photo of Murdered Daughter

EMT shared cell phone pic of crime scene online

(Newser) - Ronald and Marti Wimmer don't want money from Facebook, they want the site to delete the gruesome photo that an EMT took of their murdered daughter and shared online. The parents have filed a lawsuit calling for Facebook to turn over the photo, destroy the images in its possession, identify...

NYC Cops Convinced Jon Gosselin Burglary Is 'BS'

Knife pinning note to dresser looked 'staged'

(Newser) - Cops investigating the alleged ransacking of Jon Gosselin's Manhattan apartment last month believe the "crime" was nothing more than a publicity stunt, Radar reports. A chef's knife pinned through a note purportedly from former Gosselin galpal Hailey Glassman was a particularly unconvincing touch that looked "staged," said...

Video Games to Help CSI Teams Solve Crimes

Gaming platform will recreate crime scenes

(Newser) - The real-life counterparts of forensics experts on all those CSI shows will soon be getting a helping hand from the world of video games. A team at North Carolina State University is adapting the platform behind games like FusionFall and VooDude to recreate crime scenes, allowing investigators to play out...

Dog 'Scent Lineups' Called Stupid Pet Tricks

False convictions raise doubts about police use of sniffing dogs

(Newser) - After years sniffing out drugs and explosives, police scent dogs have found a controversial new line of work: In "scent lineups," a dog given a scent from the scene of a crime picks out a matching smell from a lineup of swabs taken from suspects. Advocates say scent...

DNA Evidence 'Easy to Fake'
 DNA Evidence 'Easy to Fake' 
Aug 18, 2009 4:57 AM CDT

DNA Evidence 'Easy to Fake'

(Newser) - Think DNA evidence is foolproof? In fact, it's so easy to fabricate that "any biology undergrad" could engineer a crime scene, claim scientists in Israel. Raising troubling implications for a legal system that treats DNA as a gold standard, the scientists have demonstrated that DNA samples are vulnerable to...

Suspect Arrested in Tenn. Quintuple Murder

(Newser) - Police in southern Tennessee arrested a suspect today after at least five bodies were discovered near the Alabama county line, the Elk Valley Times reports. Forensic crime teams are investigating at two Fayetteville, Tenn., houses where the bodies were discovered, the AP reports. Gunfire appeared to fell all five. Police...

Suave Knox Blanches at Video of Roommate's Body

(Newser) - Murder suspect Amanda Knox averted her eyes and covered her face with her hands in Italian court today as police video of her slain roommate Meredith Kercher was shown, the Times of London reports. The video detailed the bloody crime scene and Kercher’s naked, lifeless body. While the American...

Sloppy DNA Work Creates Myth of Phantom Serial Killer

Female 'suspect' now believed to have been employee at DNA swab factory

(Newser) - Embarrassed German cops may soon call off their hunt for a notorious female serial killer, the Times of London reports. DNA from a suspect dubbed "the woman without a face” has been found at dozens of crime scenes across Europe, including stranglings and shootings, but detectives now believe the...

Heart Sticker Adorned Duct Tape Covering Caylee's Mouth

Pooh blanket was also with body, cops say

(Newser) - A heart-shaped sticker was placed on the duct tape covering 2-year-old Caylee Anthony's mouth, revealed Florida prosecutors in hundreds of legal pages released today. A Winnie the Pooh blanket accompanied the child's clothing inside the cloth laundry bag that held  the toddler's remains, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

More Manson Victims?
More Manson Victims?
Mar 16, 2008 9:37 AM CDT

More Manson Victims?

Amateur sleuths and a corpse-sniffing dog search Manson ranch in the Calif. Desert

(Newser) - A rag-tag group of forensic investigators, a gold miner, and a corpse-sniffing dog say they have turned up evidence of long suspected killings by the Manson family in the California desert, AP reports. Using the tools and techniques of chemistry and archeology, the group has concluded that there may be...

19 Stories