- Published: January 19, 2022
- Updated: January 19, 2022
- University / College: Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
- Level: Masters
- Language: English
- Downloads: 47
Boston Marathon Bombing The Boston Marathon bombings and succeed in galled shootings were a series of attacks and occurrences which began on the Patriots’ Day of 2013, when two pressure cooker bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon killing 3 people and injuring 264 others predictably. The perpetrators of the bombing identified as the Chechen brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev confessed to having been under the influence of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq and were motivated by extremist Islamic belief. Dzhokhar also claimed that they were self-radicalized and had no connection with any terrorist group.
In solving such a case, it calls for conduction on the thorough investigations on the matter which will not only investigators make progress towards arresting perpetrators, but also for the purpose of aiding victims and preparing for prosecution. Hence, it is important to keep a comprehensive and systematized case files to make sure that it is possible later to tell a comprehensive and logical story about the crime and the suspect’s engrossment (Haines, 1980).
First, I would conduct an interview with the victims by asking the most basic questions about the bombing, recording all the first-hand reactions. This will include obtaining confession from eyewitnesses at the scene. Also, it will call for reviewing street cameras or security camera footage of cameras installed in the near premises facing the scene. After that, I would review details provided in the initial interview with the victims familiarizing myself with the facts reported. This will also help determine that the facts meet the features of the crime classification and help resolve what information is required from the victim in the next interview (Geberth, 1986)
Conducting a follow up interview will determine whether the facts have changed, or new facts have been learned by the victim. This will also present an opportunity for the victim to clarify any information in the initial report that is not clear. At this point, I will be able to determine the true nature of the bombing and whether there are other incidences involved before setting out on analyzing the information at hand.
Based upon the known facts obtained from the site of the bombing, analysis will include examining photographs from the traffic cameras, running fingerprint match from fingerprints collected from the scene, examining photographs of taken from the scene trying to figure out the motive of the perpetrator who can be identified through eyewitness testimony, through circumstantial evidence or through a self-made confession (Geberth, 1986). Being a continuous process where evidence and leads are tracked down, it will hint of the where I can commence looking for those involved, gathering evidence and obtain relevant documents such as court order in case the trail are beyond my jurisdiction. At this point, it will be easier to start generating a paper and a digital trail of physical evidence such as the suspect’s photo assortments to be shown to witnesses and also gathering witnesses and f activities physical evidence to aid build a concrete case. Likewise, I should be able to create an evidence book which will include customer record, transaction history, cast of character, my timeline of conducting investigation and any videos of the perpetrator’s in-person transaction at the scene before and after the bombing (OHara, 1980).
However, this investigative may be decelerated by various factors including varying testimony from distressed eyewitnesses who may also be unwilling to be a witness in the case. In the case of using traffic cameras to identify and comprehend the suspect, it may not provide clear evidence to convict the suspect if the footage is of low quality and if the activities were done in an enclosed area such as in a car.
References
Geberth, V. J., & Bagerth, V. J. (1996). Practical homicide investigation: Tactics, procedures, and forensic techniques (pp. 470-765). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Haines, R. F. (1980). Observing UFOs: an investigative handbook. Burnham Inc. Pub.
OHara, C. E., & OHara, G. L. (1988). Fundamentals of criminal investigation.