My First Major DA Case

Image Borrowed From The Internet

It's been a while since I posted about forensics, but watching TV today about a man who was run over by a car reminded me about my first major case while working for the San Diego District Attorney's Office.

My case was a high profile case that was featured on the TV Show "America's Most Wanted." While I remember the name of the defendant, I'll leave it off here...

The defendant was accused of murdering his wife by running over her with his car. Not only was she run over once, but several times as the perpetrator went back to run her over again and again. The photos of the scene and also the autopsy photos of the victim were quite revealing and the injuries sustained by the woman was very graphic. The pain must have been excrutiating because found in her hand were locks of her own hair. She had been pulling out her own hair from the pain!

My job was to prepare all of the court exhibits to be used in the trial which typically includes enlarged map sections (with the help of the county map department), all supporting photographs enlarged and mounted and to prepare any diagrams of the scene as necessary. Any special instructions or reproductions of the penal code for the jury are often enlarged too.

The defendant was found guilty of first degree murder which I believe carried a sentence of 25 years to life imprisonment. The death penalty was not sought for by the assistant DA.

I did not attend the trial nor the sentencing. My job was just a support role on a technical level. But it still was very interesting as it was my first case on the job. Over the years of working at the DA's office, I had many other interesting cases. On occasion, I would sit in on a case to hear the attorneys argue the case. On other occasions, I would get to testify in court as an expert witness too.

I'd have to say that my time working in law enforcement was very interesting. Some ask how I could do it, but it's not that hard really. Once you get past the shock and horror of crime, it is just plain INTERESTING! Not many people get to see the things that those working in law enforcement get to see. There's never really a dull day on the job. By the way, I've never seen a body outlined at a crime scene before! It was never done at any of the scenes I've been to. But it makes for a good graphic on this post, doesn't it?