Matthew Gates 17m 4,158 #crimesdnaevidence
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
How To Get Away With Murder
This article is based on observations of the Investigation Discovery channel, Forensic Files, and The F.B.I. Files. Any photographs contained within are stock photography or staged.
If you are reading this, you have probably murdered someone and are trying to get away with it. This is how you get away with murder. I’m just kidding. That opening line was really to captivate search engines and pick up your keywords because this article probably came up when you searched on a topic related to murder or homicide, and getting away with it, but I can only hope that you were just curious, and you have no intentions of murdering anyone or have murdered anyone because in today’s modern world of technology: You are most likely not going to get away with murder. Please do not accept that statement as a challenge nor engage in the harming of a human being or animal.
Instead, you will spend the rest of your life in a prison cell with no hope of going anywhere. The rest of your life will just be looking at the same wall everyday, waiting for a lonely death, wasting your entire life away. Your reality will be a small block cell with a bed and a toilet with absolutely no privacy, and you will constantly be on alert from other inmates who will not hesitate to murder you the minute you turn your back. You also will have no sympathy from any of the correctional officers that may cross your path.
Depending on your crime and what other inmates find out about you, will bring about your possible murder faster, and no one really cares that you died. For example, many dangerous inmates do not take kindly to pedophiles or killing children, thus forcing a constant life-threatening situation for you. You might even feel inclined to figure out a way to take your own life before someone else does. Murder or suicide, no one cares that you died, if you are a murderer.
Eye for an eye, life for a life, really, that is – if you are guilty. The law-abiding citizens outside just think of you as a tax burden, taking up space, and wasting money. Except, maybe, your mother who already probably feels that she lost you, so she probably won’t be too upset about it. Unfortunately, homicide is still high on the reasons why people die list, but hopefully that number will dwindle as new technology becomes available and prevents people from even wanting to commit murder.
Many people commit murder for a number of reasons including jealousy, envy, emotional rage, hate, robbery, wanting to get rid of a witness to something, wanting to get rid of someone because the murderer feels that their lives would be better without the victim in the world, or sometimes, a random murder may happen in which there was no motivation, but simply to do it.
In cases where the victim knows their murderer, it usually comes down to money (i.e. life insurance policy), jealousy, or anger. Many murderers may know their victims or have had at least some form of contact with them at some point. Murderers mostly act on emotion and are in a “in the moment” situation, in which they are not clearly thinking straight. However, there are plenty of times where the murder is planned, known as pre-meditated murder. What most murderers fail to understand is that you cannot eliminate someone in this world and have them just disappear without anyone noticing.
Whether co-workers, friends, and family notice first, the person has a life that is normally filled with people who know them, even if it is just one other person that cares and notices the existence of that person. For the most part, from the time anyone becomes of age as an adult (usually 18) until they die, they are constantly paying at least one bill, whether it is rent, mortgage, cell phone, health insurance, etc. If one day, that person is no longer paying their bills or not appearing somewhere that they should be, as expected – like work, this is definitely noticed, usually within just a few days. It is rare for anyone who has died to go unnoticed for too long.
The truth is that I have no idea how to get away with murder because I have never, in my life, thought about murdering anyone. This article is not about murdering someone and getting away with it. It is actually about all the DNA evidence that is used to catch modern day criminals and I hope this article sways people away from doing harm to others.
Of course, in this day and age of DNA evidence, from the slightest strand of hair, pet hair, or sweat found at a crime scene, it is very hard to get away with murder, and you should let those thoughts about murdering someone go and never have them ever again. There are times when you might feel like killing someone, though you would never act on it, but remove your intuition to act on it. Is it really worth it to murder someone and spend the rest of your life wasting away in a jail cell or be put to death? I would certainly hope not. No one has the right to take another person’s life.
Innocent until proven guilty is the American way and most other countries operate this same way. It is the right way. The right to counsel and due process is the honorable way of the justice system. The right to remain silent and have access to a lawyer, if one cannot afford a lawyer, is also what it means to be American and also should be granted every human on Earth. To be given the right to plead your case, if you are wrongly accused, is a fair process.
To have the assumption, without any hard evidence or testimony against you, that you are automatically guilty, even if you might be is an unjust and unfair system. Therefore, it is the job of the law to prove that if someone who is believed to be involved in a crime must be proven of their guilt. There are exceptions, in which a suspected person involved in a crime, in which there is no clear or solid evidence, can usually be held in custody for a longer period of time.
Thousands of crimes are committed each year, most of which are non-lethal and involve crimes such as larceny, property damage, forgery, arson, false pretenses, and harassment. Other crimes that are more serious involve assault, battery, robbery, kidnapping, homicide, and rape and sexual assault. Crimes can be committed against property, an individual, an animal (considered property of people), a government, or any organization. All crimes in which an individual is involved in and caught are subject to a trial either by jury or judge.
In a trial, it is determined by a group of carefully selected people whether the accused is guilty or not. The way to determine guilt or innocence is through hard solid evidence. A person can easily be proven innocent if they have an alibi that is backed up by at least one other person. For example, a person who is accused of committing a crime at a specific time and place, but is proven to be at work during that specific time period may be found innocent.
The people who are selected to review the accusations against the suspect are true or false are known as jurors, and picked out by a process known as jury duty, where people in the community are determined to be competent enough to make judgement against or for a suspected person. Normally, anyone who turns 18 and registers to vote automatically volunteers for the potential of having to serve jury duty. There are times where an innocent person may be found guilty while a guilty person may be found innocent.
This process of the law is considered fair and just since the people of the community are involved, rather than just a judge, who might make his or her own calls based on the evidence provided. For an in-depth film about jury duty and the process of determining whether someone is guilty or innocent, I highly suggest watching 12 Angry Men. (Available on YouTube) In fact, anyone who is called for jury duty should be required to watch it beforehand.
Before DNA evidence, investigators would search through a crime scene to determine what happened, who was involved, and interview people in the area. Blood evidence at the time was not considered useful, as no technology to understand it existed. There was a time when everything the investigators saw would be written down and described on a notebook paper, recalled only by memory, before photographs were ever taken. Once photography became more advanced, photographs of crime scenes were taken to be further investigated.
As the technology became available, blood would eventually be analyzed, but it could only be determined if someone of a similar blood type was involved. Therefore, it could be determined that a suspect may have been involved, but not 100% proven that they were actually there. Semen samples were also collected from crime scenes, but lack of technology made it impossible to use. Further advanced technologies have now allowed blood and semen samples to be used as solid evidence and can determine the exact person who was involved. There is no doubt that this technology has been a blessing to those who are and retained their innocence.
Crime was probably easier to commit over a hundred years ago than it is today. However, police still took their jobs seriously and if a person was found murdered, all options were exhausted in finding the killer responsible. There are probably many killers who did get away with their crime, especially one-time killers. In modern times, there is a lot more information that can be obtained from a crime scene and examined to determine what happened.
Methods of interviews and developing leads still have not changed, which can sometimes take weeks, months, or even years before investigators are able to gather all the evidence they need. A crime scene is like a puzzle that must be solved and DNA evidence has certainly helped to speed up the investigation process. When a person is strangled, both the victim and the killer leave strands of DNA from their skin on the body and surrounding areas. There are little fibers in just about everything. A killer may also cut themselves by accident with a knife and attempt to wash their hands in the sink, leaving traces of blood which can be found by using a chemical called luminol. Luminol will make any blood, even after it has been washed away, light up like a neon light, even sometimes after a cleaning solution like bleach has been used.
It is almost impossible not to leave evidence on everything and no matter what we do and where we go, including virtual evidence. Most major stores now have camera systems recording 24 hours a day, so investigators can determine the type of material that was used, for example, to strangle a victim, and analyze the fibers to figure out where it was purchased from in the area. They then can review the cameras of the store to determine when it was bought and who bought it. Smile! You are most definitely on some camera somewhere!
Surveillance system technology has become so advanced and so affordable that there is almost no excuse not to have a camera system. Outside my home, I have a surveillance system monitoring all exterior areas, always recording 24/7 with the recordings, and usually available for about a month span of time. Aside from a certified security monitoring system, complete with a company on the other end and notifies the police if the alarm system is not turned off fast enough, you can never be too safe!
Evidence does not just have to be on camera or some body fluid, but surveillance system technology also includes cell phones. A cell phone is constantly pinging every tower it passes, as it was designed to make an effort to constantly be connected in order to receive and send service. GPS is enabled to know the exact location of a cell phone. There are even apps that allow you to track your entire family location through their phones. The only way to turn this tracking on or off is by putting the phone in airplane mode or turning it off completely. The data retrieved from cell phone companies shows the exact location of that tower.
Semen, including the pre-mature seminal ejaculation fluid is also common DNA evidence that can be left at a crime scene, not just inside of a body or on the body, but in the surrounding areas as well. Chemicals such as Acid Phosphotase or Polilights® can be used to detect semen at a crime scene, including swabs that are taken from the vagina, anus, or clothing can easily gather enough DNA evidence to determine who it belongs to. Semen kits are available for purchase to the general public. The vagina and anus can preserve semen in the body for days after a homicide has taken place. A swab of spit can be compared with semen to determine if they match.
DNA evidence is anything on the body that can be left anywhere, including fingerprints, palm prints, footprints, urine, stool, spit, saliva, sweat, a sneeze, a cough, blood, hair follicles, dandruff, fingernails, toenails, semen, vaginal cells, rectal cells, earwax, mucus, microscopic skin fibers, or dead skin cells. All of these elements can be used to identify anyone, as every person has a unique pattern in which all can be determined to be associated with a specific individual. Other forensic evidence or can come from imprints left from teeth, a shoe, a hand, finger, a scratch from a fingernail, a foot, a tire print, or a bike tire print.
What makes it DNA or forensic evidence? It can all be linked back to the owner by matching the DNA or forensics found at the evidence with a live sample taken from the owner or originating source. There is nothing better a victim can do than by leaving an identifying mark on the body of their murderer, through a powerful bite or a scratch, hard enough to get the DNA of their perpetrators skin underneath their fingernails, which will leave their final last words of helping police and investigators to hopefully find the suspect quickly. While not considered DNA evidence, silicone from breast implants, a metal hip replacement, or anything that is marked with a bar code or registered number can be used for identification purposes.
DNA may prove guilt but it does not always mean guilt. While DNA has proven many people guilty, it has also proved many accused people innocent as well who have served time in prison or even been sentenced to life in jail, or death and unfortunately, died an innocent person. For example, a man who has sex with a woman and left for work afterwards, only to discover later that day or the next day that she had been murdered — the investigators might suspect him, but if his alibi proves that he was at work all day, with absolutely no inconsistencies in his timeline; and the woman was alive when he left the woman, and he has several people to confirm he was where he said he was, than his DNA does directly link him to the crime scene, but his DNA does not directly link him to the murder.
Blood spatter is also almost impossible to cover up and is definitely some of the most damning evidence. The best cleaner can try to remove it all, but blood spatter can be analyzed on the microscopic level, which means that it may not even be seen, at least by the human eye, look like it is all clean, but it can get anywhere and everywhere, from in wood to the fibers of furniture, to the very crevices of paint on a wall.
Luminol will likely light up even the tiniest of spots of blood. Watching the series Dexter provides a lot of insight into blood spatter, as Dexter was a blood spatter analyst, and a serial killer, and in all eight seasons, without giving anything away, lets just say he was a professional. Blood spatter itself will always tell a story, from where the victim was to how fast the blood traveled from the victim, and may even reveal the exact location of where they were killed.
A killer may attempt to hide or destroy their DNA by covering it up or by washing it away with bleach, wearing gloves, wearing a condom, and other equipment that prevents any fiber of their body from being left at the scene of their crime. The majority of people who commit violent crimes may not always think of DNA left at crimes scenes and many often do leave some kind of evidence. Evidence can be as simple as a peaceful entry or the victim was not burglarized, which usually reveals that the victim likely knew their murderer. If the killer owns a pet, the fibers from pet hairs will easily come off and could be left at a crime scene and traced right back to the suspect. A single drop of sweat left at a crime scene can be used as DNA evidence.
Many old cases that have gone cold over the years are being re-opened. There is nothing more satisfying and rewarding than a police department who has detectives to solve old murder cases. Not only does it help families gain closure who were frustrated, stressed, and upset, but it helps the community to know that a murder has been solved, and it may also prevent future crimes from happening. If every crime was easily solved, no one would commit crime. Unfortunately, there are many cases that will always remain unsolved.
DNA evidence may not have been collected at all, or not been collected properly, or may have been lost or destroyed at the time of investigation. Incompetent or corrupt police departments, police, investigators who may know who was involved, may do all in their power to not collect or destroy DNA evidence. For example, it is well known that too many people, whether it was the CIA, FBI, Secret Service or other parties, were in and out of the house of Marilyn Monroe, possibly destroying and removing evidence, well before her death was reported. Time also destroys evidence, fades memories, and eventually nothing is left but the wandering soul whose murder was never solved.
DNA databases are being constructed, mostly to include convicted felons, employees of the justice system, federal arrestees, terrorists, and captives of the war on terrorism. Once arrested or in the hands of law enforcement, the accused suspect has lost all rights to deny DNA collection and it is completely legal for any government agency to extract DNA and add it to the national database.
There are also people who willingly submit their DNA evidence to the national database. This national database is an advanced computer system that will test a sample of DNA and be able to identify matching patterns, just as the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System by the FBI is used to run a set of fingerprints through a database to find a match compared against millions of fingerprints. The computer will detect specific points in the fingerprints in order to discover a match.
DNA evidence continues to evolve and advance throughout the years. DNA evidence is helping to understand inherited illnesses and disorders. DNA evidence extracted from mummies can provide a look into how life was in ancient times. If DNA evidence could be extracted from the bones of dinosaurs, than it could be very possible for a place like Jurassic Park to exist. DNA evidence is helping scientists to understand our past, where we came from, who we are related to, and how many people we are related to.
In some cases, DNA evidence is so classified that no one is allowed to have it, test it, or analyze it. All Presidents who visit foreign countries must use a special toilet for their urine and feces. The Secret Service then collects it where it can later be properly disposed of. The White House itself has its own water and sewer system and special workers who properly dispose of waste.
If foreign leaders could learn of a President’s illnesses and medications, they may be able to do something with that information. In addition, the United States government, specifically the CIA, attempts to collect DNA samples from all foreign leaders when they visit the United States. Collecting these samples can be done by collecting stool or urine or grabbing a glass they drank from in order to obtain the saliva left from their lips or fingerprints on the glass.
Brain matter is also considered DNA and famous people like Albert Einstein’s brain was removed and preserved to be studied. There are also cases in which a convicted criminal on death row will donate his body for study, in which scientists study the difference between the brain of a killer and the brain of a normal person who has never killed. DNA evidence is like a Rubik’s cube puzzle that experts are starting to figure out and only getting better at it as time goes on and as DNA is better understood.
DNA is in every living thing and contains a universe of information. The possibilities of DNA are endless. People are about 50 / 50 on trusting the government to collect DNA forensic samples and store them in a national database. While the government could easily frame whoever they wanted because they would have everyone’s DNA, if it is done properly and protected in the national database, it is the surefire way of being able to more easily identify, capture, and bring the guilty to justice. Though in reality: DNA in a library is a snapshot of its patterns and would be hard to frame as being live at crime scene.
FBI, CIA, federal agencies, and police departments are all trained to break holes in your story. This is their job and as they gain more experience, they live and breathe truth and lies. They specialize in getting to the truth of any story or crime scene that they come across. They spend more than 8 hours a day tearing stories apart, putting stories together, finding loop holes in stories, finding minutes and hours that do not add up, etc.
People who commit crimes may think they are clever enough to outsmart these agencies and they may be able to do so for a while, but time is always an enemy, especially in homicide and murder cases, as they never expire, and the person who committed a crime can be charged at any time. Although a person who commits a crime is done with it, it is someone else’s job to continue working at it to figure out what happened, who was involved, and why it happened. Unfortunately, time is also the enemy of any of these agencies, as the longer a case goes unsolved, the greater the chance of it remaining unsolved.
It is likely that in the future, there will be technology that allows for crime scene investigators to capture a sample of DNA right at the crime scene, process it, run it through a database, analyze it, and discover exactly who it is by comparing it against the national DNA database library. It will be almost impossible to get away with murder or any crime as being able to get everything right then and there is the best time and would likely eliminate all doubts.
If you are thinking about committing a crime, you probably should defer and enjoy your life as it is. It may not be the best, but it is far from the worse. Ask anyone in prison how much they are enjoying their time there. Freedom is gone. Life is over. There is no reason to murder anyone for anything, whether it is jealousy, money, hatred, eliminating competition, avoidance, etc.
Face your demons. Face your fears. Face your consequences. Face these factors as a human being, not an insane savage animal that is operating on the most primal rage of brain waves. The Investigation Discovery channel, Forensic Files, and F.B.I. Files shows exist, not to show you how to get away with murder, but to show you that committing murder is really not worth your own life. Once you commit this type of crime, you have ultimately murdered your own self, your own soul, and your life is most likely over as you once knew it.
(
