What would a murder scene be like?

Darcie

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In my horror story, basically a girl turns up to her boyfriend's house one morning to find out he was murdered the night before. Can someone tell me what a murder scene would be like the morning after? I already have:
- Reporters
- Crowd gathered round
- Crime tape
- Police
- News helicopter circling overhead
- Police cars

EDIT:
The body was left in the long grass on his lawn, where the murder took place. They died from being stabbed in the chest, and no, it's just the one body. It's just your average suburban town and it is part of what is to be a spree.
 
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Williebee

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Not sure where you are, but if you can make Nashville in August, you should consider attending Killer Nashville. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations stages a murder scene there for the attendees to "work".

Other than that, we probably need more info, in order to help you:

Where's the body & what's the location? Street, underpass, house, apartment, ferris wheel?

How'd they die? Is there a lot of blood, is there more than one body? Are there a lot of pieces? (It changes the response, the scene coverage... what vehicles respond...)

Is this city or rural?

Is this an isolated killing or part of a spree?
 

Darcie

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Not sure where you are, but if you can make Nashville in August, you should consider attending Killer Nashville. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations stages a murder scene there for the attendees to "work".

Other than that, we probably need more info, in order to help you:

Where's the body & what's the location? Street, underpass, house, apartment, ferris wheel?

How'd they die? Is there a lot of blood, is there more than one body? Are there a lot of pieces? (It changes the response, the scene coverage... what vehicles respond...)

Is this city or rural?

Is this an isolated killing or part of a spree?

The body was left in the long grass on his lawn, where the murder took place. They died from being stabbed in the chest, and no, it's just the one body. It's just your average suburban town and it is part of what is to be a spree.
 

Williebee

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All the Looky-loos are behind the tape at the street. Unless the cops were really good and managed to get it taped off down at the end of the block, or just a few houses down.

A whole lot of cops are standing around awaiting instructions, then doing whatever task they've been given -- question the neighbors, measure the distance to A, B, etc. Search the house and yard for damage or weirdness. Check the backyard for same.

The neighbors who live there are looking out windows, a few of them gathered on the next door or across the street neighbor's lawn. Some of them are looking at whichever neighbor's house that the guy had argued with about the dog crapping in his yard.

If it's night, there are work lights up, probably plugged in to the dead guys yard power outlets. (or a neighbor's -- they won't waste the generator gas and make a racket if they don't have to.)

Here in Illinois nobody moves the body until the coroner arrives and pronounces -- well, no one is supposed to. *shrug*

Then they'll get the guy bagged and out of sight as fast as possible.

There's gonna be blood on the grass. How much and how big a stain depends on how he got stabbed. (and was there a fight, flailing, etc.) Also on how deep the grass is and when's the last time it rained. (seepage)

Saw one where I guy got stabbed in the heart and fell face first into a yard. It was really soft earth. You'd think there'd be a larger stain, but the blood pumped straight down and made a soft wet place under him.

But not knowing that it is a spree, and unless there are witnesses who saw someone run off "thataway" my bet would be that it's gonna be looked at as domestic first, then neighbor, then something else.

Hope that helps.
 

Darcie

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All the Looky-loos are behind the tape at the street. Unless the cops were really good and managed to get it taped off down at the end of the block, or just a few houses down.

A whole lot of cops are standing around awaiting instructions, then doing whatever task they've been given -- question the neighbors, measure the distance to A, B, etc. Search the house and yard for damage or weirdness. Check the backyard for same.

The neighbors who live there are looking out windows, a few of them gathered on the next door or across the street neighbor's lawn. Some of them are looking at whichever neighbor's house that the guy had argued with about the dog crapping in his yard.

If it's night, there are work lights up, probably plugged in to the dead guys yard power outlets. (or a neighbor's -- they won't waste the generator gas and make a racket if they don't have to.)

Here in Illinois nobody moves the body until the coroner arrives and pronounces -- well, no one is supposed to. *shrug*

Then they'll get the guy bagged and out of sight as fast as possible.

There's gonna be blood on the grass. How much and how big a stain depends on how he got stabbed. (and was there a fight, flailing, etc.) Also on how deep the grass is and when's the last time it rained. (seepage)

Saw one where I guy got stabbed in the heart and fell face first into a yard. It was really soft earth. You'd think there'd be a larger stain, but the blood pumped straight down and made a soft wet place under him.

But not knowing that it is a spree, and unless there are witnesses who saw someone run off "thataway" my bet would be that it's gonna be looked at as domestic first, then neighbor, then something else.

Hope that helps.

So here's the decription I have so far:

The scene outside his house was like something out of a horror movie. Crime scene tape littered the front lawn, and the driveway was packed with police cars. Reporters lined the pavement, and police tried to keep the crowd of people from seeing the bloody mess in the grass, but there was too much to conceal.

How would you adjust it to make it more believable/better?
 

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How would you adjust it to make it more believable/better?
You seem to be doing fine, but you might be asking the wrong question.

Maybe try it from this angle:

Ask yourself who do you need to be in the crowd/on the block, and What do you need them to see or hear?

What does this scene need to accomplish? And what else might it accomplish?

Then let that happen.
 

Darcie

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You seem to be doing fine, but you might be asking the wrong question.

Maybe try it from this angle:

Ask yourself who do you need to be in the crowd/on the block, and What do you need them to see or hear?

What does this scene need to accomplish? And what else might it accomplish?

Then let that happen.

Thanks so much for your help. I'll rewrite it now.
 

WriteKnight

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Cop cars would NOT be in the driveway. The entire lawn and drive and house is a crime scene. You try to keep traffic, vehicular and pedestrian, to a minimum. The tape wouldn't 'litter' the lawn. It's strung up as a baricade - that's it. NOTHING 'litters' the crime scene if you can avoid it. Spectators are kept behind the tape, and pretty much anyone who shows up, is going to get questioned. Name, address, phone number, did they know the victim, did they see anything.

IF it's a large city, and a slow news day, but during morning drive time - there might be a news chopper flying above. I have a friend in Houston who flies news coverage. They get called out for murder scenes, accidents - anything that might look interesting with an overhead visual. This sounds likely. But a small town, that doesn't have local news station - no chopper likely. BUT they might send a news team. In a large city - that would consist of an ENG truck - "Live, on the scene". In a small community, it would likely include a 'preditor' - Producer/Editor/Reporter, who would set up the camera, do the report, and return to the station to edit it themselves.
 

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Here are a couple of things to consider, Darcie. Were paramedics called in first? You might have some discarded, expendable type medical equipment scattered around the yard. Anomalies at murder scenes/bodies are often chalked up to "medical intervention."

Also, the body will be covered in some sort of tarp to shield it from prying eyes, once photos have been taken.

Remember this is private property if it is on someone's lawn, so the cops/detectives might just be hanging around waiting for a search warrant.

Once the warrant is in hand, they will mark evidence. The evidence techs have little numbered placards they will set on the ground next to items of interest they find, and then take photos. I know this is a stabbing, but in another instance, you'll get pictures of a shell casing on a sidewalk with a little yellow number next to it.

Hope this helps.
 

Maryn

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Be aware that Darcie is no longer with us. Her account was a sockpuppet account of a member who'd been banned. So she may never see any information we provide.
 

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Darcie may be gone but I just got here and Williebee with your permission I could use that stab in the heart and blood pumping out straight down. Now my maggots would have something to eat!

Is that the way it was? If so, was the stab a lucky hit or is it that easy to hit the heart?

Renee
http://www.reneegoudeau.webs.com
 

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Now my maggots would have something to eat!

Not for days, or even weeks, depending on climate. :)

Is that the way it was? If so, was the stab a lucky hit or is it that easy to hit the heart?http://www.reneegoudeau.webs.com
Hitting the heart is actually rare but it's easy to kill with a single stab. Do a little biology study for different areas that result in rather quick bleeding and death.

The heart is pretty protected. To hit it requires an upthrust (untrained people don't usually do that, it's a military kill), a reasonable blade length (12" or more) and a serious plunge. Amateur killers are too tentative.

Much more common would be a stab to the aortic arch, carotid or brachial arteries (downward thrust at neck/shoulder, AKA "Psycho Bathtub Scene") or the abdominal aorta, ciliac, iliac, femoral, etc. arteries (basic abdominal stabbing, below the diaphragm).

It doesn't take a big puncture to take a victim down and kill them when you hit a big artery. Single-stab deaths are too common, even with a pocket knife.

For what it's worth, veins don't make for quick kills and a killer slashing a throat has seen too many TV shows. Funny, but "going for the jugular" doesn't do much more than annoy someone.

Jeff
 

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Thanks, WeaselFire--maybe just a lucky stab of the aorta?

As for the maggots, they're placed there already in the second? instar. See my posts on here about it if you're curious.
 

WeaselFire

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Thanks, WeaselFire--maybe just a lucky stab of the aorta?
It can happen. We had a local case of a fight at a school bus stop. Kid got off a few stops early to stop the bullies from tormenting him. Bullies followed him off. Biggest bully hit him in the back of the head, he defended himself by poking the bully with a pocket knife. Bully died in just a few minutes, emergency personnel could never have gotten to him in time. About 3" deep, just the point of the blade clipped a major artery.

Also happens when a woman with a steak knife lunges at a man, hits him in the side or even just the arm. Right place and he's a goner. Though it would be pretty rare, or pretty lucky, for a single knife wound to hit the right spot. Usually the organs are pretty resilient, and even with an artery it takes a while to bleed to death.

On the other hand, a drastic loss of blood pressure can send a person into shock, where they wouldn't even be able to run or call for help. But ordinarily that would be a major amputation or something.

FWIW, a lucky jab can slip between ribs, but that's even rarer. The bottom line is that the vast majority of single stabbings don't end in death and those that do almost always take a significant time. Days in many cases.

Jeff
 

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Wonderful links, Jeff. Thanks.
 

Williebee

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Darcie may be gone but I just got here and Williebee with your permission I could use that stab in the heart and blood pumping out straight down. Now my maggots would have something to eat!

Is that the way it was? If so, was the stab a lucky hit or is it that easy to hit the heart?

Renee
http://www.reneegoudeau.webs.com

I don't actually know the answer to this specific case -- sorry. I can see it happening either way, based upon the experience/skill set of an attacker, or if it was close-up, face to face struggle between two people.

Of course, while typing this, my head played out a "he fell on the knife, it punctured the pumper. Reflex caused him to turn over and he lay on his back, pumping up blood in counterpoint to the water fountain beside him."

umm... where were we?