Summary
Murder is among the most common and most terrible of crimes. Motives for murder include anger, love, greed, hatred, and myriad other emotions and reasons, some passionate, some cold-blooded and calculated. Homicide investigates the nature of murder throughout history and tracks the progress of law enforcement in preventing and solving killings. Although modern police rely on a wealth of sophisticated tools, such as fingerprinting, DNA analysis, and computer databases, to solve murders, these techniques were not always available to detectives. This intriguing book demonstrates how murders are investigated, using real-life cases to illustrate key points.
Chapters include:
- Homicide: As Old as Civilization
- The Statistics and the Crimes
- Homicide Investigation at the Crime Scene
- The Homicide Victim
- Using the Evidence to Convict a Suspect.
Topics covered include:
- Homicide throughout history
- Types of homicide
- Motives for homicide
- Early techniques of homicide investigation
- Collecting evidence and the chain of custody
- Fingerprints, photography, and trace evidence
- Autopsies and forensic pathology
- Identifying and eliminating suspects
- Using evidence on trial.
Specifications
Full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations. Sidebars. Chronology. Bibliography. Endnotes. Further resources. Index.
About the Author(s)
Richard Worth has 30 years of experience as a writer, trainer, and video producer. He has written more than 50 books, as well as an eight-part series about Fiorello LaGuardia for National Public Radio. He also received the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age 2003 award for Gangs and Crime in the Crime, Justice, and Punishment set from Chelsea House.