Biography
Biography: Mihaela Brooks
Abstract
Only recently there were studies aimed at determining the elements of staging at crime scene. With homicide offenders being more forensically aware, it is essential to understand the crime scene action. Unlike other crime scenes, the staged crime scene displays the offender’s effort to stage a monothematic or polythematic crime with the sole intention of misdirecting the investigation.
A successful verbal and physical evidence crime scene staging represents a miscarriage of justice: the case is unsolved, the offender is not apprehended and free to offend again, the law enforcement agencies waste time and resources, and the families of the victims rightfully “feel cheated by the system.” The interdisciplinary homicide investigation coupled with the medical examiner’s findings need to identify the red flags indicative of staging. Although more research is necessary to determine the elements held in common by staged crime, from an investigative standpoint, it is essential to understand what staging is, what it entails, the types of alterations and how to detect the motive behind the act of staging