South University Online Time and Cause of Death Presentation

Consider the following scenario:

You have been called to a possible crime scene in an alley next to a nightclub. A trash collector had discovered a dead body in the alley, next to a trash dumpster. A fire had been set near the body, partially burning it.

As a good investigator, you do not jump to any conclusions. For instance, the fire and the death may not even be related.

Create a presentation of 7–10 slides in Microsoft PowerPoint to outline a plan for the investigation, addressing the following points:

• What questions about the victim will investigators need to answer?
• Given the above information, what possible causes and manners of death need to be considered?
• What observations would allow an investigator to estimate the time of death in this case?
• What observations would allow an investigator to determine whether the victim had died at the scene or had been moved after having been killed?
• How would the medical examiner determine whether the victim had been alive at the time of the fire?