tag:margueriteashton.net,2005:/blogs/criminal-lines-blog?p=3Criminal Lines Blog2024-03-21T14:10:27-05:00Marguerite Ashtonfalsetag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941782020-01-13T08:53:02-06:002017-10-03T03:55:50-05:00Between the Chalk Lines: The Anatomy of Investigation
<p>With his busy schedule, my friend, JJ, was finally able to sit down with me for an interview. His thorough replies about the job of a homicide investigator and the intricate details of working a crime scene should help fill your pages.</p>
<p>So writers, fix some coffee, sit down, and grab your pen and paper. Click the link below to begin the audio.</p>
<p>*Please note: the questions are not in order*</p>
<p><a href="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/jj-interview-2.mp3" data-imported="1">Between the Chalk Lines: The Anatomy of Investigation</a></p>
Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941772020-01-13T08:53:02-06:002017-09-24T03:31:40-05:00Her Final Watch Blog Tour
<p>Coming this fall...The blog tour for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Final-Watch-Detective-Blanchette-Mystery-ebook/dp/B074X6CR7X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1506266843&sr=8-2&keywords=marguerite+ashton" data-imported="1">Her Final Watch</a> will run from October - December. <br>Sale price will be $0.99 during that time! That includes the first book in the series, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Lies-Detective-Blanchette-Mystery-ebook/dp/B06XPGYQW4/ref=pd_sim_351_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9EJHQWW920HBMTP7TJHW" data-imported="1">Promised Lies</a>.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941762020-01-13T08:53:01-06:002017-08-13T14:38:17-05:00The Oliana Mercer Series by Marguerite Ashton
<p><strong>Self Discovery, Relationships, and Drama. </strong></p>
<p>Introducing a young adult film fiction series.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shadowed-Seats-Oliana-Mercer-Book-ebook/dp/B0725X2XYZ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502677193&sr=8-1&keywords=marguerite+ashton" data-imported="1">Shadowed Seats</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Staged-Oliana-Mercer-Book-2-ebook/dp/B073MJ557W/ref=pd_sim_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=V74BFHWVX9BW398TDZR6" data-imported="1">Staged</a></p>
<p>Cold Read</p>
<p>The Director</p>
<p>Ms. Ashton said, <em>"I'm so happy that Oliana's story is being told episodically. Now it's time to time to see what the readers think." </em></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941752020-01-13T08:53:01-06:002017-08-15T16:37:44-05:00Blog Tour: Q and A with Jen Med's Book Reviews
<p>On June 6th, I stopped by Jen's blog - <a href="https://jenmedsbookreviews.com/2017/06/06/blogtour-promised-lies-by-marguerite-ashton-qa-msashton_writer-emmamitchellfpr/" data-imported="1">Jen Med's Book Reviews </a>for a Q and A: My Road to Publication. At the end of the post, there will be a chance to enter and win one of the two signed ebooks for 'Promised Lies.'</p>
<p>Thanks for hanging out with me during the tour.</p>
Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941742020-01-13T08:53:01-06:002017-06-06T03:19:05-05:00Blog Tour: Book Review for Promised Lies by School Runs and Shopping Trolleys
<p>On June 6th I received a review for my crime novel, Promised Lies at Kelly's blog, <a href="http://schoolrunshop.com/promised-lies-marguerite-ashton/" data-imported="1">School </a>Runs<a href="http://schoolrunshop.com/promised-lies-marguerite-ashton/" data-imported="1"> and Shopping Trolleys</a>.</p>
<p>Here's an excerpt from the review: "I was quickly sucked into the story of the somewhat maverick female detective and her tangled personal life..." For more head on over to her page to see what she had to say.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941732020-01-13T08:53:01-06:002022-02-07T04:54:52-06:00Blog Tour: Q and A with Short Book and Scribes
<p>On June 5th, I stopped by Nicola's blog - <a href="http://shortbookandscribes.uk/blog-tour/promised-lies-by-marguerite-ashton-msashton_writer-endeavourpress-emmamitchellfpr-qanda-giveaway/" data-imported="1">Short Book and Scribes</a> for a Q and A. Also, at the end you'll see a chance to enter a book giveaway!</p>
<p>Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941702020-01-13T08:53:00-06:002022-07-27T20:32:57-05:00Interview With Actor & Comedian Bill Cannon
<p>It has been a while since Crime Writer's Panel has done a show. When I found a break in my schedule, I caught up with a good friend of mine, Ret. Sergeant Bill Cannon. He's hosted shows with me and written blog posts for Criminal Lines. Now he has added to his resume. Acting and stand-up comedy. </p>
<p>Congrats, Bill!</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395572/fee7aeb3663bb417674052b956fb47f5713181af/original/bill-cannon.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDI4MyJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="283" width="400" /></p>
<p>Here's our interview:</p>
<p><strong>You went from being a retired NYPD detective sergeant to a stand-up comedian and actor. Was that something you planned after you retired from law enforcement?</strong></p>
<p>Marguerite, I have been searching for ways to express myself ever since I retired from the NYPD October 31st, 2011. I took a writing course when I first retired, and although I have a million stories to tell, I don’t think I am a good enough writer to write it. It was then; I decided to take an eight-week course in stand-up comedy in January 2014.</p>
<p><strong>How long have you been performing stand-up comedy?</strong></p>
<p>I have been performing stand-up comedy for approximately three years and three months. I took the eight-week course at Gotham Comedy in New York City with comic and writer, James Mendrinos.</p>
<p><strong>What’s involved with getting stage time at an open mic?</strong></p>
<p>Open mics are listed on a website called Bad Slava. Bad Slava exists in every city. It lists open mics, times, locations, and the cost. The comic pays to perform at an open mic, which usually runs about five dollars for five minutes of stage time.</p>
<p>You perform in front of other comics, so it is tough to gauge how well or how poorly you're doing with your audience. To get better, you must perform several times per week either at a show or an open mic. As you get better and meet other comics, you get booked on shows with real audiences. That is the only way to gauge if you are funny.</p>
<p><strong>Do you write your routines?</strong></p>
<p>Every comic writes his/her material. The writing process is just as arduous as the performing part. You need to attempt to write every day. Either edit old material or write something new.</p>
<p>There's a method to writing jokes, rules, and laugh triggers. The premise, point of view, punchline, tag, misdirection, all of these are the language of comedy. I'm still learning joke writing and find the writing part the most difficult. If you have good jokes, then the performing part is easy. It’s like playing sports. The workouts and the practice are hard; the game is easy.</p>
<p><strong>Where do you get your material?</strong></p>
<p>Most of my material comes from my life experience, my wife, my kids, my day to day life, and of course the police department. About thirty percent of my material is cop related and the rest about the human condition. I try to stay away from politics as you can lose a part of the audience if you are telling political jokes. The part that disagrees with your position can turn on you. Therefore, I think it’s better to stay away from that type of material. That’s not to say that I don’t rant about political correctness, millennials, hipsters, and other pop culture.</p>
<p><strong>Have you ever had a moment when your audience didn’t laugh?</strong></p>
<p>Everyone bombs. There is no comedian out there who does stand-up comedy who hasn’t bombed many times. You just have to soldier on and work on your material. It thickens your skin. Performing in front of other comics prepares you well for hearing no laughter after your best punchline has been delivered. Comics are the toughest audience.</p>
<p><strong>Have you had to deal with mean-spirited people? If so, what did you do?</strong></p>
<p>Everyone has their favorite lines to deal with hecklers. I won’t reveal mine in this blog, but I have a few. The best way to deal with a heckler is to not make him/her part of the show by paying attention to them.</p>
<p><strong>I read that you’ve retired from your position as a professor at Monroe College to pursue acting & comedy full time. Any regrets?</strong></p>
<p>I would have regrets if I didn’t try to do acting and comedy full time. When I retired from the NYPD I had no down time; I went right into a full-time job. You become defined by your job. At the NYPD, I was Sgt. Cannon, at Monroe College I was Professor Cannon, I liked both of those titles, and I am proud of the work I did at both professions. Now it is Bill Cannon’s time to do something that he has a passion for and will be challenged by.</p>
<p>I’ve always been competitive and have strived to excel at everything that I do, acting and comedy will be no different. I don’t know what my end game will be. Only that I am working hard at both and it’s also the journey that I am enjoying.</p>
<p><strong>What do you want to tell aspiring actors and comedians?</strong></p>
<p>I don’t give advice to anyone who is trying to be an actor or a comedian. I'm too new myself to be giving advice to anyone. I will say, don't be afraid to try new things and challenge yourself. Don’t be afraid to fail.</p>
<p>My wife and I have put my two sons through college without them owing any money in loans. I feel this should be a time in my life when I get to have a little fun without punching a clock, having to be at work, worrying about being prepared for class, just trying something new.</p>
<p><strong>Do you have a favorite comedian or actor? If so, name a favorite quote that you enjoy.</strong></p>
<p>My favorite comedian is George Carlin. I loved how he was such a brilliant writer and performer. He made the audience think and ask the question “why didn’t I think of that?” As far as actors, I like the earlier work of Robert DeNiro. I thought he pushed the envelope in movies like the Raging Bull, the Godfather, the Deer Hunter, and Taxi driver. Other great actors I enjoy are Gene Hackman, Robert Duvall, Liam Neeson, and Al Pacino.<br><br><strong>Before you go, tell us what other projects you have going.</strong></p>
<p>Now that I am not working a 9 to 5, I intend to pursue more acting work, auditioning more and taking a three-hour; two camera scene study acting class with the great acting teacher, John Howard Swain. I am also trying to pursue a podcast with fellow comic and retired detective Mark DeMayo. I don’t wish to make any predictions for 2017 only that I will take this as far as my talent and commitment allow me to.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941682020-01-13T08:53:00-06:002017-05-09T04:29:30-05:00FREE COFFEE AND EBOOK
<p>Ways to Enter the $50.00 Starbucks Gift Card Drawing</p>
<p>3 Entries - Download a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Lies-Detective-Blanchette-Mystery-ebook/dp/B06XPGYQW4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494345405&sr=8-1&keywords=promised+lies+by+marguerite+ashton" data-imported="1">Promised Lies </a>and leave a comment on my <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/free_ebook_giveaway_on_amazon/" data-imported="1">blog</a> with a quote from the book. </p>
<p>2 Entries - Download your <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Lies-Detective-Blanchette-Mystery-ebook/dp/B06XPGYQW4" data-imported="1">FREE </a>copy and Tweet me <a href="https://twitter.com/msashton_writer" data-imported="1">@msashton_writer</a> using #detlilyfan.</p>
<p>1 Entry - Download your <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Lies-Detective-Blanchette-Mystery-ebook/dp/B06XPGYQW4" data-imported="1">copy</a> and Like my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MargueriteAshton" data-imported="1">FB page</a>.</p>
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<p>Everything is optional! Enter the way you like best.</p>
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<p>*I will be around if you'd like to get your ebook <a href="/autographed-ebook" data-imported="1" data-link-type="page">autographed</a>.*</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941672020-01-13T08:53:00-06:002017-05-06T00:27:52-05:00FREE EBOOK GIVEAWAY ON AMAZON
<p>Only three days left until the ebook giveaway of my new #crime novel.</p>
<p>Also, all ebook downloads are automatically entered into the Starbucks gift card drawing!</p>
<p>More details at: <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/free_coffee_and_ebook/" data-imported="1">Free Ebook and Coffee</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Lies-Detective-Blanchette-Mystery-ebook/dp/B06XPGYQW4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494001654&sr=8-1&keywords=MARGUERITE+ASHTON" data-imported="1"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395572/c3fdd1579771a24dcd5bd0b945ff81285c853fe4/original/free-ebook.png/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDQwMCJd.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="FREE EBOOK GIVEAWAY ON AMAZON" height="400" width="400" /></a></p>
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<p><strong>For the clickable banner with links: <a href="/files/646881/free-ebook-1.pdf" data-imported="1">FREE_EBOOK_1.pdf</a></strong></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941662020-01-13T08:52:59-06:002017-03-20T06:39:42-05:00Autopsy Protocol for Investigators
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By: <a style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace; font-size: medium;" href="http://joegiacalone.net/" data-imported="1">Joseph L. Giacalone</a><br> <br>How many autopsies have I attended? Enough or that I have witnessed my fair share should be a sufficient answer. The autopsy is one of the most important steps in the death investigation, especially when the case is equivocal – a fancy investigative term meaning, “I have no idea what happened.”
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<br>Detectives should be required to by department procedure to respond to every death (even in obvious cases), attend every autopsy and make sure that they are on time. The detective’s role is more than that of observer, but to be an active participant as well. Autopsies are generally conducted the next morning and the case detective, if available should be present.<br>
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<div style="text-align: left;">Many times the case detective may be tied up in the investigation, with court or with lineups, etc., so a responsible detective that has intimate knowledge of the case should go instead. The investigator(s) should be prepared to answer any questions that the medical examiner / coroner has. The main goal for attending the autopsy is to aid the medical examiner / coroner in establishing the manner of death (see article link below) so that the case does not get labeled as “Undetermined.”</div>
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Case folder<br>Updated investigative reports – ensure that witness statements if any are updated<br>Crime Scene photos (official)<br>Crime Scene photos (taken by investigators)<br>Wound charts prepared by crime scene technicians<br> <br><br>The crime scene photos, especially those taken at the scene by the detective, often play a critical role in determining what transpired during the event. Remember, the medical examiner conducting the autopsy may not have been at the crime scene. It is the job of the detective to inform the medical examiner / coroner by painting a picture with words and then with photographs.<br><br><br><br><br><strong>What Detectives should expect to witness at the autopsy:</strong><br>
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A full cleansing of the body prior to autopsy<br>A full external examination<br>Complete set of exemplars – body hair, fingernail clippings, etc.<br>Photographing of the body<br>Fingerprinting in unidentified cases<br>A complete set of X-Rays<br>Internal examination of the body<br>Examination of internal organs<br>Toxicology – blood, tissue samples<br>Path of bullet / path of stab wound(s) if present<br>Range of fire (distance between muzzle of the gun and victim)<br> <br><br><strong style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace; font-size: medium;">What detectives need to learn / obtain from the autopsy:</strong><br>The Post Morem Interval (AKA Estimated Time of Death)<br>Manner, Cause and Mechanism of Death<br>Angle of trajectory<br>Length / depth of wounds<br>Wound charts<br>Evidence – i.e. ballistics<br>Gunshot Residue Testing (GSR)<br>Death certificate<br> <br>After the completion of the autopsy, the detective should ask any follow up questions and or paraphrase the findings. Next, the detective should immediately record all of the findings on an investigative report for the case file as well as deliver any evidence to the laboratory for testing. Remember, if it isn’t documented, it wasn’t done.
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941602020-01-13T08:52:58-06:002017-03-20T06:38:51-05:00The Miranda Rule
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<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">1:03</a> Why do we Have The Miranda Rule<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">7:35</a> When Miranda Doesn't Apply<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">8:14</a> In Custody + Interrogation = Miranda<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">10:30</a> Exception to The Rule<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">12:10</a> The Miranda Sheet<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">18:54</a> Writers Beware<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">23:10</a> Court Cases = Research<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">25:10</a> Losing Your Audience Pt 2<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">27:26</a> Television vs Novel<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">29:54</a> Literary License with Miranda?<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">33:50</a> Television Scene w/Lawyer and Client<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">35:24</a> If he's not in Custody...<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">37:06</a> From the Writers Standpoint<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKtYrEwPbf8#" data-imported="1">43:25</a> Nov 15th - Interview and Interrogation</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941552020-01-13T08:52:57-06:002016-08-11T04:45:15-05:00Fallen in the Line of Duty: A Crime Writer’s Lesson
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<a href="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/conference-call-with-joe-g-2.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/conference-call-with-joe-g-2.jpg?w=169&h=300" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="My Palm Springs Writer's Retreat ~ On the phone with a friend who's a retired LEO. " height="300" width="169" /></a>
<p class="wp-caption-text">My Palm Springs Writer’s Retreat ~ On the phone with a friend who’s a retired LEO.</p>
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<p>Talk about research. This round was heart wrenching and educational.</p>
<p>In my upcoming book, one of the detectives is shot and killed in the line of duty. At first I was going back and forth on whether or not to let her live. If so what would her life be like afterwards?</p>
<p>Then I thought about my protagonist. What would be one of the several things I could do to test her?</p>
<p>Finally, after writing a word or two and fussing with rewrites, I decided to make it difficult for my main character and add to her rollercoaster ride as she pushes to solve her case.</p>
<p>For the last two weeks I buried my head in books and had discussions with my friends in law enforcement to learn the proper way to pay tribute to a fallen officer. I even sent the chapter to one of them to see if he approved.</p>
<p>I didn’t want to be disrespectful, but I wanted the scene written correctly and he agreed.</p>
<p>If there is one thing that I’ve learned is that there is a brotherhood that exists among the officers who serve our country and cities; police, firefighters, and military.</p>
<p>To the law enforcement officers all over, thank you for risking your lives to keep us safe.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941492020-01-13T08:52:55-06:002024-03-21T14:10:27-05:00How to Request a Cold Case to be Re-examined
<p>Over the years, I've met some great guys and gals in law enforcement. Whenever, I have a question about police procedure, they are the ones I run to with pen and paper.</p>
<p>Even though I have a heavy interest in crime fiction, there are real topics that weigh heavy on my mind - cold cases. </p>
<p>I've interviewed Joe Giacalone before about cold cases and he made me realize how important it is to keep people informed. </p>
<p>Below is a great post written by <a href="http://joegiacalone.net/" data-imported="1">Joe Giacalone</a>.</p>
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<p>Anyone can ask for a cold case to be reexamined. However, investigators would prefer that it came from a family member or someone that had information to further the case. When a case is reexamined it tends to bring up all of the unpleasantness and emotions from the event, so a non family member, i.e. friend, media, etc., should reach out to the next of kin first. Once the investigator hears from the family, the inquest will be started.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nothing begets more action than a well written letter to the agency head. These letters must contain as much accurate information about the incident as possible, such as:<br> <br> </p>
<p>• Who you are, how to contact you and why you want the case reexamined<br>• Date and time of the event<br>• Location of the event <br>• Name of the victim (including nicknames), date of birth, last address, etc.<br>• Copy of the death certificate or what hospital the victim went to – if applicable</p>
<p>Perpetrators don’t realize the wheels that are set in motion when they choose murder as a means to fix their problem. Detectives understand what is at stake. They are sometimes the sole voice and advocate for the victim, a job that they take very seriously. For this reason, homicides are never closed, so nothing ever needs to be reopened, just reexamined. Many, if not all police departments, have at least one member dedicated solely to investigating cold cases.</p>
<p>The requester must understand this next important point: cold case detectives will take the request seriously, however, the request may not warrant a new investigation. If solvability factors do not exist, such as DNA, physical evidence and/or witnesses, the case cannot move forward. The case will remain on the shelf with the hopes of new developments in the future.</p>
<p>When investigative leads dry up and a series of new investigations roll in, the case is placed on the shelf waiting for the day when a <strong>FRESH </strong>look can be taken. Family members and interested parties have to understand that in general, an investigator needs one or more of the following in order to evaluate the case:</p>
<p><strong>F</strong>orensic/DNA advancements<br><strong>R</strong>elationship changes<br><strong>E</strong>yewitness finally comes forward<br><strong>S</strong>ickness</p>
<p><strong>H</strong>as a new charge or an axe to grind<br><strong>F</strong>orensic/DNA advancements</p>
<p>Developments in Forensics and DNA testing are occurring rapidly. What wasn’t even a thought yesterday is reality today. The use of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Familial DNA has allowed investigators to develop suspects on an otherwise hopeless case. Investigators spend most of their time locating evidence and hope that it wasn’t lost or destroyed. Once evidence is secured, it can be resubmitted for testing. In many jurisdictions, evidence can be found in two places: (1) the police department and (2) the medical examiner’s office or counterpart, i.e. coroner.</p>
<p><strong>R</strong>elationship changes<br>Husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends and friends often have a falling out. A disgruntled lover can be a treasure trove of information. Sometimes, these breaks in relationships bear enemies that often cooperate with the police – even when there is a strong dislike or distrust of the police. As the old maxim goes, “The enemy of my enemy, is my friend.”</p>
<p><strong>E</strong>yewitness finally comes forward<br>What makes someone finally come forward after 30 years? Guilt or they are no longer fearful of coming forward. Someone knows the information that would be needed to solve the case, but either out of fear or something else, refuses to step forward. However, over time, that guilt eats away at a person subconscious and forces the information to the surface.</p>
<p><strong>S</strong>ickness<br>Perpetrators, or witnesses that have been holding their secrets back, eventually find themselves on their deathbed, maybe sooner than they thought. In order to clear their own minds and to “make it right” they come clean and provide useful information in cold cases.</p>
<p><strong>H</strong>as a new charge<br>The best “luck” that a cold case detective can have is when a potential witness or friend of the perpetrator finds himself in trouble with the Criminal Justice System and wants to play, “Let’s Make a Deal.” There are some people that purposely withhold useful information because they know that some day it may be their ticket out of trouble. Remember, the district attorney is the only person that can promise a “deal” for cooperation.</p>
<p>Cold case investigations are extremely difficult to solve – there are good reasons why the case is cold to begin with. I am frequently asked what can I do? Besides remaining patient, the family member has tools available to them that didn’t exist a few short years ago. Social media sites can play an integral part in helping detectives with the case. Recently, a case in Nassau County, New York, spurred new investigative leads after a posting on the victim’s Facebook page. Whatever type of venue that is chosen for the memorial page, it must have the capability for visitors to post comments.</p>
<p>Investigators in the past have had luck identifying suspects when they showed up at the grave site and/or crime scene on anniversary dates, so why wouldn’t they do the same things at a virtual grave site and/or crime scene page? The social media page can play to the behavioral side of the killer. Hopefully, a well crafted page will induce the perpetrator to inject himself back into the investigation in order to make himself feel relevant and powerful again.</p>
<p><strong>**Posted with Joe Giacalone's permission.</strong></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395572/ebe1458cecf9e2f063ae2f97d61a8608efef7839/original/joe-giacalone.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjQ0eDI5OSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="299" width="244" /></p>
<p>Retired Detective Sergeant Joe Giacalone</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941442020-01-13T08:52:53-06:002016-08-11T04:54:23-05:00Dealing With PTSD in Law Enforcement
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<p class="wp-caption-text">Retired Detective Sergeant Bill Cannon</p>
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<p>I learned a few things during my talk with Retired Detective Sergeant, Bill Cannon. It was a serious subject, but an educational one. We discussed PTSD among law enforcement officers and its effects in their lives.</p>
<p>Bill also suggested some coping mechanisms to help reduce the amount of stress in the field.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941392020-01-13T08:52:52-06:002016-08-11T04:56:49-05:00Guest Blogger Joe Giacalone: Can My Character Do That?
<p>Are the police allowed to use deception and trickery to obtain a confession? The short answer is yes, but there are some limitations on how far they can go. I figured I would write a quick response to the many inquiries to this problem. Let’s look at how the police can obtain a confession from a suspect only AFTER a valid waiver of Miranda has been obtained, and how this affects your crime writing. Remember, a valid waiver has to be given voluntarily, intelligently and knowingly. Your detective cannot lie to the suspect in order to obtain a confession!</p>
<p><strong>The (3) Three Tricks Your Detective Can Do</strong></p>
<p>1. Lie About the Existence of Evidence</p>
<p>“Johnny, I’ve got bad news for you pal. We have your DNA from the crime scene.”</p>
<p>This statement made by the detective is designed to elicit a confession from Johnny. Even if the DNA or any other evidence linking the suspect to the crime does not exist, your detective can lie that it does, and that it will be used against him.</p>
<p>2. Lie About the Condition of a Victim or of a Witness</p>
<p>Detective Smith walked into the absurdly small interview room and pushed record on the tape player. “Mary, Mary, Mary. You got problems.”</p>
<p>“I don’t have any problems.”</p>
<p>“I say you do.” He stamped out his cigarette. “Your husband is still alive. And when we can talk to him, I’m sure he’ll tell us who did it.”</p>
<p>“What? It can’t be! I shot the bastard three times!”</p>
<p>Mary’s confession would be admissible as evidence against her in a court of law. Recording interviews and interrogations is not mandatory; however it can solve many of the problems raised by the defense regarding how Miranda waivers and confessions were obtained. This can be a two-sided coin. Recording the interview can also show where the interviewer dropped the ball.</p>
<p>This can also be used to set one suspect against another, but there is a caveat. Telling the leader of a bank robbery team, that his accomplice has confessed and placed the blame on the leader is also allowable. However, there is a rule that one bad guy’s testimony cannot solely convict the other bad guy in most states. The police still need to find corroborating evidence against the two in order to have a slam-dunk case, i.e. eyewitnesses, video surveillance, etc.</p>
<p>3. Misrepresent the Results of a Lineup or Photo Array</p>
<p>Detective Ketch entered the viewing room. “Congratulations Joey. Five out of five witnesses picked you as the shooter. It’s going to be fun to watch you get the needle.”</p>
<p>Joey stood and looked into the glare of the two-way mirror, “I want to make a deal. I was there, but I didn’t pull the trigger.”</p>
<p>Think about this for a second. If you were in Joey’s position, could you take the chance and call the detective’s bluff? Most of us would not and would be looking somewhere down the line for a possible plea bargain. </p>
<p><strong>What Your Detective Cannot Do</strong></p>
<p>1. The detective can lie about the existence of evidence, but they cannot confront a suspect with phony physical evidence. Different state supreme courts have ruled differently on this matter, so do some research on your character’s home state. For instance, in the 1989 Floridacase of <em>State v. Cayward</em>, the court said no to fabrication. However, in the 1996 Nevada case of <em>Sheriff v. Bessey</em>, the court said it was OK to fabricate. Until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on this, I would stay away from it.</p>
<p>2. The police cannot stage a lineup without any viewing witnesses.</p>
<p>3. The police cannot promise a lighter sentence in exchange for a confession. The decision to give a lighter sentence to the accused for his / her cooperation in an investigation can only be done by the District Attorney’s Office – make sure we get this one right. </p>
<p>4. The police cannot use a person who “claims” to be a psychiatrist and who tells the subject he wants to help by talking about what happened.</p>
<p>5. The police cannot threaten that government benefits will be taken away if the suspect does not confess to the crime, ex. welfare, section 8 etc.</p>
<p>The writer should be aware of the fact that these examples of trickery and deceit can be used to obtain a confession. They cannot be used to obtain a waiver of Miranda. If “it is discovered that” any of the allowable forms of deceit were used to obtain a waiver of Miranda, the information and evidence discovered would be suppressed.</p>
<p>I know many of these example interrogations were short and to the point. Many of them could have been dragged out for pages in a novel. I wanted to give examples of how your detectives can use trickery and deception to provide you with the ability to create more accurate and riveting interrogation scenes. They could also be used to help you break that “block” you have been suffering and get your stories flowing again!</p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joe-giacalone3.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joe-giacalone3.jpg?w=243&h=300" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>Joe Giacalone is a retired Detective Sergeant and former Commanding Officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad that has investigated hundreds of homicides, cold cases and missing persons.</p>
<p>He is the author of the<em> Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators</em> published by Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc.</p>
<p>To find out more about Joe or his book, please visit <a title="Cold Case Squad" href="http://www.coldcasesquad.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Cold Case Squad</a> or follow him on <a title="Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Twitter</a> @coldcasesquad.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941352020-01-13T08:52:52-06:002022-01-29T14:18:39-06:00Writer Question: Can a Roommate Give Consent to Search Another’s Room ?
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<a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/crime-writers-panel-banner.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/crime-writers-panel-banner.jpg?w=300&h=225" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Crime Writers Panel " height="225" width="300" /></a>Hey, Fellow Crime Writers! Search and seizure can be tricky. And if it’s not done correctly, an investigator will have another set of problems on their hands. Think about some of the crime shows on television where the officer enters brandishing a search warrant. Even with a warrant, there are some things a detective can’t do.
<p> </p>
<p>Courtesy of Joe Giacalone:</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a “Murder Scene Exception” to obtaining a search warrant. Just because the person is dead, does not always equate to a consent search. Initially, the police can enter the location based under the Emergency Exception. They are allowed to search for additional victims and the perpetrator(s). They cannot search for or gather evidence at this stage. Once the emergency is over however, a determination must be made if a search warrant will be necessary to process the scene and collect evidence.</p>
<p>An on-the-scene meeting between the case investigator and the investigating supervisor should take place. The question that must be asked and answered at this moment is, “Does the suspect have an absolute privacy to this location?”</p>
<p>If you’re writing a scene involving this situation, here is a great post by <a title="Joe Giacalone" href="http://joegiacalone.net/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joe Giacalone</a> over at<a title="Cold Case Squad" href="http://joegiacalone.net/cold-case-squad/" target="_blank" data-imported="1"> Cold Case Squad </a>called: <a title="Permalink to The Search Warrant Conundrum and Crime Scenes" href="http://joegiacalone.net/the-search-warrant-conundrum-and-crime-scenes/" data-imported="1">The Search Warrant Conundrum and Crime Scenes</a></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941342020-01-13T08:52:51-06:002022-01-28T10:04:23-06:00Investigative Response to a Homicide – Part 1
<p>By: <a title="Bill Cannon" href="https://twitter.com/SgtCannon676" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Bill Cannon</a></p>
<p>I’ve had a blast getting to know Bill. His first interview with Criminal Lines Radio was on August 13, 2013 and we discussed <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/dealing_with_ptsd_in_law_enforcement/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Dealing With PTSD in Law Enforcement</a>. On September 12<sup>th</sup> he made his first appearance via video and was a guest on <a href="/crime-writers-panel" data-imported="1" data-link-type="page">Crime Writers’ Panel</a> which included Jim Ault.</p>
<p>The good news for Criminal Lines Radio is he’ll be a regular on the show to give his take on the current issue at hand.</p>
<p>Listed below is a step by step procedure on how a homicide department supervisor coordinates an investigation following the initial call regarding a crime.</p>
<p><strong>Investigative Response to a Homicide</strong></p>
<p>As an investigative supervisor assigned to a homicide squad there is a methodical and controlled response to the scene of a murder. It is important to deploy detectives to specific locations, and to be continuously apprised of the direction and specific results of inquiries. These investigative steps are all duties of the investigative supervisor.</p>
<p>The investigative response begins with a telephone call to the homicide squad and all pertinent information must be first recorded on a memo pad and later typed on a complaint follow up report:</p>
<p><strong>1. </strong><strong>Time of call, method, telephone, radio, in person</strong></p>
<p><strong>2. </strong><strong>Identity of person calling, call back number, name, rank, shield number</strong></p>
<p><strong>3. </strong><strong>Location of incident, address, apartment number, if on street, cross streets.</strong></p>
<p><strong>4. </strong><strong>Cause of death, gunshot, stabbing, blunt trauma, etc.</strong></p>
<p><strong>5. </strong><strong>Identity of deceased, male, female, age, race, clothing description</strong></p>
<p><strong>6. </strong><strong>Evidence on scene, gun, spent shells, knife, etc.</strong></p>
<p><strong>7. </strong><strong>Location of body, on scene, taken to hospital, which hospital?</strong></p>
<p><strong>8. </strong><strong>Time of incident</strong></p>
<p><strong>9. </strong><strong>Witnesses, on scene, at precinct station house, location?</strong></p>
<p><strong>10. Complete description of incident</strong></p>
<p>Once all of the particulars of the incident are documented the investigative supervisor must respond to the crime scene and deploy personnel. Prior to leaving the office it is good investigative procedure to secure a copy of the 911 printout. The printout is a hard copy of the incident as documented by the police department’s 911 operators.</p>
<p>Investigative resources on the 911 printout include time of occurrence, location of occurrence, nature of occurrence, and names and addresses of all 911 callers.</p>
<p>It is necessary to send detectives to different locations depending on the particulars of the case. And it is always important to deploy detectives to the crime scene, even if the body is not at that particular location.</p>
<p>The time of the arrival to the crime scene should be noted.</p>
<p>It is important for the investigative supervisor to respond to the crime scene so that evidence can be protected, first officers interviewed, and a rough sketch prepared. A crime scene walk through should be conducted with the first officers, noting the time, and paths of entry and exit. The paths of exit and entry are established so as not to over contaminate the crime scene.</p>
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<a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/bill-cannon.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/bill-cannon.jpg?w=289&h=300" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Retired Detective Sergeant Bill Cannon" height="300" width="289" /></a>
<p class="wp-caption-text">Retired Detective Sergeant Bill Cannon</p>
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<p>William Cannon is a former Detective Sergeant who served with the NYPD for nearly twenty-seven years. He’s a professor at Monroe College where he teaches Criminal Justice and was recently interviewed by the Discovery Channel for a documentary called, Women Who Kill. It’s set to air in November 2013.</p>
<p>Related Links:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/criminal_lines_radio_with_bill_cannon/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Criminal Lines Radio With Bill Cannon </a></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941292020-01-13T08:52:50-06:002016-08-11T12:02:11-05:00Crime Writers Panel ~ Investigative Response to a Homicide
<p>As always, we had some great moments during the show!</p>
<p>We discussed four important topics to help authors during their research.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvmmqqegCw#t=8m17s" target="_blank" data-imported="1">8:17</a> Manner of Death vs Cause of Death<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvmmqqegCw#t=8m48s" target="_blank" data-imported="1">8:48</a> After the Call<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvmmqqegCw#t=24m41s" target="_blank" data-imported="1">24:41</a> The CSI Effect<br><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yvmmqqegCw#t=31m26s" target="_blank" data-imported="1">31:26</a> Crime Scene Protocol</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please visit the <a title="Investigative Response to a Homicide" href="https://plus.google.com/111517229338929467150/posts/8mkVmXofFws" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Crime Writers Panel </a>community on Google+. Here we’ve provided time stamps, along with a list of topics that may catch your interest. Think of this as quick links to help aid you during your research for your book.</p>
<p>Or if you’d like to view the entire video on YouTube, see below:</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941722017-05-19T19:00:00-05:002017-06-05T15:09:50-05:00Promised Lies Blog Tour: June 5th-18th
<p>This is an exciting time for me as I get ready for my two-week blog tour for my crime novel, <em style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Promised-Lies-Detective-Blanchette-Mystery-ebook/dp/B06XPGYQW4" data-imported="1">Promised Lies</a>. </em></p>
<p>I've been on pins and needles for the last eight weeks, but it has been worth it. I want to thank, Emma Mitchell of <a href="https://emmathelittlebookworm.wordpress.com/" data-imported="1">EDM Editorial & Publicity Services</a> for putting the tour together and all the bloggers for hosting me.</p>
<p>I will be <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/autographed_ebook/%20" data-imported="1">signing</a> ebooks!<br></p>
<p></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941712017-05-19T19:00:00-05:002017-05-23T13:57:49-05:00After The Badge Blog Series
<p>I'm excited for the After The Badge blog series that I'm working on with law enforcement. Each post will highlight a different law enforcement member who has retired and moved on to do other things in their life.</p>
<p>If you're a retired law enforcement member and would like to share your story, please <a href="/contact" data-imported="1" data-link-type="page">contact</a> me!</p>
<p>Thank you for your service: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/interview_with_actor__comedian_bill_cannon/" data-imported="1">Bill Cannon</a></p>
<p>Joe Giacalone (coming soon)</p>
<p>David Swinson (coming soon)</p>
<p>Suzie Ivy (coming soon) </p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941692017-04-10T19:00:00-05:002017-05-06T15:42:01-05:00Promised Lies Book Trailer
<p>I've had people tell me that a book trailer isn't a trailer without music. </p>
<p>My reply: Silent trailers are like books. Quiet. </p>
<p> </p>
<p></p>
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<p>Check out the <strong>FREE</strong> coffee and ebook <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/free_coffee_and_ebook/" data-imported="1">GIVEAWAY</a>!</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941612016-11-16T18:00:00-06:002016-11-17T06:32:13-06:00Interview and Interrogation
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941582016-08-14T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T10:34:08-06:00FATAL MISTAKES IN A HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION #3
<p><strong>Not Taking Enough Crime Scene Photographs</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>By: <a href="http://joegiacalone.net" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joe Giacalone</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is often said that a picture paints a thousand words and crime scene photography is no different. Crime crime scene photos tell the story of the horrific events that transpired that day in extraordinary detail. They are irreplaceable. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>A common error in homicide investigation or for any crime scene, is not taking enough photographs. Today’s forensics requires every “I” to be dotted and “T” to be crossed. It’s the little things that often make or break the case. However, the mindset of the crime scene photographer is often to take the required minimum number of photos. Today’s technology has made taking and recording photographs even easier. The rule for taking crime scene photographs should be more is better. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I understand that the more photographs you take, the longer your Photographic Log will be. However, these photographs are an invaluable resource for trial preparation or for a cold case investigator. Photographs are the only link on how the crime scene appeared on that day and can be powerful examples of demonstrative evidence in a courtroom. Unlike crime scene sketches, photographs can also provide insight to the behavior of the perpetrator. For instance, did the perpetrator do something that wasn’t required to commit the crime? Was something at the scene unusual? These are all questions that can be answered and documented by photographs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For cold case investigators, crime scene photos allow them the chance to not only “revisit” the crime scene, but to examine them for something that may have been missed during the initial investigation. I have experienced and benefitted from this myself, so I am a strong proponent for taking as many photographs as possible. One insignificant detail in a crime scene photo allowed us to place the suspect at the crime scene. We were successful in challenging his alibi based on one photograph taken thirteen years earlier.</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p><strong>Crime Scene Photography Tips:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>The proper way to document a scene is: Photograph, Sketch, Search and Collect</li>
<li>Each piece of evidence must be photographed without a scale first and then with a scale placing a scale alters your crime scene</li>
<li>Take photos from left to right – don’t forget to look up</li>
<li>Indoor crime scenes: the first photograph should be of the entire home from the street, then the front door, entrance way, foyer, etc. Walk your viewer through the scene with pictures</li>
<li>Don’t take photographs with investigators standing in the crime scene</li>
<li>Ask EMS personnel to remove any equipment they brought with them before taking photos</li>
<li>The case investigator must obtain a copy of the Photographic Log for the case folder</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>Taking photographs at a crime scene is a job that should never be taken lightly. It is even more important than securing the actual evidence. Evidence can be damaged upon recovery or even lost. Crime scene photos are a permanent record of the evidence, how big it was and where it was located.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941572016-08-08T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T10:33:42-06:00Fatal Mistakes in a Homicide Investigation #2
<p>Marrying Your Theory</p>
<p> </p>
<p>By: <a href="http://joegiacalone.net" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joe Giacalone</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>There is an old maxim, “Be careful who you date, you might end up marrying them.” The same line of thinking has a lot to do with theory building in homicide investigations. A theory or hypothesis on how the crime was committed is a usual course of behavior by detectives at a crime scene. After arriving on the scene, the case investigator and supervisor will gather the squad and talk about the event. From this Intel gathering session, theories are developed on what happened, why did it happen and who was responsible. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Investigators keep three (3) things in mind when developing a theory – <strong>MOM</strong>: Means, Opportunity and Motive. These three elements helps develop suspects and build your theory. The theory is used to develop questions for canvassing and provide a starting point when nothing else exists. For instance, a female victim is found in the doorway of her home with a bullet wound to the head. There is no video surveillance, ballistic evidence or anything else. One theory would be that this was a ‘for hire’ murder. In these types of instances a strong theory investigators would develop would be that her spouse had her murdered. Why? A killing in a doorway is often done by a stranger, inside the back bedroom, you would be thinking significant other. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Investigators create these theories so they could start asking family and friends about their relations before speaking to the spouse – or to be used as a launch-pad for the investigation if no motive seems to exist. If everyone is telling you that the relationship was fine, no signs of abuse and everything seemed to be going well with the victim, then investigators may not have discovered the right motive. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The theory isn’t, “Think it and Prove It. The problem occurs when the investigator lets the theory run the investigation, even in the face of surmounting evidence that it is wrong. We all want to be right and solve the case, but let the evidence dictate the investigation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Investigators must admit when their theory is wrong and be able to change tactics and their mental state. The longer the change in mindset takes, the more time is wasted and your perpetrator is getting further away.</p>
<p></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941562016-08-06T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T10:33:19-06:00Fatal Mistakes in a Homicide Investigation #1
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Not Controlling the Crime Scene</strong></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>By: <a href="http://joegiacalone.net" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joseph L. Giacalone</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>During any homicide investigation there are many things that can go wrong. You don’t get a second chance to do it right. This isn’t the playground where you can scream “Do over!” However, some mistakes can be avoided altogether through careful planning, supervision and the ability to apply some common sense. I will highlight the “Fatal Mistakes” in a series of blog posts so that others can avoid them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not controlling the crime scene is the most detrimental of all. If law enforcement makes this Fatal Error, game over. In today’s investigative practices, this cannot be stressed enough. However, we still see issues of crime scene contamination due to a lack of restraint with personnel at the scene. Juries demand to see forensic evidence these days in the courtroom and “know” all about proper techniques from watching their favorite television shows. If they don’t know, you can be assured that the defense attorney will school them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The best practice in any criminal investigation is to avoid making mistakes at all cost. However, we are human and are prone to mistakes. However, there are some that can be avoided just be reminding investigators. Consider this your reminder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When an investigator arrives at the scene of a major incident, after recording the date and time of their arrival, the very next thing is to determine if a “Gatekeeper” has been assigned to secure the scene. If not, they should immediately seek out the nearest supervisor and request one. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Gatekeeper’s role is to prevent unauthorized access to the scene by maintaining a chronological list of who entered and why. This list is important on many levels. First, it prevents people from entering the scene that shouldn’t, second it keeps record of those that do, so if elimination samples must be taken, we know who to get them from and third, the control of the crime scene is a reflection of how the rest of the investigation was. If it is chaotic and sloppy, the defense attorney will paint it and you that way. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Proper crime scene management can provide overwhelming evidence in the case, but a lack of it provides reasonable doubt. The defense attorney will often have nothing more to attack in the case other than the investigation and the investigator.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Remember, you don’t get a second chance to do it right.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941592016-04-10T19:00:00-05:002024-01-11T12:30:54-06:006 FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS IN HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS
<p>By: <a href="http://joegiacalone.net/" data-imported="1">Joe Giacalone</a></p>
<p>There are many questions that must be answered during a homicide investigation, but there are six (6) fundamental ones that an investigator must keep at the forefront of every case:</p>
<ol class="dec">
<li>Who was the victim?</li>
<li>How were they murdered?</li>
<li>Why were they murdered?</li>
<li>Where were they murdered?</li>
<li>Who is responsible?</li>
<li>Where is the suspect now?</li>
</ol>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Who was the victim?</strong><br>A victimology is one of the most important steps when investigating any crime. Since most people become victims of crime by someone they know, investigators must concentrate on who the victim was from the very beginning. A complete victimology allows the investigator to get to know the victim from a variety of sources. Whether it is from interviews or computer databases, the investigator must strive to know more about the victim than those closest to him / her. If you know the victim, you may know who the perp is. In a suicide investigation, the victimology is known as the psychological autopsy.</p>
<p><strong>How were they murdered?</strong><br>What type of weapon was used? Multiple stab wounds, excessive blunt force trauma or overkill, can indicate a very close relationship. Who else could get this angry? I have named the most common reasons why people are murdered as the Homicide Triangle; Love, Money and Drugs. No greater emotion than love could derive that much anger towards another person. The way the person was killed can give pertinent insight to the investigator on who the perpetrator is.</p>
<p><strong>Why were they murdered?</strong><br>Motives ran the gamut. Many times the case you are investigating can be looked at as a “Why Dunit.” When you know the why (motive) it often leads you to the who. I often looked at the situation as who would benefit the most by the victim being dead? Investigators must have an opened mind, especially when developing theories of who is responsible and why. When the evidence and facts are leading you away from your theory, you cannot stick to it. Do not let your theory run t he investigation.</p>
<p><strong>Where were they murdered?</strong><br>Were they shot dead in the doorway? That may signal a hit or stranger attack or were they murdered in the bedroom which may show a more intimate relationship. Who else do we let into our most private of places than those that are close to us? Was there a sign of a struggle? Was the scene a ‘dump’ job? Investigators may never find the original crime scene, so wherever the body is found becomes your primary scene.</p>
<p><strong>Who is responsible?</strong><br>Searching for an unknown perpetrator is the most difficult for obvious reasons. If investigators need to spend hours just to identify the victim and / or perpetrator, the further the case gets away from them. I know all about the the First 48, however, most cases are broken with in the Golden Hour – the first hour after the killing.</p>
<p><strong>Where is the suspect now?</strong><br>When a suspect is positively identified, the hunt is on. Searching for a known perpetrator is often a game of cat and mouse. That is why detectives must think three moves ahead of the perp. Devices such as license plate readers (LPRs), red light traps, surveillance cameras and various computer checks can keep you ahead of the perp. When conducting computer checks, look into associates and family members that may know their whereabouts. If possible, it is always a good idea to find an ex-girlfriend. Many times, they keep tabs on them and have the most up-to-the-minute information.</p>
<p>Investigators have many questions to answer in a homicide investigation, including what is evidence and what is not. Homicide investigation is seen as the exemplar for all investigations. What steps you take to solve a murder, you will use most, if not all, to solve lesser crimes. If investigators can answer these six fundamental questions and document their findings, they may be able to close more cases and increase crime clearance rates.</p>
<p></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395572/15758122c0280210d30805014aa1a6512dca5526/original/joe-giacalone1.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MzAweDIxMSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="211" width="300" /> Joseph L. Giacalone is a retired NYPD Detective Sergeant with an extensive background in criminal investigations. He has held many prestigious positions in the NYPD, but his favorite was the Commanding Officer of the Bronx Cold Case Homicide Squad. Joe has worked on and supervised hundreds of homicides, violent felonies, suicides and missing persons cases.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941502016-02-19T18:00:00-06:002020-01-13T08:52:55-06:006 Mistakes to Avoid at a Crime Scene
<p>Crime Scene Mishaps:</p>
<p><br>By: Joseph L. Giacalone<br><br></p>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-4958412982362487515">
<div class="separator" style="text-align: center; clear: both;"><a style="margin-bottom: 1em; float: left; clear: left; margin-right: 1em;" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZK5RtIacGHw/UIrJreffNPI/AAAAAAAAAn8/zPyebJbMnLo/s1600/file5721298196911.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://www.margueriteashton.net/img/Joe_Giacalone_2.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" width="300" /></a></div>
You don't get a chance to scream, "Do over!" like we did in the playground when it comes to criminal investigation. You only get one chance at it, so you have to do it right. Sometimes, doing something right is about learning what not to do. Crime scenes are so fragile that just about anything you do can cause crime scene contamination. The moment that the first uniformed officer enters the scene, it is contaminated.<br><br>Investigators must be ready for that question on the stand, "Was the crime scene contaminated before you arrived?" The answer to this question is always an unequivocal, "Yes, it was counselor, " followed with an explanation if allowed. Crime scene contamination is unavoidable in law enforcement's quest to render aid to the victim or obtain evidence. However, law enforcement can mitigate contamination by avoiding these six (6) deadly crime scene mistakes:<br><a name="more"></a><br><br> 1. Not Controlling Police Personnel<br><br>The biggest problem in any crime scene are your fellow officers and therefore the most important appointment is to choose a "Gatekeeper." The Gatekeeper's job is to maintain the integrity of the scene, keep a list of who entered the scene and to prevent unauthorized personnel from gaining access. Some officers inadvertently contaminate the crime scene when they were assigned "the job," while others like to show up to gawk. These officers pose the most difficult aspect of maintaining the crime scene for the gatekeeper.<br><br> 2. Not Identifying Evidence<br><br>When processing a crime scene you have to have an open mind. If you are only looking for certain items, that is all you will find. Don't miss the forest for the trees. If you think it has the potential to be probative evidence, then take it with you. There is nothing worse that finding out hours later that you left an important piece of evidence behind.<br><br> 3. Not Documenting Interviews / Evidence / Etc.<br><br>If the investigator doesn't take the time to document parts of the case then the entire case could be jeopardized. If the reports aren't filled out, then that information will be lost forever. Worst yet, a poorly documented case opens it up to rightful criticism by the defense counsel. They will point out that certain things weren't documented because they were exculpatory - meaning they would eliminate his / her client as a possible suspect. If it wasn't recorded, it never occurred.<br><br> 4. Not Taking Enough Photographs<br><br>The old mantra of a crime scene techs that I used to work with was, "Film is free." The case investigator is the one that will be explaining themselves in a courtroom, so they need to learn how to take charge. You can never have enough photographs. More is better, for sure. Photographs play an important role as demonstrative evidence in a courtroom, a memory aid for investigators, a reference for cold case detectives and the opportunity to identify something that was originally missed.<br><br> 5. Not identifying Secondary or tertiary crime scenes<br><br>The primary crime scene is always where the initial incident took place, unless it is a homicide, then it is where the body was found. Once again, the investigator cannot operate with blinders on. For instance, if the location is a "dump site" (murdered elsewhere and left the body in another location) then you have to think that a vehicle was probably used, therefore another potential crime scene. Other areas to think about are points of entry and egress, alleys, rooftops, elevator landings, staircases, etc. An investigator should always think of potential secondary and even tertiary crime scenes in every case.<br><br> 6. Taking crime scene photos with people standing in the background<br><br>Nothing screams crime scene contamination or mismanagement more than rolls of film with both uniformed and investigators standing in the midst of the scene-some for no apparent reason. Crime scene photos should be taken when the scene is as pristine as possible. The proper way a crime scene should be documented is: Photo, Sketch, Search and Collect.<br><br>By no means is this an all and inclusive list of what could go wrong at a crime scene, however, these are the six (6) most likely scenarios. In addition, I have one more tip to share and it has to do with EMTs. Always ask the EMTs to clean their stuff up before leaving the scene. If not, you run the risk of having blue gloves, plastic wrappings, bandage wrappings, etc. flying around your crime scene. Also, if possible, ask them not to cut through the bullet / knife holes in the victim's shirt when they are removing his / her clothes.<br><br>By the way EMT stands for: Evidence Mangling Technician
</div>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941532016-01-25T18:00:00-06:002016-11-17T12:50:05-06:00What is a Forensic Firearm and Tool Mark Examiner? Part 1
<p style="text-align: left;"><br></p>
<p>*Thank you, Joe Giacalone for letting me share the article.*</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><strong>FORENSIC FIREARM AND TOOL MARK EXAMINER</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><strong>Ballistics and Tool Mark comparisons </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>This is Part 1 of a 3 part series</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>By: Gerard Petillo - retired NYPD Sergeant and Independent Forensic Firearm Examiner</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><strong>How can they tell a bullet or cartridge case was fired from or in a gun?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395572/39b06297df62af2cd2b51679887baae6550b7052/original/jerry-test-50-bmg-utf-8-b-wqkgiedlcmfyzcbqzxrpbgxvic5qcg-filename-1-c.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDk0eDM3MiJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="372" width="494" /> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>The author conducting testing</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>A forensic lab or “crime lab” has many different specialized departments or sections. Each section performs a different area of analysis on evidence submitted from crime scenes. Working inside each of these sections are scientists with specialized backgrounds and training specific to the section they are working in. There is no single person in a crime lab that can perform analysis in every section.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>In the firearm and tool mark section, scientists have specialized training in (but not limited to) the modern development and manufacturing process of firearms and ammunition, The operation of the various types of firearms, firearm mechanisms, the proper ammunition they use, how to disassemble and trouble shoot firearms, How to recognize and classify fired ammunition components, the use of microscopes, recognizing class and individual characteristics, the residues produced during discharge, serial number restoration, as well as courtroom testimony.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><strong>What is Tool Mark Identification?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>Lets start with what is a “tool”. The scientific definition of a tool is the harder of two objects when brought in contact will mark the softer object. Tool mark identification is a discipline of forensic science that has its primary purpose to determine if a particular mark was made by a particular tool. </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>Forensic Firearm Identification is a discipline of forensic science, which has its primary purpose to determine whether a bullet, cartridge case, or other fired ammunition component was fired from a particular firearm. Because the firearm is harder than the ammunition that it fires, the firearm is considered a tool and the marks on fired ammunition components left by the firearm are considered Tool Marks.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>Firearm Identification is therefore a subset of Tool Mark Identification.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>Often times firearm identification is incorrectly referred to as ballistics. Ballistics is the study of projectiles in motion. Ballistics can be divided into three (3) sub categories:</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395572/880ce8159a5321937d7c48be6ada380dc24345a7/original/image-1.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NDAweDMyMiJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="322" width="400" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>Image of shock waves produced by<br>firearm. An example of External<br>Ballistics.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<ol>
<li>Internal ballistics- the study of the projectile during its travel through the barrel of the firearm </li>
<li>External ballistics- the study of the projectile when it leaves the barrel during its travel to the target </li>
<li>Terminal ballistics- The study of the projectile as it strikes the target. </li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>Although information regarding ballistics is important to a forensic firearm examiner it is not what we do in the crime lab. </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p><strong>Where do Firearms Get Their Unique Marks From?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"></p>
<p>Briefly stated, during the manufacturing process the tools used to manufacture the various parts of the firearm (drill bits, broaches, buttons etc) experience microscopic wear during this process. Each part they make (barrel, breech, firing pin etc.) may be slightly different (unique) than the one before it or the one after it. After the firearm is sold and used by the owner, the firearm can then experience use, abuse, and or neglect which can add to the individuality of the firearm part and subsequently the marks left on the bullet or cartridge case. </p>
<p style="text-align: left;"> </p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941652016-01-13T18:00:00-06:002016-11-17T10:30:15-06:00Forensics and The CSI Mindset
<p></p>
<div class="video responsive"><div class="video-container"><div class="video responsive"><div class="video-container"><iframe frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V7BOWiJ1Q-M" width="425" class="wrapped wrapped"></iframe></div></div></div></div>
<p>A great show with former forensics investigator, Tom Adair.</p>
Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941282015-07-26T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T10:36:43-06:00So What IS Forensics? Part II
<p>In <a href="http://margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/so_what_is_forensics" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><em>So What IS Forensics?</em> Part I</a> John Paolucci introduced us to the basics of forensics.</p>
<p>In this post, John will discuss the different types of forensic analyses and comparisons used to help reconstruct events.</p>
<p>By: <a title="John Paolucci" href="https://twitter.com/Forensics4Real" target="_blank" data-imported="1">John Paolucci</a></p>
<p>DNA is considered the “holy grail” of forensic evidence on TV and a CSI can find DNA on just about anything, upload it into a computer, and POW! Your DMV photo shows up in a hologram suspended above the onlookers’ heads with large windows showing a view of the ocean in the background. Same thing happens with fingerprints. I probably would not have retired if this were the case! It can be said that no two people have the same fingerprints, a claim that does not include DNA because identical twins share the same genetic profile.</p>
<p>Fingerprints are often thought of a secondary to DNA for their capability of making an identification. It is true that the science of latent print examinations and comparisons has often come under fire in the courtroom, but there are many advantages. The fingerprint databases called AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) are replete with offenders who perpetrated every level of offense. Suspects have always been printed for very minor offenses and their prints stay in the databases with rare exceptions where a suspect is cleared and has his prints expunged from the system.</p>
<p>Also police officers have their prints on file as do private investigators and other licensed professionals. There are very few restrictions as to what can be uploaded into AFIS as opposed to the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) databases. CODIS requires that the DNA profile to be uploaded is likely that of the perpetrator. In other words, if there’s a shooting at a bar, when crime scene arrives they can’t swab every single used glass and bottle for DNA, the need more specific information as to the general area that the suspect was in where it is more likely that he deposited his DNA on a glass or bottle from that area rather than open season on anything someone took a sip from, at least by New York standards. The bottles can all be processed if that information is unavailable, but Fbio won’t analyze 200 swabs and upload the profiles into CODIS; there are strict regulations about the integrity of data uploaded into CODIS that are monitored by the FBI. DNA cannot be used to identify witnesses, but fingerprints can be collected, examined and uploaded.</p>
<p>So where do we find these hidden treasures? Which of the two biometric identifiers you try to collect will often depend on the substrate that you want to process. Let’s talk about a semi-automatic firearm that has a magazine or a “clip”.</p>
<p>The grips are often a textured surface so that the gun won’t slide out of your hand when it recoils, therefore you would want to process them for DNA by moistening a sterile swab and running it over the grip surface. The trigger and trigger guard are areas that are typically smooth but too small to hold enough detail or “minutiae points” to make an identification from a fingerprint so those areas will be swabbed as well, using a separate swab so as not to create any mixtures of DNA in case the grips were handled by the first responder who may have had to remove the firearm from the suspect or came across the firearm in an unsafe condition, i.e. the hammer is back and could easily cause an accidental discharge, and had to render it safe.</p>
<p>The grooves on top of the firearm or on the “slide” as it’s called are another area that is not conducive to latent print development so again you would want to swab that area for DNA. Now how about that magazine? Nice smooth surface for print development and those “lips” at the top where someone pushes the bullets or “cartridges” into, depositing lots of DNA rich skin cells, and the cartridges themselves! Well yes, but the success rate is remarkably low and fast forward to the courtroom where your only evidence is DNA and/or prints from the magazine.</p>
<p>Can you hear the defense attorney make the claim, “Yes, my client admits that he loaded that firearm, but his DNA and prints were not on the outside of the gun, so obviously it was not him who fired that fatal shot!”? I’m not saying don’t process the magazine, but my job was to defer analysis of the DNA from a magazine because of this loophole and see if other more probative evidence is developed in the case.</p>
<p>Once the DNA has been collected, then the firearm can be treated for the development of latent fingerprints. This is typically done by using cyanoacrylate or “super glue” fuming. The firearm is placed into a chamber or “fuming tent” and the cyanoacrylate is heated until it vaporizes. These vapors adhere to the oils deposited by the human hand and you can see ridge detail from prints develop. Yes, they do this on CSI, but it is MUCH less successful in real life. The chances of getting a latent fingerprint from a firearm are less than 5%! The advantage is that the cyanoacrylate will “affix” the print so it is difficult to wipe away, and if you treat it with powder and have a bad “lift”, you can apply more powder and “relift” the print. The disadvantage is that this process encapsulates the DNA making it difficult, though not impossible, to collect by swabbing. This is why we swab first, then fume.</p>
<p>Substrates such as paper produce very poor if any results for DNA but can be treated with a chemical called Ninhydrin that will turn purple when it bonds to the area that was touched. Currency? As they say in Brooklyn “Fugghedaboudit”! It is just handled way too much to collect anything from a bill of any denomination, but attempts to develop prints will usually be made. Paper is considered a porous substrate, and for paper, the preferred biometric you will attempt to collect or develop is fingerprints. Envelopes have flaps that were more commonly licked, same as stamps and DNA recovery from these areas was very successful prior to the age of “self-adhesive” envelopes and stamps. Flaps and stamps will be tested and there is never a presumption that they were self-adhesive.</p>
<p>Clothing, though also porous, is a whole other category of physical evidence that has the potential to yield positive results for DNA when certain protocols are followed. Let’s use an outer garment like a jacket for an example. Say a perpetrator leaves a jacket behind at a crime scene. Jackets are not usually worn over a bare chest, so the areas to concentrate on would be the cuffs and the collar where there is a constant rubbing against the skin (yes, maybe even a nose wiped on the sleeve, but hopefully it won’t come to that!) Scraping of these areas will readily recover enough genetic material to get a full DNA profile. Now let’s say that the jacket that you receive in the laboratory as evidence was worn by the victim, but touched by the perpetrator. You now have much less DNA to work with from a simple touch than you do trying to get the profile of the wearer, therefore you as the criminalist will need to know as specifically as possible where the jacket was touched. The investigator should be asking those questions and putting the information into the “Request for Laboratory Examination Report” that he or she prepares.</p>
<p>You will need to collect the wearer’s DNA for comparison or “elimination” purposes because the wearer’s DNA will likely overwhelm the suspect’s. We deposit small amounts of DNA all over our clothing by taking it in and out of the closet, folding it, dander and sweat, sneezing etc. In homicide cases obtaining the victim’s DNA is not a problem because the victim’s DNA profile is routinely developed from blood cards collected at autopsy. But if this case is a robbery, you have to get the victim to provide his her DNA in the form of a buccal swab, or a swab of the mouth (think of 7<sup>th</sup> grade French “le bouche” or mouth) to collect skin cells. The victim’s DNA is NOT uploaded into CODIS, it is kept in the case file at FBio for the purposes of comparisons ONLY. Many people have issues with giving up their DNA because they think that we’ll find out about that illegitimate child they fathered down in Florida during spring break many years ago. Leave that work to Maury Povitch, we are only interested in collecting the victim’s DNA for comparisons – period (not a political period that really means asterisk – period as in end of sentence!) This is called an “Exemplar” or “Reference Sample” and it can only be collected by consent when the victim is alive.</p>
<p>We also need exemplars from suspects, and there are ways to bypass consent. A suspect can “abandon” his DNA by discarding a cigarette butt or drinking container and that is fair game for us to collect. We as investigators must be absolutely certain that the item we collect was in fact the same item we saw the suspect drinking or smoking. If the suspect crushes out a cigarette on a street corner and you go to collect it, but there are 5 other cigarette butts there, that is a do-over. If you collect the wrong item you have given your suspect a get out of jail free card because the DNA will not match your crime scene evidence. There are ways to surreptitiously obtain these suspect exemplars, but if nobody’s buying me drinks, I’m not telling!</p>
<p>I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to work in the realm of forensics during my tenure with the NYPD, and I continue to read and attend training to stay current which is no easy task with such a rapidly evolving and complex field. I hope that this paper has been helpful and wish everyone luck with their endeavors. I plan to read everything you all write and look for inaccuracies whenever forensic evidence is mentioned, so keep it real!</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/john-paolucci-logo-tyvek.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/john-paolucci-logo-tyvek.jpg?w=181&h=300" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="John Paolucci " height="300" width="181" /></a>John Paolucci</strong> is a retired Detective Sergeant from NYPD who worked his last eight years in the Forensic Investigations Division, four of them as a Crime Scene Unit supervisor.</p>
<p></p>
<p>He was the first ever to command the OCME Liaison Unit where he vetted and managed all DNA evidence collected in New York City. He developed a strong alliance between the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and NYPD and was instrumental in developing new protocols and procedures regarding forensic evidence collection and documentation. He also worked as a Narcotics Undercover and Patrol Officer in the Housing Projects of the South Bronx.</p>
<p></p>
<p>He is currently the president of Forensics 4 Real Inc., and trains students and law enforcement in forensic evidence and crime scene investigations. He also provides consultations with movie and television writers, directors and developers working on real crime shows and dramas. As President of <a title="Forensics 4 Real" href="http://www.forensics4real.com/home.html" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Forensics 4 Real </a>he has provided forensic support to private investigations and traveled to Paraguay where he exhumed a body for the collection of DNA evidence to assist in an insurance fraud case.</p>
<p></p>
<p> </p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941542015-07-20T19:00:00-05:002016-08-11T12:04:57-05:00So What is Forensics
<p>Today, we have retired Detective Sergeant, John Paolucci! He’s the president of <a title="Forensics4Real" href="http://www.forensics4real.com/home.html" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Forensics4Real</a> where he trains law enforcement and students in venues such as the Henry Lee Academy.</p>
<p>In this two-part series called <em>So What IS Forensics?</em> John will help us understand the basics of Forensics and provide answers to our questions.</p>
<p>Here is John!</p>
<p>So What IS Forensics</p>
<p>by <a title="John Paolucci" href="https://twitter.com/Forensics4Real" target="_blank" data-imported="1">John Paolucci</a></p>
<p>For me personally, I like to throw the word “forensics” around at every opportunity because it sounds cool and chicks dig it! That doesn’t do much for you the reader though. The best way to define forensics, although its application has ballooned beyond these parameters, would be to say that when science is applied to a criminal investigation, you have forensics. Some stretches would be forensic accountants, computer forensics, and although professionals from these fields do sport the requisite pocket protector, there are those who are dubious when it comes to calling their work “science”.</p>
<p>I have spent many years in the NYPD Police Laboratory where virtually every type of forensic analysis and comparison is performed; with the exception of DNA analysis, which is performed by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, Department of Forensic Biology (FBio).</p>
<p>I spent a lot of time in their facility as well, but being a cop, they never let me touch anything. New York City is very compartmentalized in that the laboratory personnel or “criminalists” are civilians. And the crime scene investigators who work out in the field are cops.</p>
<p>The major drawback is that our laboratory technicians don’t get to shoot perpetrators, narrowly escape fiery explosions or become victims of kidnappings – all in outfits suitable to go “clubbing” in – like they do on TV.</p>
<p>More recent developments in protocols do allow for a criminalist to respond to a crime scene and make snap decisions as to whether or not certain evidence would be promising to produce a result in the laboratory and help identify the perpetrator.</p>
<p>There are so many types of forensic analyses and comparisons that can be performed to help reconstruct events and place a perpetrator at a scene or some of the scene on the perpetrator.</p>
<p>Microscopically, what we call “Trace Evidence” has very unique qualities. Tiny fragments of glass can be found on clothing when a perpetrator breaks a window to gain entry to a crime scene. Glass has “class characteristics” such as is this glass from a window, light bulb or automobile? When class has been determined, this glass is then analyzed to determine properties such as thickness, density, curvature, fluorescence under UV lighting, optical properties and sometimes a “jigsaw Match” to fragments from the crime scene. This tiny little fragment can prove itself to be very unlike any other tiny little fragment of glass and could not have come from any source other than the window at the crime scene.</p>
<p>Similar tests and comparisons can be done with things like paint, plastic bags, fibers and the list goes on. The “Questioned Documents” unit can detect forgeries, restore redacted or obliterated writing on a document, and detect erasures.</p>
<p>Footwear and tire wear can be as unique as a fingerprint. How? We all have a unique gait that causes distinctive wear patterns in the soles of our footwear. Also, a pebble stuck in the tread or glass that you stepped on that damaged the tread pattern; all of this makes your footprint unlike any other. And that curb you clipped with your car or bottle you ran over? Well you just gave your tire characteristics no one else’s tire has.</p>
<p>So using all this “trace” evidence, we can say, “Your car was there” or “Your Pants were there”….but not “You were there”. For this we need what are called “Biometric Identifiers” or more commonly, fingerprints and DNA.</p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_1287" style="width: 273px;">
<a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/john-paolucci-whos-who.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/john-paolucci-whos-who.jpg?w=263&h=300" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Retired Detective Sergeant John Paolucci" /></a>
<p class="wp-caption-text">Retired Detective Sergeant John Paolucci</p>
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<p></p>
<p><strong>John Paolucci</strong> is a retired Detective Sergeant from NYPD who worked his last eight years in the Forensic Investigations Division, four of them as a Crime Scene Unit supervisor.</p>
<p></p>
<p>He was the first ever to command the OCME Liaison Unit where he vetted and managed all DNA evidence collected in New York City. He developed a strong alliance between the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and NYPD and was instrumental in developing new protocols and procedures regarding forensic evidence collection and documentation. He also worked as a Narcotics Undercover and Patrol Officer in the Housing Projects of the South Bronx.</p>
<p></p>
<p>He is currently the president of Forensics 4 Real Inc., and trains students and law enforcement in forensic evidence and crime scene investigations. He also provides consultations with movie and television writers, directors and developers working on real crime shows and dramas. As President of Forensics 4 Real Inc. he has provided forensic support to private investigations and traveled to Paraguay where he exhumed a body for the collection of DNA evidence to assist in an insurance fraud case.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941362015-04-10T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T13:50:40-06:00The Criminal Investigative Function ~ 2nd Edition
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<p><a title="The Criminal Investigative Function" href="http://coldcasesquad.blogspot.com/p/the-book.html" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/2nd-ed-cover-small.jpg?w=590" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="2nd Ed Cover small" /></a></p>
<p>With the release of <em>The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators</em> - 2nd Edition and his retirement from the force, Joe Giacalone is enjoying what it feels like to be a best selling author.</p>
<p>Not only has his textbook been chosen as required reading by the New Jersey Civil Service Commision, but he has been approached for interviews and consulted on numerous cases regarding criminal investigations and missing persons.</p>
<p>I’ve read the first book and can’t wait to get my hands on the second edition. This a good tool for new investigators to use; it is also a helpful resource book for us crime and mystery writers.</p>
<p>P.S. A little birdie told me that he’s currently working on his next book. <span class="wp-smiley emoji emoji-smile" title=":)">:)</span></p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline">About the Book</span></strong> <em>The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators</em>, is a candid, real-world look at investigations, from the crime scene to the courtroom, shared by an <strong>ACTUAL </strong>investigator. No ivory tower theory. Just the real deal!</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline">The text has been expanded and completely revised with photos and illustrations!</span></p>
<p><strong>A seasoned investigator taps his years of street experience to teach you the: </strong></p>
<p>• Core qualities that make for a great investigator.</p>
<p>• Important legalities that impact investigations.</p>
<p>• Crime scene protocols that <strong><em>must </em></strong>be followed.</p>
<p>• New DNA and Forensic Techniques.</p>
<p>• Best follow-up investigation strategies.</p>
<p>• Aspects of Interview and Interrogation.</p>
<p>• Keys to dealing with eyewitnesses.</p>
<p>• Investigative Report Writing.</p>
<p>• Steps in Solving Major Crimes and Missing Persons cases.</p>
<p><strong>Each chapter includes summary questions for discussion and review.</strong></p>
<p>Publisher:</p>
<p><strong><a title="Loose Leaf Law" href="http://www.looseleaflaw.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc.</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>43-08 162nd St</strong></p>
<p><strong>Flushing</strong><strong>, NY 11358</strong></p>
<p><strong>1-800-647-5547 </strong></p>
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_1081" style="width: 310px;">
<a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/joe-giacalone-2.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/joe-giacalone-2.jpg?w=300&h=225" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Just finished filming a new true crime show " height="225" width="300" /></a>
<p class="wp-caption-text">Just finished filming a new true crime show</p>
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<p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline">About the Author / Law Enforcement Trainer / Media Consultant </span></strong></p>
<p>Joseph L. Giacalone is a retired Detective Sergeant with an extensive background in criminal investigations. He has held many prestigious positions, but his favorite was the Commanding Officer of a Cold Case Homicide Squad. Joe has personally worked on hundreds of murders, suicides and missing person cases throughout his career and is always willing to share his knowledge and experiences with others.</p>
<p>He obtained a Master of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice with a Specialty in Crime and Deviance from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2005. He has been an Adjunct Professor at John Jay since January of 2006.</p>
<p>In his spare time, he writes his own criminal investigation Blog, <a href="http://www.coldcasesquad.com/" data-imported="1">www.coldcasesquad.com</a></p>
<p>You can follow Joe and the Cold Case Squad on Twitter: <a title="Cold Case Squad" href="https://twitter.com/ColdCaseSquad" target="_blank" data-imported="1">@ColdCaseSquad</a> and <a title="Joe Giacalone" href="https://twitter.com/JoeGiacalone" target="_blank" data-imported="1">@JoeGiacalone</a> or through his website <a href="http://joegwrites.com/" data-imported="1">http://joegwrites.com/</a></p>
<p><a title="The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators" href="http://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Investigative-Function-Guide-Investigators/dp/1608850234/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363706136&sr=1-1&keywords=criminal+investigative+function" target="_blank" data-imported="1">The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New </a><br><a title="The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators" href="http://www.amazon.com/Criminal-Investigative-Function-Guide-Investigators/dp/1608850234/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363706136&sr=1-1&keywords=criminal+investigative+function" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Investigators on Amazon</a> - 1st Edition</p>
<p><strong>See below for other posts related to this article:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/between_the_chalk_lines_warming_up_to_cold_cases" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Between the Chalk Lines: Warming Up to Cold Cases</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/crime_writers_panel_for_upcoming_workshop" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Crime Writers’ Panel for Upcoming Workshop</a></p>
<p><a href="http://wwww.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/a_quick_guide_to_miranda_for_crime_writers_part_2/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">A Quick Guide to Miranda for Crime Writers Part 2</a></p>
<p><a href="http://wwww.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/writer_question_can_police_forcibly_take_dna/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Writer Question: Can Police Forcibly Take DNA?</a></p>
<p><a href="http://wwww.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/guest_blogger_joe_giacalone_can_my_character_do_that/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Guest Blogger Joe Giacalone: Can My Character Do That?</a></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941422015-03-06T18:00:00-06:002016-11-17T10:32:39-06:00Writer Question: Can Police Forcibly Take DNA?
<p>I’ve received questions from writers wondering what ways can their detective obtain DNA. They have also asked, “Can police forcibly take DNA?”</p>
<p>I had to admit, I had no clue and turned to Joe Giacalone to see if he had a post that I could use and he did. He gave me permission to repost his article here on Criminal Lines.</p>
<p>The 3 Ways Police Obtain DNA Samples Lawfully</p>
<p>By: <a title="Joe Giacalone" href="http://coldcasesquad.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joseph L. Giacalone</a></p>
<p>By now you have seen all of the television shows, read the mystery books and listened to news casts on how DNA help solve a cold case. DNA happens to be one of the most important law enforcement tools used to solve crimes. However, there is one constant in all of this and that is how law enforcement can lawfully obtain a DNA exemplar.</p>
<p>Law enforcement agencies have been playing the forensic “catch-up” game for a number of years. They learn the new methods and technologies and then the forensic science community discovers a new way of doing it. It is a constant learning curve for law enforcement. The advances in forensics and DNA are exponential and law enforcement has made a herculean effort to stay on top of this technology.</p>
<p>Obtaining a DNA exemplar is just like collecting other pieces of evidence. Law enforcement understands that the public now demands to see the forensic evidence, especially DNA, that ties the suspect to the victim, the suspect to the scene or the suspect to the weapon. Call it the “CSI Effect” or anything else that you want to, but the jury wants to see more of it. Many times investigators recover DNA at a crime scene, but when the sample is entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), it comes back as “No Hit.” As the investigation progresses and suspects are developed, investigators need to obtain exemplars to either exclude or include the suspect.</p>
<p>Each action that investigators take could have a reaction in the suspect. Move to soon and you can spook them, move to late and the hunt is on. The question remains, “How can law enforcement legally obtain a DNA exemplar from a suspect? There are only three (3) ways to do so that I refer to as the 3 Cs:</p>
<p>1. Consent</p>
<p>2. Court Order</p>
<p>3. Covertly<br><strong>Consent</strong></p>
<p>In order to get consent, you have to ask. The suspect must agree to provide the sample voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently. Which means that he is old enough, understands what he / she is doing and the consequences of the action and they weren’t tricked, forced or coerced. But what do you think will happen once the investigator asks for a DNA sample? Right, your suspect is gone in the wind and your investigation just got ten times more difficult.</p>
<p><strong>Court Order</strong></p>
<p>In order to get a warrant for taking a DNA sample, investigators must have probable cause. Generally, in these cases, the suspect is already in custody, so there is no threat of him fleeing and probable cause has already been established. If he wasn’t in custody, that would mean that probable cause has not been established and therefore couldn’t get a warrant.</p>
<p><strong>Covertly</strong></p>
<p>Obtaining a DNA sample covertly, (secretly or surreptitiously) is not as easy as it sounds or shown on television. Detectives must work carefully and fast when they need to recover a discarded sample. On television, detectives are always able to recover the bottle of water or can of soda for their exemplar. However, the target probably watches television too! Now investigators have to conduct surveillance and wait for the suspect to spit, discard a cigarette or half eaten food to obtain the sample.</p>
<p>Law enforcement must carefully obtain a DNA exemplar or risk it being excluded in pretrial evidence hearings. Sometimes obtaining a DNA exemplar is the only thing standing in the way of an arrest and conviction and even exoneration of innocent person wrongfully accused.</p>
<p><strong>Related Articles by Joe on The Cold Case Squad</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://bit.ly/KdFelo" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Edmond Locard: Forensic Rock Star #1</a><br><a href="http://bit.ly/M97doh" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Dr. Sir Alec Jeffreys: Forensic Rock Star #2</a><br><a href="http://bit.ly/LStzP4" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Are Investigators Relying too Much on Forensic Evidence?</a><br><a href="http://bit.ly/LuvBlue" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Detectives Love Blue Star Blood Identifying Agent </a><br><a href="http://bit.ly/CODMOD" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Cause of Death vs. Manner of Death</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://msashtonwriter.com/?attachment_id=921" rel="attachment wp-att-921" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/cif-cover.jpg?w=100&h=150" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="CIF Cover" height="150" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://joegiacalone.net/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joe’s Website</a></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941642015-02-28T18:00:00-06:002016-11-17T10:01:20-06:00Changes in Law Enforcement
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<p>Join Marguerite Ashton and Bill Cannon as they discuss the new technology and tactics in law enforcement for 2015. <br>Also, Jim Ault will be there help celebrate the first episode of season two for Criminal Lines Radio.</p>
Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941272014-08-02T19:00:00-05:002014-08-03T12:08:01-05:00Criminal Lines
<h1>The <a href="http://msashtonwriter.com/" data-imported="1">Criminal Lines</a> blog is in the process of moving from Wordpress to its new home, located here on margueriteashton.net </h1>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941432014-05-18T19:00:00-05:002017-05-22T04:19:36-05:00A Quick Guide to Miranda for Crime Writers Part 2
<p>By: <a href="http://joegiacalone.net/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joseph L. Giacalone</a></p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/a_quick_guide_to_miranda_for_crime_writers_part_1/" data-imported="1">A Quick Guide to Miranda for Crime Writers Part </a>1 I talked about how the writer would handle Miranda issues. In this post we’re going to discuss how to write a scene involving a lawyer and his client.</p>
<p>Here is the typical interrogation / lawyer scene that has been played out ad nauseam on television and in the movies: The lawyer barges into the interrogation room (“The Box’) and states, “I represent Sam Smith. Is my client under arrest? No, then we will be on our way.” Not in the real world.</p>
<p>In order for a suspect to need a lawyer, there must be Interrogation + Custody. When both are present, the police must read them their Miranda Warnings from a prepared card or use simple language to convey the Miranda Rights (<em>Duckworth vs. Eagen</em> 492 U.S. 195 (1989)). In order for a suspect to invoke their right to counsel, they must clearly and unambiguously ask for one, “I want a lawyer,” not, “Maybe I should speak to a lawyer (<em>Davis vs. United States</em>, 512 US 452) (1994))?”</p>
<p>Here is where the tricky part comes in for writers. What happens when a family member or friend obtains counsel for someone else? What happens when the lawyer calls the police station? Unlike television, defense attorneys and prosecutors aren’t assigned to police precincts. These situations are handled differently depending on decisions made by state supreme courts. A writer must know what rulings and laws apply specifically to their settings to give their fiction a “real feel” to it.</p>
<p>According to how the Miranda Rights were written, the individual themselves must invoke their right to counsel-no one else can do it for them. So, if the suspect doesn’t ask for a lawyer, the lawyer will not have access to their client. Not if they call, not if they show up, etc. It is not the job of the police to inform you that your sister retained counsel on your behalf. Just like television, right? This was upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court Case, <em>Moran v. Burbine</em> 475 U.S. 412 (1986). However, many jurisdictions have made the decision to provide more rights for their residents. Remember, a local government cannot overrule the federal government, but they can make it more stringent.</p>
<p>Michigan, Florida, Illinois and New York City have ignored <em>Moran vs. Burbine</em> and instituted an additional layer of protection. For instance, in New York City, if a lawyer contacts any police station or any police officer (even if the suspect is not being held there), it is considered that you have been notified and all questions must cease, or any statements made after the call will be inadmissible.</p>
<p>Want to do research on a court case and don’t know how or where to look it up? I will use the Moran case from above to show the breakdown of how and where to find it:</p>
<p><em>Moran (P) vs. Burbine (D)</em> – Plaintiff vs. Defendant (P vs. D)<br>475 – Is the volume number of the law report the decision was published in<br>U.S. United States Report<br>412 – Is the page number in volume 475 where the information is published<br>1986 – Is the year the decision was rendered in</p>
<p><strong>For more information or crime writing assistance you can follow Joe on Twitter @JoeGiacalone</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joe-giacalone3.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joe-giacalone3.jpg?w=243&h=300" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" /></a></p>
<p>Joe Giacalone is a retired Detective Sergeant and former Commanding Officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad that has investigated hundreds of homicides, cold cases and missing persons.</p>
<p>He is the author of the<em> Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators</em> published by Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc.</p>
<p>To find out more about Joe or his book, please visit <a title="Cold Case Squad" href="http://www.coldcasesquad.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Cold Case Squad</a>.</p>
<p>Related Posts: <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/a_quick_guide_to_miranda_for_crime_writers_part_1/" data-imported="1">A Quick Guide to Miranda for Crime Writers Part 1</a></p>
Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941412014-05-04T19:00:00-05:002017-05-22T04:15:02-05:00A Quick Guide to Miranda for Crime Writers Part 1
<p>By: <a href="http://joegiacalone.net/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joseph L. Giacalone</a></p>
<p>The one area of writing crime that I see errors made more often than anywhere else is: Confessions and Admissions, including the Right to Counsel and Miranda. This series of articles will focus on those issues. I will give examples how to avoid those errors and what court cases you can find them in. This will save the author from being a researcher and do what he/she loves the most, write!</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline">How Does the Writer Handle Miranda Issues?</span></p>
<p>You have to ask yourself this question every time you have a custodial interrogation scene. Custodial interrogation means that the person is under arrest and they are no longer free to leave. Unfortunately for some, television is their sole basis for law school. “This is how they do it on (Name any police show), so this is how it must be done.” Here is a tip: television is wrong more than half the time.</p>
<p>Here is a quick survey. How many of you believe that once you are under arrest, the police must read Miranda to you? If you said yes to that question, than you are a victim of television. Only in Hollywood, do they start, “You have the right to remain silent…” right after the cuffs go on. In reality, the police will not read Miranda to you probably ninety-five percent of the time. Miranda is a math formula: Interrogation + Custody = Miranda; 1+1=2. Both elements must be present before Miranda is constitutionally required.</p>
<p>I. Subject: <span style="text-decoration:underline">The Miranda Rule</span></p>
<p>Question: Must Miranda Warnings <span style="text-decoration:underline">always</span> be given to a suspect who is questioned at a police facility?</p>
<p>Answer: No. Look at the formula. We have interrogation (questioning), but do we have custody? If I am a detective and ask you to come to the station house to answer some questions, are you in custody? No. We made an appointment; you cannot be forced to come or you can tell me to talk to your lawyer.</p>
<p>Resource: Case of Oregon v. Mathiason 45 LW 3505 (1977)</p>
<p>II. Subject: <span style="text-decoration:underline">The Miranda Rule</span></p>
<p>Question: Is there a time when the police may question a person in custody before reading them Miranda?</p>
<p>Answer: Yes. When there is an imminent danger to the public for the purpose of eliminating that threat. This has been labeled the Emergency Exception.The police grab a guy in a supermarket that tried to rob the store with a gun, but he no longer possesses it. The police can question him as to the location of the weapon. This is done so that no unsuspecting child will find the gun while shopping in the store.</p>
<p>Resource: Case of New York v. Quarles (1984) a U.S. Supreme Court Decision</p>
<p>Now that you are armed with this new information, examine your interrogation scenes and ask yourself this question: “Did I handle the Miranda Rule correctly?”</p>
<p>Related Posts: <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/a_quick_guide_to_miranda_for_crime_writers_part_2/" data-imported="1">A Quick Guide to Miranda for Crime Writers 2</a></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941632014-03-23T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T09:53:13-06:00Collecting the Evidence: Indoor vs Outdoor Crime Scenes
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941622013-11-12T18:00:00-06:002016-11-17T10:03:27-06:00The Make-up of a Precinct
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941372013-09-25T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T13:49:55-06:00Social Media for the Writer
<p>Crime Writers’ Panel members, <a title="Joe Giacalone" href="http://joegiacalone.net/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joe Giacalone</a> and <a title="Detective Ken Lang" href="http://kenlang.weebly.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Detective Ken Lang </a>take a look at the correct way to use social media.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941452013-08-12T19:00:00-05:002016-12-28T13:12:38-06:00Criminal Lines Radio With Bill Cannon
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<p>Please join us in welcoming Retired Detective Sergeant, Bill Cannon to Criminal Lines Radio. Bill is a Criminal Justice Professor at Monroe College and was recently interviewed by the Discovery Channel for a documentary called, Women Who Kill. It’s set to air in November 2013. His first interview with CLR was August 13, 2013. Starting in September, he’ll be a regular on the show to give his take on the current issue at hand. </p>
Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941462013-07-13T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T13:46:31-06:00We’re Talking Writers: Brad Smith
<p>I had the pleasure of speaking with crime novelist, Brad Smith. We discussed his latest book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Dog-Virgil-Cain-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00A28604K" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Shoot the Dog </a>and what inspired him to write the popular, Virgil Cain series.</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to his next book!</p>
<p>Brad Smith was born and raised in the hamlet of Canfield, in southern Ontario, a couple of hours from Toronto. As a child, he had a Huck Finn existence, building rafts and catching frogs and falling off his bike with regularity. (this was in the pre-helmet days – which might explain a lot) He grew up on stories – both oral and written – reading the hockey books of Scott Young, and listening to the old-timers in the village. His next door neighbor was a WWI vet who had been a sergeant at Vimy Ridge in 1917. Smith attended elementary school in Cayuga, and high school – somewhat sporadically – in Dunnville.</p>
<p>Smith started writing in his late twenties, in part to see if he could, and for a while it appeared that, as a writer, he was going to make a hell of a roofer. There was a certain amount of partying going on at the time and the result was a lack of the self-discipline required to write. The first effort at a book ended after roughly five pages. A couple of years later though, holed up in the small town of Revelstoke in the Rocky Mountains, he actually finished a novel which is unpublished to this day, and will remain so. The next effort, however, was Rises A Moral Man, published by John Flood at Penumbra Press. Since then he has published <a href="http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/oneeyedjacks.php" target="_blank" data-imported="1">One-Eyed Jacks</a> (2000), <a href="http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/allhat.php" target="_blank" data-imported="1">All Hat</a> (2003), <a href="http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/bustedflush.php" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Busted Flush</a> (2005), <a href="http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/index.php" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Big Man Coming Down The Road</a> (2007), Red Means Run (2012), Crow’s Landing, 2012 and Shoot The Dog (2013). All Hat was made into a feature film by the same title, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2007. Smith adapted the novel for screen. Smith also wrote and directed the short film Fading Fast in 2008, and continues to do some film work.</p>
<p>To learn more about Mr. Smith, you can visit his website at <a href="http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-imported="1">http://www.bradsmithbooks.com/</a></p>
<p>Quick Links:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Red-Means-Run-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B00768D76I" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Red Means Run</a> (Book 1) and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crows-Landing-Virgil-Cain-Smith-ebook/dp/B0061Q69NY/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Crow’s Landing </a>(Book 2)</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941512013-06-22T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T13:04:27-06:00Between the Chalk Lines: Perspective of a Female Detective
<p>I’ve been waiting for this for a long time—to be able to talk with a female detective. I first got to chat with her during <a title="cclive chat" href="http://www.defrostingcoldcases.com/cold-case-live-chat-twitter/recap-cclivechat-friday-the-13th-of-july-2012" target="_blank" data-imported="1">#cclivechat </a>on<a title="Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1"> Twitter </a>and now she is here with us on Criminal Lines.</p>
<p>Her name is Suzie Ivy and she is the author of Bad Luck Cadet and Bad Luck Officer. I’ve read the reviews and can’t wait to get a copy of it once it’s in print. Hope I can get her to autograph it.</p>
<p>Here’s Suzie:</p>
<p><strong>1. I want to say thank you for stopping by. We appreciate your time. </strong></p>
<p>Thank you for inviting me to be your guest. I love talking about blogging, writing, and being a cop.</p>
<p><strong>2. Tell us a bit about yourself</strong>.</p>
<p>I work as a police detective in a rural Arizona community. I specialize in sex crimes although I work everything from fraud to homicide.</p>
<p><strong>3. When did you decide that being in law enforcement is what you wanted?</strong></p>
<p>Originally when I was 14-years-old but life and family delayed my dream, although I wouldn’t change a thing. My dream continued when I was 45-years-old and took the leap.</p>
<p><strong>4. Are there cases that are more difficult to handle than others?</strong></p>
<p>Child molestation cases are my primary specialty and they are sad, challenging, and often devastating. I practice meditation along with bending the ear of an excellent therapist. It took me a couple of years to realize I needed the release of a counselor. We laugh that she must seek out her own therapist after my visits.</p>
<p><strong>5. Is the “CSI Factor” an irritant to you as an LEO?</strong></p>
<p>Ten time YES. It’s what juries know and we must gently re-educate them. I want to say, “Look, only an idiot would store evidence in a plastic bag. The oils from plastic contaminate everything.” What I say is, “Take for example plastic being used on a show such as CSI. It looks great for the cameras but unfortunately they ruin all their evidence due to the contaminating oils in plastic.” I then laugh while shaking my head up and down so they can laugh and nod their heads with me.</p>
<p><strong>6. What TV series has impressed you with their accuracy in detailing crime scenes?</strong></p>
<p>I haven’t fallen in love or been impressed with a cop/CSI TV series since Hill Street Blues. I will shamefully admit to enjoying Sons of Anarchy.</p>
<p><strong>7. I enjoy reading your blog, The Bad Luck Detective: From Midlife Crisis to Police Detective. I’ve laughed, I’ve cried and I’ve cheered. Your posts are fun and upfront. Can you explain your reason for starting the blog?</strong></p>
<p>Again this goes back to therapy. I needed an outlet to remember why I became an officer. I needed to show the lighter side of the job and I also wanted people to see cops as human beings. We make mistakes, we laugh and we cry.</p>
<p><strong>8. You have over 4,000 readers. Did you ever dream that your content would interest so many?</strong></p>
<p>No, I remember that first comment from someone I didn’t know. I pinched myself and grinned from ear to ear. If the bruises lasted, I would have nowhere else to pinch. I also think with all the turmoil in the world, people are looking for laughter. Nothing delights me more than those LOL and ROTFLMAO comments.</p>
<p>Some of my posts get carried away in the comments and they are more fun than what I originally wrote. I love when that happens.</p>
<p><strong>9. Now, you’ve written two books. Bad Luck Cadet and Bad Luck Officer. Please tell us about them.</strong></p>
<p>Bad Luck Cadet began my entire blog career. A friend told me about blogging so I posted the first chapter of BLC and then another. The series was picked up by NoQuarter USA, a political blog and ran as a serial novel. Things just kind of went from there as I retold the story of my experiences at the police academy at the age of 45.</p>
<p>Bad Luck Officer was written as a book and not a blog. The writing is much better, shows what I’ve learned about writing, and it’s told more as a story about my first two years as a cop.</p>
<p><strong>10. Is there another book in the works?</strong></p>
<p>I am currently working on Bad Luck in Small Town about a true-life homicide investigation. I’m known to have very odd cases and this is one of those. It’s actually a novella (about 35,000 words) and it’s a holdover for Bad Luck Detective which will be out next year.</p>
<p><strong>11. What do you do to find your muse?</strong></p>
<p>Nature. I am very spiritual; I have a healing garden with a pond and large goldfish. I encourage wildlife including, birds, rabbits, bees & wasps, snakes, lizards, spiders, etc. to join me. Sitting in my garden helps me to focus and develop ideas.</p>
<p><strong>12. Do you use a prop while writing?</strong></p>
<p>Music is my MUST. Right now I’m listening to native flute though I’m known to crank up the hard rock-n-roll just as often. I also like sexy, naughty, dirty blues.</p>
<p><strong>13. Who is your favorite author?</strong></p>
<p>There are so many and it’s always changing. This is my top ten list for today: Stephen King, Ilona Andrews, Lavyrle Spencer, Robert Crais, Lee Child, JK Rowling, Thomas B. Constain, Og Mandino, Janet Evanovich, and Patricia Briggs. I’m very eclectic and there are hundreds more.</p>
<p><strong>14. What advice would you give women considering going into law enforcement?</strong></p>
<p>Full steam ahead. We must attract more women to law enforcement. You are needed at every level. If you’re heading to the police academy start 100 push-ups a day now!</p>
<p><strong>15. Name three people that have inspired you and why.</strong></p>
<p>Amelia Earhart: I discovered I was born on her birthday when I was eight-years-old. I’ve read every book written about her life. She was and continues to be amazing.</p>
<p>Katherine Swynford: This most beloved and most romantic heroine defied everything and everyone for her love of John of Gaunt in 14<sup>th</sup> century England. Again, I’ve read every account of the two written, but my favorite remains <em>Katherine</em> by Anya Seton.</p>
<p>My mother: I’ve told so many stories about her. My favorite is her insistence that in my lifetime there will be a female president and there is no reason it cannot be me. I was probably 5-years-old the first time she recited those words and I grew up with them.</p>
<p>She has always encouraged bravery, honesty, and love. She had never stopped believing in me and she is my biggest hero.</p>
<p><strong>16. One last thing, can you please suggest to aspiring crime writers what they can do to make their books more believable?</strong></p>
<p>Police officers love to feel special. Call your local law enforcement (especially detectives) ask procedural questions. Ask if they would read an excerpt that you’re not sure about. Get their email address. I think writers feel too intimidated to ask but so many would rather you get it right for a change and would love to help.</p>
<p><a href="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/suzie-uniform.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/suzie-uniform.jpg?w=265&h=300" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="300" width="265" /></a></p>
<p>It all began when I was forty-five years old and decided to lose weight, get in shape and attend the police academy. I became the first female officer in my small town and two years later a detective.</p>
<p>When I’m not working on my next big case, you can find me writing, gardening, taking care of my horse and dogs or playing dominoes with my husband.</p>
<p>I write about the humorous side of my career in law enforcement as I stumble through my mid-life adventure.</p>
<p><em>Best Wishes, Suzie Ivy</em></p>
<p>To learn more about Suzie, please visit her blog at <a href="http://www.badluckdetective.com/" data-imported="1">www.badluckdetective.com</a>.</p>
<p>Other links in the Between the Chalk Lines Series</p>
<p><a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/between_the_chalk_lines:_forensically_speaking" data-imported="1">Between the Chalk Lines: Forensically Speaking </a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/criminal_lines_blog/between_the_chalk_lines_warming_up_to_cold_cases" data-imported="1">Between the Chalk Lines: Warming Up to Cold Cases</a></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941382013-06-03T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T13:03:42-06:00Between the Chalk Lines: Warming Up to Cold Cases
<p><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joe-giacalone3.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" /></p>
<p>Today, I welcome as my guest, veteran Detective Sergeant Joe Giacalone. He’s commanding officer of a cold case squad and the author of the book titled <em>The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators</em>.</p>
<p>I want to start by saying that Joe was gracious enough to share his time, knowledge and experience in solving cold cases, during this two-part interview.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Could you explain what a cold case investigator does?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. I always viewed myself as an archeologist. We dig up the past to make conclusions for the future. The most important job of any cold case investigator is to provide closure for the victim’s families and friends. That is what the job is all about.</p>
<p><strong>Q. What is a cold case?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> A cold case is one where all of the investigative leads have been exhausted. It usually is that one piece of information that gives us probable cause. Generally, we know who the perpetrator is, but it can’t be proven in a court of law.</p>
<p><strong>Q. How long does it take for a case to be labeled cold?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. There really isn’t a specific time limit, but I rarely took a case that was less than 1 year old. There are many investigators who don’t give up and will maintain an active case folder. I look for cases where no work has been done in a long time.</p>
<p><strong>Q. What are the first steps taken when opening a cold case file?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. Before a police department spends a lot of money investigating cold cases, there must be some solvability factors to make it worthwhile. For instance, is there potential DNA evidence? If there was a weighted scale from 1 to 100, DNA evidence would be worth 75 points in my estimation. Next, we look to see if the physical evidence from the crime scene can be located, if witnesses are still alive and if we can even find the original case folder.</p>
<p>I preferred laying out the crime scene photos first before I read any investigative reports. I didn’t want them to contaminate by judgement. Since it was my initial “response” to the scene I tried to get a feeling for it by conducting what I call the “Photographic Crime Scene Walkthrough.” The crime scene walkthrough is the process of examining the scene to ensure that there are no other victims, to identify any physical evidence in plain view and determine how fragile that evidence is. Since, the crime scene may have been 20 years ago; photos are the only way we can still do the “walkthrough.”</p>
<p>After I look at the photos and take some of my own notes, I develop a hypothesis of the crime – who did it and why. I like starting with the “why” because it is a backdoor to finding the “who.” I would then ask one of the other investigators to do the same thing and then we would compare notes.</p>
<p>The next stage is the most time consuming - reading the previous investigative reports. Within the details of these reports are the bits and pieces necessary to reconstruct a witness list, evidence list and most importantly a suspect list.</p>
<p><strong>Q. After a file has been decided on, when is the initial contact to the family made?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> We don’t contact the family to tell them we are looking into the case until we have something with “meat” on it. We never want to get someone’s hopes up only to crush them when we can’t even find the case folder. Remember, you are dealing with people’s repressed emotions. To drag that kind of hurt up for no apparent reason is not the way to forge better police / public relations.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Is communication between survivors difficult after they’ve already established a bond with a previous investigator?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> No. Some of these cases are so old, that when you show up at their door they are stunned. All is forgiven at that moment. They realize that there are people out there that still care.</p>
<p><strong>Q. What is the oldest file reopened where there was closure?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> The oldest cases where from 1946 and 1971. The 1946 case was an Exceptional Clearance – which means probable cause was established, but the DA refused to prosecute because of the length of time. The 1971 case lead to an arrest for murder.</p>
<p><strong>Q. During my research, I came across a 34 year old case that had been solved. What is the reality of solving a case that old?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. Those cases are next to impossible to solve for a variety of reasons. First, if you can find the evidence, how was it packaged? The police had no idea about DNA even 15 years ago, so many of the items that contained DNA where packaged in plastic. We learned too late that plastic degrades DNA – even destroys it. The older the case is, the more likelihood that witnesses are dead. If you are fortunate enough to find the case folder, then you have their statements documented, however, nothing beats hearing it directly from the person.</p>
<p><strong>Q. In a cold case squad, what type of knowledge and experience does each investigator bring to the table?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. The cold case squad should be stacked with your very best investigators. Investigating these types of cases is the most difficult of all. If the case was that easy, it would have been solved already! The most important attributes for a cold case investigator are: Persistence, Determination and they must be a great communicator. This is a position where you can’t give up. There are many obstacles when investigating cold cases. You have to find a way to go over them or around them, but never under them.</p>
<p><strong>Q. What brings you peace during an investigation?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. Since these investigations take a long time to do they are often frustrating. That’s when we call a timeout and go for a cup of coffee. We have come up with some great ideas to solve cases in those 20 minutes. You are more relaxed and away from the case folders and phones ringing.</p>
<p><strong>Q. During your years in law enforcement, what has been the most rewarding?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. There have been several moments, whether it was delivering a baby or finding a missing child or elderly person. I can’t put my finger on any one instance, but all police officers do the job for that reason – to make a difference. None of us are getting rich from doing policing, that’s for sure.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Do you have a favorite quote?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> I absolutely love quotes. I think the quotes we like have lots to do with our personalities. Since I enjoy so many, I am going to give you two.</p>
<p>“Keep your mouth shut and be assumed a fool, then open it and leave no doubt.” – Mark Twain</p>
<p>That pretty much sums up what everyone should do. Too many people with too many “things” to say.</p>
<p>“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”</p>
<p>- Napoleon Bonaparte</p>
<p>Make a decision! As police departments are run more like businesses, I noticed the increase of meetings. These meetings I discovered are only a way to avoid making decisions. “OK, we’ll do a follow up on today’s meeting, next meeting!” If you are a boss and holding too many meetings, stop it already!</p>
<p><strong>Q. You wrote a textbook titled, <em>The Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators</em>. Tell us a bit about it. </strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. The book is a practical guide to train investigators to make the transition from patrol officer to detective. It is a different mindset. The book details the tactics and ideas that help me solve crimes for many years. They are battle tested, so they work. I don’t waste the reader’s time with filler and fluff; I get down to the crux of the situation. Hopefully, investigators that read it can start analyzing the situation and begin making better decisions on how to solve the case.</p>
<p><strong>Q. What gave you the idea to write it and how long did it take to complete?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. I have been teaching criminal investigation at John Jay College since 2006. I was using textbooks that cost over $125 and they weren’t very good. Most are summaries of the criminal investigation process and are still very patrol officer centric. That is not the way to learn about conducting investigations. Even worse, many of these texts are written by people who were never investigators, let alone ever been to a crime scene!</p>
<p>I decided to write an affordable book that teaches the student how to do an investigation and I did it all in less than six months. From the moment the investigator receives the notification to the time they testify in court is covered in the book and everything in between. I tried to make it easy to remember the techniques by infusing acronyms and a little “cop” humor. I was able to accomplish this and still make it affordable to everyone.</p>
<p>To add some validation to what I set out to do with the book, the New Jersey Civil Service Commission has adopted it as required reading for the May 2012 Sheriff promotional exams for the ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and captain. Something that I am very proud of.</p>
<p>When I developed my marketing plan for the book I focused on police departments of course and Criminal Justice programs throughout the United States. The book has been adopted by many colleges, including at least one in Canada. I am thrilled and truly fortunate that I have been given this great opportunity by Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc.</p>
<p>There was one segment that I didn’t include in my marketing plan that has blossomed into an unbelievable avenue for book sales – crime fiction / mystery writers. I have since added that segment and have done many talks for writing groups including the New York Sisters in Crime and New York Mystery Writers of America. My goal is to expand outside of my home territory, meet new writers across the world and help them write more believable stories.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941522013-05-31T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T13:03:06-06:00Between the Chalk Lines: Forensically Speaking
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<p><a href="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/kenneth-lang1.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/kenneth-lang1.jpg?w=171" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="Image" /></a></p>
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<p>Please welcome this evening, true crime author, Ken Lang. He is a 22 year law enforcement veteran and has served the last 15 years as a detective in the Criminal Investigation Division.</p>
<p>In addition to his current investigative assignment, Ken is also an active Forensic Artist, providing police agencies with composite sketches, post-mortem and age-enhancement drawings, and skull reconstructions.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Is law enforcement something that you’ve always wanted to do?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A. </strong>It is something that has always fascinated me, especially when I realized as a high school graduate that college wasn’t in my immediate future–my father was a factory worker at a local auto plant and we couldn’t afford it. But through persistence, I set my goals on a career in law enforcement and then pursued my educational goals later.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>How did you discover your side of forensic artistry?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> I’ve always been right brained and art/music was my favorite classes in school. My forensic artistry was discovered by my Lieutenant after seeing the Marilyn Monroe portrait hanging on our Office Assistant’s wall.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>What is facial reconstruction?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A. </strong>We use facial reconstruction to recreate a face on a known bone structure in an effort to identify the subject. Through our art skills, and known anatomical information, art and science collide to help the artist and anthropologist recreate an accurate representation of the skulls facial features.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Would it be correct to say that facial reconstruction is part science and part art?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> Yes.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>Please explain what’s all involved during this process?</strong> <strong>What are the steps taken?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> The process is quite tedious, but first begins with the recovery and cleaning of the skull. Any leftover tissue is removed and the surface cleaned so as to apply tissue depth markers to specific landmarks on the skull. These tissue depth markers come from numerous studies on cadavers.</p>
<p>Once the tissue depth markers are applied, the artist begins applying clay to the mounted skull, reaching the top of the tissue markers. The eyes, nose and mouth are specific features that are measured in based on known anatomical information provided by science.</p>
<p>Using a variety of measuring tools, the artist sculpts the features, taking frequent measurements to insure the feature’s accuracy. As for the ears, the artist uses a rule of average to create ‘average’ ears, as there are no scientific calculations to aid us in determining how the ear should be developed. As for the hair, evidence from the scene (i.e. a hair mat left behind from the decaying body) tells us a lot about the hair length, thickness, and color. And from that information we sculpt the hair, though some artists do use wigs to create a more realistic representation.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>With each skull, do you find yourself needing to connect with it mentally before you can proceed?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> No – the landscape of the skull speaks volumes to you. In fact, we forensic artists often say that “bones don’t lie.” This is because the landscape of the skull is all telling about the layout of the facial features.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong> <strong>What about the estimation of body fat? </strong><strong>Can errors affect the model?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> With a simple skeleton it’s hard to estimate body fat. However, with evidence left behind (i.e. clothing) we can look at the size and estimate if the individual was overweight or such. The thing to keep in mind is that not everyone wears their clothing the same. Some prefer baggy clothes, while others prefer a more snug fit. So there is no true accuracy.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>What are sketches drawn from?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> We usually sit down with a witness who uses a facial feature catalog to pick out the traits and characteristics.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Is a sketch presumed to be better than a mug shot at times?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> A sketch is an image that is meant to represent the recollection of the witness. We have had witnesses who were so on point with the facial features that it strongly resembled mug shots of suspects.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>What type of effect does a sketch have on a witness?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> It depends on the crime. I’ve had rape victims’ break down and cry “that’s him,” whereas victims of a property crime briefly mention that the sketch strongly resembles the suspect as recalled.</p>
<p><strong>Q.</strong><strong> </strong><strong>During your career, have you had a case that was unforgettable?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> I have two homicide cases that gnaw at me. Both were shootings where I was able to develop enough information to figure out who the shooter was, but did not have enough information to charge the case and get it into court.</p>
<p><strong><em>Q.</em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong><strong>You have written two books. One titled <em>Walking Among the Dead </em>and your second book,<em> Standing in Death’s Shadow </em>was just released this month. Tell us a bit about them.</strong></p>
<p><em><strong>A.</strong> Walking Among the Dead</em> is my debut true crime book that captures actual cases I worked as a homicide detective in the State of Maryland. Though it was self-published, it has captured the attention of some prominent people in the literary world, to include Chris O’Byrne, the founder of Red Willow Digital Press. I was invited to sign on as an author with Red Willow in 2011 and we just released my second book, <em>Standing In Death’s Shadow</em>. This book continues telling of my homicide experiences, true crime written like a novel, which allowed me to immerse the reader right into the action as it truly unfolds in such an investigation.</p>
<p><strong><em>Q.</em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong><strong><em>Do you plan on writing another book? </em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em>A. </em></strong>Yes, I’m working on the last of the homicide series trilogy, <em>Death Comes Uninvited</em>, which will sum up my homicide experiences. Following that book, I have been working on outlining a crime novel series that will be based in Baltimore–and I’m quite anxious to start working on those projects. Finally, being a history buff, I haven’t ruled out the possibility of a historical romance.<em> </em></p>
<p>For more on Mr. Lang, please visit his website at <a href="http://kenlang.weebly.com/" data-imported="1">http://kenlang.weebly.com/</a></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941482013-03-10T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T13:47:13-06:00Interview With Poet Michael Graves
<p>In my own opinion, I don’t believe we take enough time to celebrate the art of poetry. I agonized over writing a post or doing an interview. Finally, I decided that an interview with a poet would be beneficial to all of us.</p>
<p>So, I tracked down my friend and asked him if he could do an interview and after a few days of playing email tag, I was happy to see he’d replied, yes.</p>
<p>Thank you, Michael.</p>
<p>During my research for this interview, I learned four things.</p>
<p>A.) Instead of writing retreats, the majority of poets enjoy going to Poetry Jams.</p>
<p>B.) During the month of April, poets celebrate National Poetry Month.</p>
<p>C.) There are many resources for poets. One is called <a title="The Academy of American Poets" href="http://www.poets.org/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">The Academy of American Poets.</a> You can also find them on <a title="Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Twitter</a> @Poetsorg</p>
<p> D.) My hometown <a title="Celebrates National Poetry Month" href="http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/02/27/celebrate-national-poetry-month-at-the-top-spoken-word-venues-in-denver/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Celebrates National Poetry Month</a> throughout the year.</p>
<p><strong>Here’s Michael Graves<a href="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/michael-graves.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="https://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/michael-graves.jpg?w=590" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" /></a></strong></p>
<p>**Unfortunately, due to his busy schedule he was not able to answer all of the questions.**</p>
<p><strong>Q. When did you discover you enjoyed writing poetry?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> I started writing poetry in high school in order to survive geometry class. It happened that my geometry instructor was a great guy who was cursed with a droning, monotone speaking voice that just knocked me out. I actually enjoyed the subject, but I needed something to keep me from passing out during class; so I started writing poetry in order to stay awake. It wasn’t good poetry. In hindsight, it was probably some of the worst poetry you would ever hope to avoid reading. Teenage idealism, angst, various tempests in their tiny teapots. It was filled with lack of perspective and life experience; but it had rhythm and it rhymed, and fortunately for me, at the time, I was oblivious to the lack of quality.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until I took a poetry class with James Doyle at the University of Northern Colorado, that I finally began to get a handle on quality as it relates to poetry. He was kind enough to rip a few of my pieces to shreds, while at the same time telling me – in words that made sense – exactly where their shortcomings lay; and more importantly, why.</p>
<p>I can’t say that I enjoyed his critique, not possessing the perspective which was to come later. In fact I got my nose quite sophomorically bent out of joint. But in the re-reading, I found that everything he had said, and was to say in future notes on my poetry, was exactly spot-on. And at that point I began the process of growing up as a poet. I owe Jim a lot in that regard.</p>
<p>After college, my career lead away from poetry and in the direction of journalism. For awhile I worked as a public relations professional, then as a writer for a very small magazine; and then back into PR again, writing press releases, cover letters, bio’s and all of the things that PR and marketing people churn out. Along the way I learned more about writing, from writers who had worked their craft longer than I had; and I continued to hone my skills. I just stopped being a poet for a couple of decades; and wrote and edited mainly prose.</p>
<p>Then, a few years ago a friend and accomplished poet in her own right, Carole Tobias Eddington, asked me – in response to a statement that I’d made – if I was a poet. It was like I woke up at that point and remembered that “Yes, I am a poet.” And I just started writing poetry again. I have Carole to thank for asking that question. I also have Lois P. Jones, truly a stunning poet, to thank for various suggestions and a dash or two of sparkling inspiration along the way; and many others.</p>
<p><strong>Q. When writing your poems, do you use verse or free verse? Can you explain the</strong> <strong>difference?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> Verse vs. free verse. Traditional vs. innovation. Always an interesting point for discussion in poetry. Traditional verse employs metric feet — a recognizable pattern. It involves patterns of rhyme somewhere internally in the line of verse or more commonly at the end of the line. It employs patterns of rhyme that repeat at some point in the piece.</p>
<p>Free verse is like an impressionist painting. The poet is creating an effect on the reader without the use of metric feet or rhyme — although sometimes this gets intentionally violated and the form may be employed here or there within the piece. </p>
<p>I’ve found that the contrivance of rhyme and meter in the form of traditional poetry can sometimes get in the way of the emotional tone or carving of the phrase that I am trying to communicate to the reader. There are some gifted poets who can do this quite cleverly, but for me the form has got to enhance the poem and not detract nor distract from the communication to the reader. The communication is senior to the form of the communication.</p>
<p>Free verse employs pacing, in the use of word form, spacing, type of word usage (emphatic or subdued – active or passive – violently emotional or quietly conducive) to direct and effect the reader. It incites or subdues emotion either in the way that it presents its subject matter: How the subject is used in the piece. Against what is it positioned or to what it is compared in the piece. In what way is it presented: is it acceptable, is it outrageous? Is it presented in raw, gory, dripping detail? Or is it presented in euphemistic whitewash (which can also be used to evoke rage in the reader).</p>
<p>I’ve written in both forms. It really depends on the subject of the piece. Some pieces lend themselves to a metric pattern and rhyme, and others require free verse to frame the message that I’m trying to convey.</p>
<p><strong>Q. What is a chapbook?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. A chapbook is a booklet – usually inexpensively (but not always) produced – in which a poet offers a collection of pieces for sale, often at a poetry reading. Historically, chapbooks have been on the literary scene for a few hundred years as relatively cheap reading material for the masses. As opposed to more expensively produced books.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Do you have a process for writing poetry?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. For the past three years or so I’ve been publishing a piece of poetry every week on Facebook. I like the production schedule, as it gives me some discipline for composing pieces. I have to either come up with a new piece every Friday, or post a re-run.</p>
<p>Sometimes an entire piece will come out in a half an hour and I’ll spend a few minutes polishing it a couple of times during the week prior to posting, and that will be it. Or, in other cases, like “Messages in a Bottle (Gaia Keeps Secrets)” the piece was hanging around for three or four months before it finally came together.</p>
<p>Posting poetry is always an interesting experience for me, in that I never really know how a piece will be received. I’ve posted pieces which – though they really spoke to me on an emotional or intellectual level – received what I considered was a relatively tepid response from readers.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I’ve posted pieces which at the time of posting I thought, “Well, I just hope that somebody reads it, and the response is not embarrassingly lackluster,” that have gotten extremely enthusiastic reviews. It’s a bit of a mystery to me, sometimes. It’s put me in a frame of mind that it’s better finish a piece and post it, than to work it to death.</p>
<p>I’ve got a list of about 120 people who have requested to be tagged on my weekly poetry weekly postings, and I’m always happy to add more readers to the list.</p>
<p><strong>Q. What influences your work?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> Most often, I’ll get an idea that connects with me, and from that – it might be a phrase, it might be a concept, it might be a few lines, I’ll pull out a poem. You have to be merciless in the editing or everything suffers. I think that is one of the things that I first learned from Jim Doyle. </p>
<p>A poet has to be willing to write until the piece says what he wants it to say in the way that he wants it said. Never be afraid to cut and re-create. Bad poetry often comes from a turn of phrase or wording that the poet falls in love with and just can’t bear to cut.</p>
<p>I’ve had pieces in draft form that ran for pages and after I’d let them sit for a while I’ve gone back to them and cut everything except a few lines, or a verse or two, and then taken them off in a completely different – and far more satisfying – direction.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Which one is your favorite that you’ve written?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A</strong>. I don’t have a favorite piece. This is a little bit like asking me which of my kids I love the most. Each piece is its own communication. Some are angry pieces that say what I felt needed to be said, like: “Night Must Fall on the Regime” or “Maniac (for Syria)”</p>
<p>Others are pieces that wax erotic: “The River” “The Buoy.” Others are humorous “On the Use of the Phrase ‘You Bastards’”. Some are more personal “Love Match” “This Morning I Stayed in Bed” Others are written on a little broader scale “Gaia (Clues to Existence)” “Messages in a Bottle (Gaia Keeps Secrets)”.</p>
<p>There are the three pieces in my series about Vincent Van Gogh which touched me very deeply in the writing. There is “Beatitudes” and “Watch Me”, both of which I find personally inspirational from time to time. There are pieces about the trials and hazards of writing: “Dancing with the Muse” and “Today it is Difficult to Write.”</p>
<p>There are pieces on the subject of time, like “Breathing” which were fun to write, and which were written on a subject (time – theoretical physics) that I’ve never seen covered in poetry.</p>
<p>If I had to pick a favorite piece by another poet, it would be extremely difficult, there are so many pieces out there by so many, that are so humblingly good. T.S. Eliot’s “Little Gidding V” is one of my favorites. Ezra Pound’s “Dance Figure” is another. Bob Dylan’s “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” is a masterpiece of imagery. One that has stuck with me for years is a piece by James Doyle, which he wrote about his divorce, a phrase in which he writes of the ending of his relationship, “the blade slides…” and at the end he writes something like. “I said we are done/ we can go now.” I originally the piece in mimeograph form, and I would pay money to find a copy of that piece. Because in that reading, I saw for the first time (and this was back in the 1970’s) that a blade could do something other than cut or chop or stab or slice. The implied sound, sensation, feel and movement in the phrase “the blade slides”, when tied in with the rest of the piece, has never left me.</p>
<p><strong>Q. Are any of your poems published?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A.</strong> Aside from my weekly posting on my own and other sites, I wrote a piece for the Indian chess magazine “Black and White” a few years back, called “Love Match.” </p>
<p>To read more about Michael and his poetry, please visit <a title="Michael Graves - Poet" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Graves-Poet/59117439868" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Michael Graves – Poet</a> located on Facebook.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941472013-03-06T18:00:00-06:002022-07-27T20:32:22-05:00Stay Focused and Give it Your ALL.
<p> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395572/f97e9886966a3eec337191964d18334999346e45/original/my-perfect-place1.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjAweDM1NCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="354" width="200" /></p>
<p>Here's a little inspiration!</p>
<p>A ~ Ask questions about yourself and your writing. Make sure this is something you want to do.</p>
<p>L ~ Listen to the answers. Sometimes the reply is not what you’d expect or want to hear.</p>
<p>L ~ Learn from those answers. Then take the appropriate steps to master your art.</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941312012-11-01T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T10:38:43-06:00Crime Writers’ Panel 11-2-12: Online Workshop
<p>If you missed the free online workshop back in November ~ Here’s your chance to see it…</p>
<p>Welcome to the Crime Writers’ Panel.</p>
<p>Streamed live on Nov 2, 2012.</p>
<p>We are a cadre of current and former law enforcement investigators, supervisors, forensic experts, investigative reporters and experts in the field of corrections. Visit us on Facebook and ask your questions to write better fiction. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CrimeWritersPanel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-imported="1">http://www.facebook.com/CrimeWritersPanel</a></p>
<p>Joe and I are looking at February to host the next one. We will see and keep you updated!</p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941302012-11-01T19:00:00-05:002014-07-26T09:35:28-05:00Crime Writers’ Workshop on Google+
<p>Tonight is the night and I just wanted to send out reminders that there are four ways that you can contact the panel members during tonight’s workshop.</p>
<p>1. Twitter: use hashtag #crimewriterspanel</p>
<p>2. Email: use <a href="mailto:crimewriterspanel@margueriteashton.net" data-imported="1">crimewriterspanel@margueriteashton.net</a></p>
<p>3. Facebook: use <a title="Crime Writers' Panel" href="https://www.facebook.com/CrimeWritersPanel" data-imported="1">Crime Writers’ Panel</a>. Just type your questions in the status bubble.</p>
<p>4. Google Chat: can be accessed as long as you have a Gmail account.</p>
<p>The name of the Google+ hangout will be Crime Writers Panel.</p>
<p>We’re happy with the response and look forward to answering your questions.</p>
Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941322012-10-30T19:00:00-05:002016-11-17T10:39:33-06:00Crime Writers’ Panel Now on Google+
<p>As a crime writer, nothing is more frustrating while doing research on the internet and not receiving an answer. And after months of agony, I’d come to the understanding that there are at least two reasons for the return of zero results.</p>
<p>1. You didn’t type in the correct keywords</p>
<p>2. The subject you’re looking for is not listed.</p>
<p>After all the chaos had settled, <a title="Joe Giacalone" href="http://joegiacalone.net/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Joe Giacalone </a>and I figured there had to be a way to make it easier for writers to conduct the research they needed and obtain the necessary information.</p>
<p>The CWP community was created to give authors access to professionals who can provide the answers they’re seeking.</p>
<p>When you put it all together, you have this core group of people ranging from law enforcement to forensic experts who are willing to take the time and reply to questions from journalists, investigators, lawyers and crime writers.</p>
<p>Please feel free to check out the <a title="Google Community" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/115365793234865031833/stream/548a181d-81a3-4777-8ecb-b5a4c9572e71" data-imported="1">Google+ community </a> and let us know what you think.</p>
<p>If you have questions or suggestions, place them in the comments section below.</p>
<p><strong>Where do you go to do your research? Online or the library?</strong></p>
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Marguerite Ashtontag:margueriteashton.net,2005:Post/60941332012-10-14T19:00:00-05:002014-07-25T14:57:53-05:00Crime Writers’ Panel for Upcoming Workshop
<p>On November 2, 2012, Joe Giacalone and I will be hosting a FREE crime writers’ online workshop with the best investigators in law enforcement and forensics live on Google+ at 8pm eastern time.</p>
<p>This online workshop is for anyone interested in learning the correct procedures in handling an arrest to processing a crime scene, and anything in between that will help you to understand the way it’s done in reality.</p>
<p>Questions can be asked via twitter, email or Google chat and our panel will be glad to provide an answer for you.</p>
<p>For twitter use the hashtag #crimewriterspanel, email: <a href="mailto:crimewriterspanel@margueriteashton.net" data-imported="1">crimewriterspanel@margueriteashton.net</a> and Google chat can be accessed as long as you have a gmail account.</p>
<p>Our FB page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/CrimeWritersPanel" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Crime Writers’ Panel </a>can be used to ask questions as well. Just type your question in the status bubble.</p>
<p>Below are the panel members.</p>
<p>We look forward to seeing you in November.</p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joe-giacalone3.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joe-giacalone3.jpg?w=122&h=150" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="150" width="122" /></a>Joe Giacalone is a retired Detective Sergeant and former Commanding Officer of the Bronx Cold Case Squad that has investigated hundreds of homicides, cold cases and missing persons.</p>
<p>He is the author of the<em> Criminal Investigative Function: A Guide for New Investigators</em> published by Looseleaf Law Publications, Inc.</p>
<p>To find out more about Joe or his book, please visit website at <a href="http://www.joegwrites.com./" data-imported="1">www.joegwrites.com.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/suzie-uniform.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/suzie-uniform.jpg?w=132&h=150" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="150" width="132" /></a>It all began when I was forty-five years old and decided to lose weight, get in shape and attend the police academy. I became the first female officer in my small town and two years later a detective.</p>
<p>When I’m not working on my next big case, you can find me writing, gardening, taking care of my horse and dogs or playing dominoes with my husband.</p>
<p>I write about the humorous side of my career in law enforcement as I stumble through my mid-life adventure.</p>
<p><em>Best Wishes, Suzie Ivy</em></p>
<p>To learn more about Suzie, please visit her blog at <a href="http://www.badluckdetective.com/" data-imported="1">www.badluckdetective.com</a>.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in purchasing her books, you can find them at <a title="Bad Luck Officer" href="http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Luck-Officer-ebook/dp/B007JWPOAI#_" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Amazon</a> or <a title="Barnes and Noble" href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bad-luck-cadet-and-bad-luck-officer-suzie-ivy/1110956978?ean=9781477423103" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Barnes & Noble</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/kenneth-lang_thumb.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/kenneth-lang_thumb.jpg?w=113&h=150" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="150" width="113" /></a>Recently named a winner in the 2011 “<a title="" href="http://www.wnbnetworkwest.com/WnbAuthorsShow50Writers2011.html" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><em>50 Great Authors You Should Be Reading</em></a>,” Ken Lang is a 22 year law enforcement veteran from the State of Maryland who is now an accomplished author. He has served the last 15 years as a detective in the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Section where Sex Crimes, Robbery, and Homicide investigations have become his forte. A decorated officer, Ken has been awarded the William J. Simms Memorial Award, was named 1997 Officer of the Year by the Optimist Club, has been issued three unit citations, a Chief’s Award, and was the recipient of 14 letters of appreciation for outstanding service as recognized by distinguished members of government and civilians alike.</p>
<p>For more information about his books, please visit his website <a href="http://kenlang.weebly.com/index.html" data-imported="1">http://kenlang.weebly.com/index.html</a></p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fred-connors.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/fred-connors.jpg?w=110&h=150" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" /></a>Fred Connors is a semi-retired investigative reporter and True Crime writer. He holds several West Virginia Press Association awards for Investigative Reporting, Legal Issues and Courts and Best Lifestyle Features; a Southern Newspaper Publishers Association award for Best Local Story; a Third Place award (Articles category) in the 2012 Pennwriters Writing Competition.</p>
<p>He is founder and coordinator of the <a title="Ohio Valley Cold Case" href="http://ovcoldcases.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Ohio Valley Cold Case Initiative</a>.</p>
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<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/dave-swinson.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/dave-swinson.jpg?w=150&h=99" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="99" width="150" /></a>David Swinson is a highly decorated member of the Metropolitan Police Department, having received numerous awards including the department’s prestigious Detective of the Year Award for 2003; Meritorious Service Medals for significant, outstanding and sustained achievements; Achievement Medals of Honor for a significant case investigation and several Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Annual Law Enforcement Awards for significant case investigations. He has also received to major awards from Target Corporation for outstanding community service.</p>
<p>Swinson currently spends most of his time with his wife and daughter in Northern Virginia, where he is working on his second novel. For information on David and his books please visit his website at <a title="David Swinson" href="http://davidswinson.com/home.html" data-imported="1">DavidSwinson.com </a></p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tom-adair-2.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/tom-adair-2.jpg?w=150&h=99" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="99" width="150" /></a>From investigating the shootings at Columbine High School to locating gravesites in the remote back country of the Rockies, Tom Adair has lived a life most crime authors only write about. An internationally recognized forensic scientist, he has a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and a Master’s degree in Entomology. He has served as the president of the Association for Crime Scene Reconstruction, Rocky Mountain Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, and the Rocky Mountain Division of the International Association for Identification. While in law enforcement he was board certified as a senior crime scene analyst, was one of only 40 board-certified bloodstain pattern analysts and one of 80 board-certified footwear examiners worldwide. In addition to writing over 60 scientific papers, he has served as the editor of an international peer-reviewed science journal. Over his 15 year career he has been interviewed by and consulted for television, text books, novels, magazines, and newspaper articles as well as documentaries on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic. He continues to teach and conduct research in the forensic sciences.</p>
<p>My debut novel <a title="The Scent of Fear" href="http://authortomadair.wordpress.com/the-scent-of-fear/" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><em>The Scent of Fear</em></a> is now available<br><span style="color:black"></span></p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/marguerite-asthon-new.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/marguerite-asthon-new.jpg?w=99&h=150" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="150" width="99" /></a>Marguerite Ashton was born and raised in Colorado. She discovered her passion for writing crime in 2002, which has since become her genre of choice. Before moving to Wisconsin, Ms. Ashton had the honor of working with agent, Peter DeAnello of Big Fish Talent, where she appeared in a commercial for Furniture Row, along with some indie and student films. Shortly after, she had the privilege of collaborating with veteran stock car driver and Executive Director, Jerry VanDenHul at JVI Productions.</p>
<p>In 2006, Marguerite decided to keep her completed works, broaden her horizons, and hone her craft by entering writing competitions and refocusing her home office into a writer’s library. Through radio interviews and speaking at public schools she found a way to educate and entertain. While pursuing paralegal training, her strong interest in law earned her a job at the State Public Defender’s Office in Milwaukee. During her experience, Marguerite found an interest in using criminal investigation as a basis for her novels.</p>
<p>Ms. Ashton’s hobbies include interior decorating and listening to jazz/classical music.</p>
<p>A member of Sisters in Crime.</p>
<p>Her book <a title="Burned Bridges" href="http://burnedbridgesthebook.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Burned Bridges </a>will be released October 30th, 2012</p>
<p>For more information on Ms. Ashton please visit her website at <a href="http://www.margueriteashton.net/" data-imported="1">www.margueriteashton.net</a></p>
<p><a href="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/kathleen-ryan.jpg" data-imported="1"><img src="http://msashtonwriter.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/kathleen-ryan.jpg?w=150&h=119" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="119" width="150" /></a>Kathleen A. Ryan is a retired Suffolk County Police Officer on Long Island. During her 21-year career, she worked in Patrol, Public Information, and Crime Stoppers. She volunteers with Board of Directors Crime Stoppers of Suffolk County, Inc. A breast cancer survivor, Kathleen is a member of NY/TriState SinC, LI SinC, MWA-NY, Public Safety Writers Association (PSWA) and Short Mystery Fiction Society (SMFS). She blogs at <em><a href="http://www.womenofmystery.net/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Women of Mystery</a></em> and <em><a href="http://kathleenaryan.blogspot.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">From Cop to Mom & the Words in Between</a>; </em>on Twitter, she’s <a href="https://twitter.com/katcop13" target="_blank" data-imported="1">@katcop13</a>.</p>
<p>Kathleen’s work has received several awards from PSWA, including one for “<a href="http://a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com/2011/02/twist-of-noir-661-kathleen-ryan.html" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Heat of Passion</a>” — a story among the finalists for the 2012 Derringer and Macavity Awards.</p>
<p>“The Watcher” appears in the recently released anthology, <em><a href="http://womenwarriorsbook.com/" target="_blank" data-imported="1">Women Warriors: Stories from the Thin Blue Line</a>, </em>edited by John M. Wills.</p>
<p>Charlie Snyder – Bio still pending.</p>
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Marguerite Ashton