Death Scene Investigation: Procedural Guide

by Michael S. Maloney

Those tasked with investigating death scenes come from a variety of backgrounds and varying levels of experience. Whether a homicide detective, crime scene investigator, medico-legal death investigator, coroner or medical examiner, Death Scene Investigation: Procedural Guide, Second Edition provides the investigator best-practice techniques and procedures for almost any death scene imaginable, including for deaths occurring even under the most unusual of circumstances.

This Second Edition is fully updated to include new coverage on shallow graves, human remains at crime scenes, poisonings, expanded coverage of projectile weapons, videography, touch DNA, death notifications, and a newly added chapter dedicated to sexual deaths. In addition, the book serves as an on-scene ready reference which includes instructions on procedure including the initial notification of a death, processing the scene and body, the investigator's role at autopsy, and analyzing the scene indicators to place evidence into context.

Topics discussed include:

Initial response and scene evaluation Death scene management including documentation, sketching, photography, videography, observations, and search procedures A special death investigation matrix that walks the investigator though a decision tree to help in ambiguous deaths Contains discussion of all manners of death, including accident, suicide, natural and homicide Coverage of recovery of human remains from open field, aquatic, and buried sites including estimating the time of death. Wound dynamics and mechanisms of injury that covers asphyxiation, sharp and blunt force trauma, chopping injuries; handgun, rifle, and shotgun wounds, electrical injuries, and more

The bulleted format and spiral binding allows for easy use and reference in the field with sections that are self-contained and cross-referenced for quick searches. With its thorough and detailed approach, Death Scene Investigation, Second Edition will be a must-have addition to any crime scene and death investigator's tool kit.

532 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2011

Reviews

[Katia M. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very thorough procedural guide. I read it because I needed to describe something for a story I was writing and thought it would come in handy for future reference. I have a background in archaeology and digging up dead things, so the bagging and tagging and basic processes did not seem so strange for me to be reading. It is a very logical guide and makes perfect sense and is easy to read. I even tried out a few of the techniques so I could describe them more effectively. No doubt anyone looking at my home office desk right now might think I am planning a murder and figuring out how to leave as little evidence as possible or have turned to amateur sleuthing. I would not recommend to the squeamish as there is plenty of discussion around death and the ways in which people may die and what happens to them in certain circumstances. However, if you were squeamish, I can't see you being drawn to this book in the first place. This may also be a good practical guide for someone in the field, but only in the US. No doubt some things are done differently in other countries.