CCJS 420 Assignment 2

NOTE: This is NOT an APA paper! This is a practical exercise. Be sure to read the grading rubric BEFORE you complete the assignment. This is part 2 of a practical exercise and you will need your Unit 4 notes to successfully complete this assignment.

View the included photographs attached below, your Unit 4 scene notes, along with what you have learned in the first 7 weeks of this term. From the perspective of a death scene investigator:

1. Write a descriptive narrative of the decedent and the scene (this should paint the picture for someone that was not on scene and has not seen the photos)
2. Identify 3 items of potential evidence, other than the body itself, and explain how each item may help with determining cause of death, manner of death, positive ID of the decedent, and/or locating the legal next-of-kin.
3. Describe and explain what information or records you will need, how the information or records will assist with determining cause of death, manner of death, positively identifying the decedent, and/or locating the legal next-of-kin. Additionally, describe who or what agency or organization can provide the information or records.

Format Requirements

• Paper must be double spaced, 11 or 12 pt font and 1 margins all around.
• This Assignment is to write portions of a formal report for the ME/Cs office. Therefore, you must use proper grammar and correct spelling when writing this report.
• Name your file LastName Unit 7 Assignment or LastName Assignment 2

Remember your perspective! YOU responded to this scene where all you know when you arrive is that there is a dead body. YOU took the photos. Think about what concepts we have learned in Units 1-7. We need to paint the picture for someone who wasnt there and may not see the photos. Do the best you can with what you can see in the photos. Be sure to read the feedback on your Unit 4 Assignment, too. Keep in mind that the assignment is limited in scope. I am not looking for a comprehensive report.

Don’t over complicate this! Remember your perspective is that of the MDI that responded to this scenenot law enforcement. This is not a creative writing class, so dont waste your time inventing a scenario, dialog, or in solving the case.

Warning: If you do try to solve the case or create scenarios or dialogues, you will be penalized 15 points on your Assignment grade.

If you have questions about the assignment, please post the questions to the Ask the Prof discussion board so everyone can benefit from the question and the answer. I’m confident you’ll do fine.

Please review the grading rubric prior to submitting your assignment.

Please name your file LastName Assignment 2 or LastName Unit 7. You MUST submit this assignment as a Word document. I will not accept any other format!

Use resources from assignment 1 as well as those below.

University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Unit 5 overview: Autopsy & cause, manner, & mechanism of death

Autopsy Module

University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Overview.

University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Objectives.

University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Commentary.

Raymunt, M. J. (2010, December 2). Down on the body farm: Inside the dirty world of forensic science. Atlantic Online.

Downs, J. C. U. (2003). Chapter 51: The autopsy. In C. D. Bryant & D. L. Peck (Eds.), Handbook of death & dying (pp. 523-532). SAGE Publications.

Hanzlick, R., Hunsaker III, J. C., & Davis, G. J. (2002, February). A guide for manner of death classification, (1st ed.). National Association of Medical Examiners.

Australian Museum

Australian museum. (n.d.). Virtual autopsy.

Australian museum. (n.d.). Autopsies.

Ridden, P. (2009, October 20). The interactive 3D virtual autopsy table. New Atlas.

Menezes, R. G. & Monteiro, F. N. (2022, September 5). Forensic autopsy. StatPearls Publishing [Internet].

DiMaio, V. J. M. & Molina, D. K. (2021). Chapter 1: Medicolegal death investigation (pp. 1-7). In DiMaios forensic pathology. CRC Press.

DiMaio, V. J. M. & Molina, D. K. (2021). Appendix A: Forensic autopsy, radiography and photography, (pp. 509-511). In DiMaios forensic pathology. CRC Press.

DiMaio, V. J. M. & Molina, D. K. (2021). Appendix B: The autopsy report (pp. 513-516). In DiMaios forensic pathology. CRC Press.

University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Unit 6 overview: Entomology, decedent identification & SUID investigations.

Forensic Science Technician. (n.d.). 8 body parts forensic scientists use to ID a body.

: There are 10 pages to this reading, so please continue to click “Next” until finished.

National Library of Medicine. (2014, June 5). Visible proofs: Insect testimony.

Byrd, J. & Sutton, L. (2020, July). Forensic entomology for the investigator. WIREs Forensic Science 2(4).

Joseph, I., Mathew, D. G., Sathyan, P., & Vargheese, G. (2011, July-December). The use of insects in forensic investigations: An overview on the scope of forensic entomology. Journal of Forensic Dental Science, 3(2), 89-91.

DiMaio, V. J. M. & Molina, D. K. (2021). Chapter 9: Sudden death in infancy, (pp. 281-287). In DiMaios forensic pathology. CRC Press.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, September 17). SUID Investigation Reporting Forms.

Hanzlick, R. L., Jentzen, J. M., & Clark, S. C. (2007, January). Sudden, unexplained infant death investigation: Guidelines for the scene investigator. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DiMaio, V. J. M. & Molina, D. K. (2021). Chapter 2: Postmortem changes, time of death and identification, (pp. 32-36). In DiMaios forensic pathology. CRC Press.

National Institute of Justice. (2024, July). Death investigation: A guide for the scene investigator. Read Section D-4, pages 25-26.

University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Unit 7 overview: Equivocal deaths and non-natural death investigations.

Pompili, M. (2009). Equivocal death. In C. D. Bryant & D. L. Peck (Eds.), Encyclopedia of death and the human experience (pp. 414-416). SAGE Publications.

Geberth, V. J. (2004, November). An equivocal death and staged crime scene: Making a homicide appear to be a suicide. Law and Order Magazine, 44(2), [Updated Web Version].

Geberth, V. J. (1996, February). The staged crime scene. Law and Order Magazine, 52(11), [Updated Web Version].

Geberth, V. J. (2013, January). The seven major mistakes in suicide investigation. Law and Order Magazine, 61(1), [Updated Web Version].

Suicide investigation. (2005). In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), World of Forensic Science (Vol. 2, pp. 654-656). Gale.