SOLVING
MURDERS
Homicide
investigators learn the finer points of murder
lfalce@centredaily.com April
10, 2014
They met to talk about murder,
but nobody called the police. The police already were there.
The Pennsylvania
Homicide Investigators Association has been gathering in State College for 10
years to share information and learn best ideas that will help them solve the
worst crimes.
This week, police
officers, district attorneys, medical investigators and others from all over
Pennsylvania, other states and Canada met at the Ramada Inn for a weeklong
seminar in advanced practical homicide investigation.
“You’re looking for
ideas, tricks, things that can help you,” said Cpl. Thomas McAndrew,
of state police at Hazleton and PHIA president.
If anyone can help, it is probably Vernon Geberth. He literally
wrote the book on homicide investigation, condensing more than 40 years of
experience and 8,000 investigations into “Practical Homicide Investigation,” the law enforcement field guide to solving
murders.
He brought in a variety
of experts to help spotlight different areas of investigation. A forensic
pathologist from Florida talked about the newest science, not quite the same
things people see on “CSI” or “Bones.” Andrea Saferes,
an aquatic death investigator, came to teach how to handle homicidal drownings.
“There are a lot of
bodies of water in Pennsylvania,” said Geberth. “A lot of attendees are going
back to revisit old cases after that one.”
They learned about
staged crime scenes, how to tell if someone is trying to make a death look like
a suicide or an accident, or like a murder committed by a total stranger. And
they learned how to talk to people.
Richard Ovens, a
retired captain from the New York State Police’s Bureau of Criminal
Investigation and a clinical psychologist, came to teach interview and
interrogation techniques.
“The whole essence of
interrogation is about being able to listen,” he said. “If you can do that, it
makes it easier to get to the truth.”
For McAndrew, that plays to one of the hardest parts of his
job.
“Dealing with the
families,” he said. “That’s the hardest. They want justice. There is some
pressure that comes with that.”
But it is balanced by
the fact that people close to a victim are also often suspects or witnesses, or
people still trying to protect their loved one, making it hard to balance the
conversation. McAndrew said investigators try to keep
one thought in mind, the responsibility to the person who died.
“The victims can’t
fight for themselves,” he said. “That’s our job.”
Lori Falce can be reached at 235-3910. Follow her on Twitter @LoriFalce.
Article referenced
Amazon.com with link
www.amazon.com/Forensic-Science-University-Package-Investigation/dp/0849333032
Forensic Science
University Package: Practical Homicide Investigation, Fourth Edition Hardcover
by Vernon
J. Geberth (Author)
ISBN-13: 978-0849333033 ISBN-10: 0849333032 Edition: 4th