Jim Leach began his law enforcement career in 1975, and he shares his insights as a multimedia analyst and consultant for Golden Media Group in matters relating to Criminal Justice. Mr. Leach was President of Training Services Group, Inc. for 26 years.
On March 8, a small human skull was found on the edge of a wooded area in the Hickory Hills area in Memphis. Further investigation would reveal the remains of 3 children, aged 3-7, in the woods.
In most cases, the crime scene search is the beginning of the investigation, and can give investigators much valuable information, such as the cause of death, time of death, and the victim’s identity.
When we taught officers how to work Cold Cases, we recommended they physically view the crime scene. Even if no physical evidence was still there, you might get a “feel” for the scene that may be important later in evaluating suspect or witness statements.
Let’s say a person says they were standing at the corner of 5th Street and Eastern Boulevard when they saw Mary stab Julie.
Because you stood at that corner and know there is no way to view the scene from there, you know the person is lying.
The crime scene in this case only indicates the remains are human and the victims were young children, probably 5-7 years old. DNA testing of a victim’s bone marrow may possibly identify the family a victim was related to which could generate leads.
There has been one lead originating from Michigan. It was investigated, and the police in that state say our victims are not involved in their case.
There are several obvious questions that beg for an answer. Were the victims killed here or just dumped here? Judging from the cause of death, is there a suggestion that the children were killed in the heat of passion, as in a domestic situation, or was there a cold blooded, planned murder, such as one that happened as the result of a human trafficking business?
Another terrifying possibility is that the murders were the acts of a serial offender who was a child predator. The thought might be that this type of killer would have produced more victims.
In some cases, this would be correct however, in some instances, these types of personalities change their target of attractiveness, die, get locked up, or simply move to another part of the country.
In the worst case scenario, there is a chance we just haven’t found all of the young bodies. God bless these child victims and their families.
(PHOTO: Jim Leach)
