INVESTIGATIVE INVESTIGATIVE QUARTERLY
A Publication by the International Homicide Investigators Association (IHIA)
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Sergeant Rob Peters, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office
Dear Colleagues, Members and Sponsors,
Summer is here…some of us are experiencing some blistering heat in the West, while others of us are experiencing the wildly unpredictable weather of the Midwest. I hope everyone is surviving and looking forward to Washington DC in August.
Thus far, 2024 continues to be an exciting year for the International Homicide Investigators Association (IHIA). We have had the opportunity to facilitate and share training, experiences, and best practices with our long-time members, as well as brand-new members. Leading into the summer months, we have some great training opportunities lined up for our members. In June, we are hosting a Child & Infant Death Investigation Course in Columbus, Ohio, and a DNA and Genealogy Summit in Collinsville, Illinois. Please continue to check www.ihia.org for the latest training opportunities.
The agenda for the 2024 Symposium in Washington DC has been completed. As many of our members and sponsors know, we are dedicated to bringing our members great case presentations, the latest investigative tools, and developing technologies that could assist our members in their death investigations. In addition to the great agenda, we have some great social events planned for the symposium. The opportunity to speak to other investigators, analysts, and experts and collaborate on cases is truly the greatest aspect of the symposium. We look forward to seeing all of our old friends, as well as a lot of new friends at the symposium.
Please continue to utilize the website, www.ihia.org, for the latest training opportunities, our association sponsors, as well as our valued exhibitors. The website is also a great tool for locating investigators in other states and other countries. On behalf of the Association’s Board, I want to thank you for your membership and continued support. We couldn’t do any of this without you. We will continue to strive to provide the best resources, guidance, and training to each of you and our profession.
President Rob Peters
International Homicide Investigators Association
What’s Inside the IQ:
• Letter from President Rob Peters
• From the desk of the IHIA Executive Director Steve Lewis
• Article: Touch DNA Collection in Death Investigations
• Article: Lawful Detention? Yes or No?
• Article: Analysis of Off-Duty Police Shootings
• Article: Emerging Legal Issue: Cell Phones and a Fingerprint
• Article: Kill With Insulin, Without Leaving A Trace
• Article: From Intimate Partners to Serial Killers
• 2024 Symposium
• 2024 Symposium Agenda
• Ottawa FIGG Flyer
• Texas Cold Case Conference Flyer
www.IHIA.org
™ The IHIA is the world’s largest and fastest growing organization of homicide and death investigation professionals. The non-profit organization represents the largest network of homicide professionals and practitioners ever assembled. The IHIA has representatives in every U.S. state and nations on six continents. For membership information, visit: www.ihia.org/Membership
From the desk of The IHIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Steve Lewis
Since our last newsletter, the IHIA facilitated two (2) Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) Foundational workshops (Suffolk County Police, NY and San Antonio Police, TX). These two workshops were funded directly by these agencies and lasted 1 to 1 ½ days. The workshops provided information on how FIGG can be utilized for their investigators. With this new tool for law enforcement, the IHIA is working hard to educate the law enforcement community to help solve cases that may have never been solved before.
Additionally, we held our first DNA summit in Deerfield Beach, Florida, where more than 100 investigators from around the world attended. The presentations focused on the newest DNA technologies available and how they were utilized in investigations. Plans are underway for our 2nd summit in May 2025. A special thanks to DNA Labs International and QIAGEN for sponsoring this event.
We also facilitated our Cold Case/No-Body Homicide Investigation & Prosecution course in Kansas City, Missouri and our Foundational Homicide Investigations course in Houston, Texas. Both courses had more than 100 people in attendance. Again, law enforcement investigators from around the world were in attendance.
As we look forward to the 3rd quarter of 2024, the IHIA is working diligently on the 30th Annual Symposium, taking place in Washington, D.C. Our attendance numbers are higher than ever, and we are expecting one of the biggest events we have ever held. We are also visiting Bogota, Colombia for a two-week course for our friends at ICITAP and the Colombian National Police. And, we will have visited Columbus, Ohio for our Child & Infant Death Investigation course and Collinsville, Illinois for our 3rd FIGG Summit.
The remainder of 2024 will include two (2) Foundational courses in Tacoma, Washington and Grand Junction, Colorado. We are also excited about our next FIGG Summit in Ottawa, Canada. We are working diligently with the Ontario Provincial Police on the agenda and expect a great event. We will then finish up the year with our first ever, Cold Case Conference, at the Horseshoe Bay Resort, Texas. We are partnered with the Texas Attorney General’s Office and expect a huge turnout for some great training!
Stay Safe!
Steve Lewis
IHIA Executive Director
Article: Body Swab DNA Collection in Death Investigations
Recent improvements in DNA technologies have allowed for the successful collection and analysis of touch DNA from evidence where it was not previously possible. These advancements have expanded opportunities to collect and identify forensic evidence that can potentially resolve violent crimes.
In collaboration with investigators, medical examiner and coroner (MEC) personnel can locate on a victim’s body where a suspect may have touched and deposited their DNA during a crime. Swabs of these areas taken at the scene or during autopsy may yield suspect DNA profiles sufficient for direct comparisons or upload into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
Once a victim’s body has been cleaned during autopsy and prepared for final disposition, opportunities to collect evidence that may link a perpetrator to the death have vanished. Considering the potential value of body swabs and touch DNA analysis in suspicious death and suspected homicide investigations, law enforcement and MECs should examine their policies and procedures related to evidence collection to ensure this potentially crucial evidence is not lost.
This article will present guidelines to help law enforcement and MECs ensure the preservation of critical evidence. The authors encourage agencies to standardize proactive collection of additional body swabs for touch DNA in all suspicious deaths and homicides. Following such practices can increase the chances of resolving violent crimes and, ultimately, serving justice.
CURRENT PRACTICE
Missed Opportunities
In most jurisdictions, a representative from the MEC’s office will respond, along with law enforcement, to the scene of a suspicious death or suspected homicide to conduct an inspection of the decedent and begin collection of crucial evidence from the body. They focus
specifically on samples that may be damaged or lost during transportation of the remains.
Presuming an autopsy is done, additional evidence may be collected because the forensic pathologist or other autopsy surgeon conducts a postmortem examination to help determine cause of death.
Often, this is the final opportunity to collect evidence that could potentially link the perpetrator to the victim before the body is cleaned.
Literature has shown valuable DNA profiles can be obtained from an individual’s skin due to recent advances in touch DNA sampling techniques and methodologies. However, current recommendations and guidance on best practices for evidence collection do not reflect the importance of these developments. As of year-end 2018, only 17% of MECs were accredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) and/or the International Association for Coroners and Medical Examiners (IACME), the main accrediting bodies for U.S. MEC offices. This implies that most MECs in the United States are not assessed for conformity to nationally approved standards regarding evidence collection, which could greatly impact law enforcement investigations.
Medicolegal death investigation (MDI) services and personnel training can vary widely between and within states and can result in disparities in evidence collection practices, to include those related to touch DNA samples. As such, critical touch DNA samples are not always collected, resulting in missed opportunities to potentially resolve violent crimes.
Article: Case Alert: Be Careful, This New State Supreme Court Decision May Change How You Do Your Job Today
RULES
A person’s apparent attempt to avoid being contacted by the police while in a high-crime area at night is insufficient, by itself, to justify a detention.
FACTS
Two uniformed Los Angeles Police Department officers were patrolling in a “known narcotics area” and “gang hangout” at about 10 p.m. in a marked patrol car. They drove into a cul-de-sac that was known as a “gang haunt” and where fresh graffiti was a daily occurrence. One of the officers had made a drug-related arrest at that location the night before. As the officers entered the cul-de-sac, they observed an individual, later identified as defendant Marlon Flores, standing at the end of the street next to an illegally parked car. Flores looked in the officers’ direction, walked to the opposite rear side of the car and crouched down out of sight. In the sequence of events, as recorded by one of the officer’s body camera and described in his testimony later, the officers remained in their car for about 45 seconds as they shined their vehicle’s spotlight on the area where they’d seen Flores. Flores briefly stood up, but then bent down again behind the car. The officers then exited their car, with the first officer approaching Flores with his flashlight directed at him. At the same time, the second officer walked around the front of the parked car and approached Flores from the opposite side. The body cam shows that Flores looked up about four seconds later in the first officer’s direction. Flores later said he was tying one of his shoes. As the first officer approached Flores while shining his flashlight at him, Flores was twice told to stand up. Both commands were ignored as defendant continued to “toy” with his right foot for about 20 seconds. The officer later testified that he believed Flores was merely pretending to tie his shoe while actually attempting to hide drugs from view and “that he was there loitering for the use or sales of narcotics.” Flores stood up upon the officer’s third command and was told to put his hands behind his head and he was handcuffed. While patting down Flores for weapons, the officer inadvertently set off an electronic car key in Flores’ pocket, which activated the lights on the parked car. Looking into the car through a window, the officer could see in plain sight a methamphetamine bong. Upon receiving permission to retrieve Flores’ identification
from the vehicle, officers also found methamphetamine and a loaded unregistered pistol. Charged in state court with drug and illegal-firearm offenses, Flores’ motion to suppress the items recovered from his car was denied. He therefore pleaded “no contest” to carrying a loaded, unregistered handgun (Pen. Code § 25850(a)) and received probation. He appealed. The Second District Court of Appeal (Div. 8), in a 2-to-1 decision, upheld the Flores’ detention as lawfully based upon a reasonable suspicion. (See People v. Flores (Feb. 16, 2021) 60 Cal. App. 5th 978, as briefed on LegalUpdates.com, Vol. 26, #3, March 6, 2021.) Flores appealed to the California Supreme Court.
HELD
The California Supreme Court, in a unanimous (six-justice) decision, reversed the lower court. The issue on appeal was whether Flores had been lawfully detained, and because all of the evidence in the case was the product of his detention, whether it was admissible. The law is clear that the “the Fourth Amendment permits an officer to initiate a brief investigative...(detention) when [the officer] has ‘a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity.’ [Citations.] ‘Although a mere “hunch” does not create reasonable suspicion, the level of suspicion the standard requires is considerably less than proof of wrongdoing by a preponderance of the evidence, and obviously less than is necessary for probable cause.’” (Kansas v. Glover(2020) 589 U.S. 376, 380–381.) Without deciding when in the sequence of events Flores had been “detained” in this case, the California Supreme Court determined that no matter where you draw the line, his detention was unlawful. The People argued that Flores’ perceived suspicious actions, in a “high crime” gang area, rendered his detention lawful. The primary U.S. Supreme Court case cited by both the defendant and the People was Illinois v. Wardlow (2000) 528 U.S. 119. In Wardlow, the High Court held that flight alone, when it occurs in a “high crime” area, is sufficient to justify a detention.
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Article: An Analysis of Homicides by Off-Duty Police Officers
ABSTRACT
The current study examined 119 incidents of off-duty police shootings resulting in 123 deaths. Results show that the majority (69%) of off-duty deaths were the cumulative result of the officer being a target of a crime or interjecting themselves to assist others who were targeted. Those who intercede on behalf of others were not subjected to criminal proceedings. Other findings of note revealed how off-duty fatal police shootings frequently involved people of color. The various approaches of states, police departments, and district attorney offices in reporting of these cases was problematic. A greater transparency within the investigation is discussed.
KEYWORDS
off-duty police, police shootings, race/ethnicity
When a law enforcement officer (LEO) is on-duty, the potential for a deadly incident is an understood part of the profession. However, officers may choose to continue enforcing the law, take a secondary employment security position, or have a need to defend themselves/others after their shift ends. Being off-duty is a function of the department’s timeclock. Off-duty officers can be in or out of uniform, driving a marked unit or their personal car, and/or presenting themselves verbally or not as police officers. If the officer is not on his or her regular rotation or overtime service, then any time outside of normally scheduled shift is off-duty. Research on the law, training, and circumstances surrounding these choices and/or professional responsibilities is lacking. Sometimes in situations where an off-duty officer acts, particularly under color of the law, deadly force may be used (Fyfe, 1980). While police use of deadly force is considered rare (Fridel et al., 2020), increasingly these incidents have garnered much media and public attention (Culhane et al., 2016), while also representing the subject of great scholarly inquiry (Phillips & Kim, 2021). However, there has been very limited research in the field when it comes specifically to off-duty officers and their use of deadly force over the last two decades. White (2000) summarized police shooting research in the major cities of Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. A notable percentage, between 17% and 24%, of shootings occurred while off-duty. White (2000) observed that the officer’s home department disapproved of the off-duty
shooting. Off-duty officers who discharged firearms in these situations, did so in violation of the administrative policy and/or criminal law. However, these vast majority of studies were conducted using data from periods of time (1970s) in which the rules of police shootings were different than today. After the cases of Tennessee v. Garner (1985) and Graham v. Connor (1989), police departments had to codify changes that only a few already had with respect to police shootings. Durán’s (2016) data found slightly fewer shootings to take place while off-duty or working a second job as security. Only around 10% of cases in his review were off-duty shootings, but it was also noted that officers “often” worked in private security roles (p. 76).
Article: Emerging Legal Issues In Compelling The Use Of One’s Fingerprint To Open A Phone
CASE LAW
• The use of “biometrics” and the compelled opening of private devices
• Good faith in the execution of a search warrant absent settled law to the contrary
• The “foregone conclusion” doctrine
• Communications search warrants for cellphones
• Compelled use of one’s finger to unlock a cellphone and Fourth Amendment, Fifth
• Amendment and due process issues
RULES
A separate statement of probable cause, and a request to use reasonable force if necessary, becomes a part of a search warrant when specifically incorporated by reference. An officer’s good faith, absent settled law to the contrary, allows for the execution of a search warrant even if the warrant is later found to be legally inadequate. The use of a suspect’s fingerprint to unlock his cellphone, the contents of the cellphone being non-testimonial, does not violate the subject’s Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. Also, with law enforcement already knowing what the cellphone contains, the “foregone conclusion doctrine” applies, allowing law enforcement to search and seize the cellphone’s contents. A suspect’s due process rights are not violated by a law enforcement officer forcing a suspect to use his fingerprint to open his cellphone when the force used is minimal and insignificant.
FACTS
Defendant Alfredo Ramirez, as a high school student and into adulthood, preferred younger girls. When in high school (his age is not mentioned), he dated a 15-yearold girl, listed simply as “M.” The couple got pregnant and then married. M, however, was one of 12 children in her family, with at least three younger sisters who are referred to here as Jane Does #2, #3, and #4. The three Jane Does were between the ages of nine and 13 during the events described here. During the years Ramirez and M lived together as husband and wife, he often pressured her into having her three sisters sleep over at their house, intentionally excluding M’s brothers. When they visited, Ramirez would take them to places like a boardwalk, a swimming pool, and an amusement park. All three Jane Does eventually complained to their mother, however,
that Ramirez habitually came into their bedroom at night and undid, or completely removed, their clothing, sometimes touching them inappropriately. Jane Doe #2 also reported that Ramirez took her to a swimming pool, where she wore a bikini he had bought for her. While at the pool, Ramirez repeatedly threw her in the air, lifting her top each time, and touching her breasts as she came back down in the water. In 1996, the three Jane Does reported Ramirez’s illicit acts (described in considerably more detail in the written case decision) to their mother, who filed a complaint with police. For unexplained reasons, the case was never submitted for prosecution. Even so, Ramirez was apparently contacted by police in that he called the girls’ mother that same day, asking her who had reported him. When told that she did, he “desperately pleaded” with her that she needed “to drop everything” because if she didn’t, it would harm his marriage to M and he’d have to move out of town. Because the police dropped the ball, however, Ramirez was left to continue his sexual acts on young girls. By August 2018 — 22 years after the above, and after being divorced from M — Ramirez went after another young girl, his cousin’s daughter, called Jane Doe #1, whose age is not mentioned in the decision. Ramirez had a daughter with another woman and Jane Doe #1 slept over at his home with this newest daughter.
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Article: Journal of Forensic Sciences: Is it really possible to kill with insulin without leaving traces?
From lifesaver to killer, the issues surrounding the analytical characterization of postmortem insulin illustrated by an exemplary case
ABSTRACT
Evidence of an insulin overdose is very complicated in the medico-legal field. The analysis and subsequent interpretation of results is complex, especially when treating postmortem blood samples. The instability of insulin, the special pre-analytical conditions and the absence of specific analytical methods has led most laboratories not to analyze insulin in their routine with a consequent underestimation of cases. This paper aims to assess the difficulties associated with the analytical characterization of insulin by describing a case that typically represents most of the inconveniences encountered following a suspected insulin overdose. The case concerns a man found dead at home by his brother. After an external examination, which did not reveal a specific cause of death, toxicological analysis was requested which did not reveal any substance of toxicological interest. Only 9 months later, it was reported to the toxicologist that the subject was diabetic, on insulin lispro treatment and that three empty syringes were found next to his body. Following analysis by LC-high-resolution mass spectrometry, the presence of insulin lispro at a concentration of 1.1 ng/mL, a therapeutic concentration, was evidenced. Despite the low concentration found, overdose cannot be excluded and this paper will describe the criteria evaluated to reach this conclusion. This case highlights that the interpretation of a postmortem insulin concentration is very complex and requires the evaluation of various elements including the circumstances of death, the subject’s medical history, the interval between death and sampling and the sample storage.
INTRODUCTION
Deaths from insulin overdose are still not free of difficulties in the investigations that follow, due to the challenges in the analytical characterization of insulin itself.
Although the discovery and synthesis of synthetic insulins has saved numerous lives over the years, their misuse has often been described. Several nontherapeutic uses of these substances have been reported, from doping to
suicidal or criminal purposes [1–3]. Its misuses therefore pose serious health risks. Indeed, insulin overdoses, whether accidental or intentional, are potentially fatal due to hypoglycemia-induced alteration of central nervous system metabolism, which can result in brain dysfunction, cerebral edema, and if not treated in time, coma and neurological death [4].
In the medico-legal field, documenting insulin intoxication is quite complex. The difficulty lies in the absence of morphological evidence, nonspecific pathological changes, and the lack of specific tests capable of discriminating between different types of insulin, remaining sensitive enough to measure low concentrations [3].
1.1 | INSULIN ANALOGUES STRUCTURAL SIMILARITY AND UNSPECIFICITY OF IMMUNOLOGICAL METHODS
Several formulations of insulin analogues have been synthesized. Synthetic insulin analogues can be divided into two categories: fast-acting insulins (lispro, aspart, and glulisine), and long-acting insulins (glargine, detemir and degludec). Depending on the desired pharmacokinetic profile, the initial peptide sequence is modified by the addition, substitution, or inversion of amino acids and the result leads to insulin analogues with very similar structures and molecular weights [5]. That is the first difficulty in evidencing an insulin overdose. Before the advent of modern technologies such as high-resolution mass spectrometry, the main difficulty in revealing insulin overdose was related to the inability to discriminate endogenous insulin from exogenous synthetic insulins. In fact, the most widely used analytical methods are immunoassay techniques, which have some drawbacks with regard to their specificity (unable to discriminate between insulin analogues) [6]. each type of synthetic analogue of human insulin [9–13].
Article: Journal of Forensic Sciences: From intimate partners to serial killers
Nearly 40 years of female homicides in King County, Washington (1978–2016)
INTRODUCTION
Homicide is a leading cause of death in the United States for those aged 1–44 years [1]. However, the pattern of female homicide victims differs from their male counterparts with respect to motive and modality [2]. Although females are less frequently encountered as victims of homicide than males, females more commonly die from intimate partner violence, sexual predators, and serial murderers [3, 4]. Over the last several years, there has been an increasing interest in recognition and prevention of injuries due to intimate partner violence [5–7].
Intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence (DV) are terms used to refer to violence that occurs within relationships or within a household. While intimate partner violence more specifically refers to individuals in romantic or sexual relationships, domestic violence can take on a broader definition and involve other individuals within a household (e.g., between family members or other individuals living together). Historical data and references for this paper may use these two terms interchangeably. As such, while every attempt has been made to consistently use the term “intimate partner violence,” references from historical data sources may use the terminology “domestic violence” instead.
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office, situated within the Prevention Division of Public Health—Seattle & King County, has jurisdiction over all unnatural deaths occurring in King County, Washington, conducting relevant scene investigations in conjunction with investigating law enforcement agencies and performing complete autopsy examination in nearly all cases. Recognizing that death is the most serious outcome of injury and that females constitute the majority of injured decedents of IPV, we reviewed deaths examined at the King County Medical Examiner’s Office in order to evaluate injury patterns in these decedents with respect to the motive of the assault and to assess any time-dependent changes in the decedents’ demographics and injuries or in the motives leading to their deaths.
METHODS
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office maintained a computerized record in a Microsoft Access database from 1978 through 2007, with 1996 being the first year a specific, more detailed database for homicides was established. For each record contained within this period, the investigator record and the autopsy report were reviewed to construct a database containing demographic information, details regarding the circumstances around death, cause of death, and injuries related to the fatal assault for all deaths certified as homicides in female decedents. A secondary outcome of interest was intoxication status of female homicide victims. However, due to shifts in case management systems over the study period, this analysis was limited to ethanol as it was the only analyte to be consistently reported in the current case management system. This database was extended to include all cases through the year 2017, with information extracted through the current database, VertiQ Coroner and Medical Examiners (CME) version 3.0 (VertiQ Software, Morgan Hill, CA), making the full-time period of this study January 1, 1978, through December 31, 2016, for females. Comparable data for male homicides were gathered from 1996 through 2017, using the specific homicide database in Microsoft Access combined with information extracted from VertiQ CME. All analyses comparing male and female data were restricted to January 1, 1996, through December 31, 2016, to only include years with complete data for both sexes. For the purposes of this study, sex is defined as that assigned at birth based on biological attributes and was obtained from the death certificate.
An additional source of information regarding circumstances, motive, and assailant was the Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS) developed and operated by the Washington State Attorney General’s Office [8]. HITS maintains a comprehensive database regarding violent crimes in and around Washington State and contains data from 1987 to the present. The primary data for HITS are supplied by the investigating law enforcement agency and include what is known about the assailant, including the assailant’s gender, circumstances, and weapon(s) for each entered case.
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
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AUGUST 11-16, 2024
Hyatt Regency Washington On Capitol Hill
Member rate is $545 (Beginning June 1, 2024)
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SYMPOSIUM
SPECIAL
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AGENDA AT A GLANCE
MONDAY
• The Wounded Blue
• Leadership Session
• Ambush Murder of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton
TUESDAY
• Season of Justice - Grant Program for Law Enforcement
• Collaborative Child Homicide Investigation
• Operation Hummingbird - UK Nurse Serial Killer Investigation
• Katherine Wilson Abduction - Canada
WEDNESDAY
• Murder of James Faith, Jr.
• Fentanyl Death Investigations for Law Enforcement
• Arson Related Homicide Investigation
• Cellular Analysis Updates
THURSDAY
• Murder of Ray Wright - No-Body Homicide
• The Psychology of Dismemberment
• Jason De Leso Murder Investigation
• DNA Investigative Technology Updates
FRIDAY
• NamUs
• Oxford School Shooting
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
Sunday, August 11
4:00PM - 7:00PM Registration/Check-In and Vendors Reception
Monday, August 12
7:00AM - 8:00AM Registration/Check-In/Exhibit Hall open
8:00AM - 8:30AM Opening Cermonies
8:30AM - 9:15AM The Wounded Blue
9:30AM - 12:15 PM Leadership Session
12:15PM - 1:15PM Lunch
1:00PM - 5:00PM Ambush Murder of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton
5:30PM - 7:30PM Social Event -The Dubliner DC Irish Pub (sponsored by QIAGEN)
Tuesday, August 13
Lt. Randy Sutton (retired) - The Wounded Blue
Chief Paul Butler (retired) - Paul Butler Presentations
Detective Britt Kelly, Detective Cloyd Steiger, and SDPA John Castleton of the King County Prosecutor’s Office
4 F St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 (6 minute walk)
8:00AM - 8:10AM Season of Justice - Grant Program for Law Enforcement Executive Director Brad Schleppi - Season of Justice
8:10AM - 10:30AM Collaborative Child Homicide Investigation
10:40AM - 12:00PM Operation Hummingbird - UK Nurse Serial Killer Investigation
12:00PM - 1:00PM Lunch
1:00PM - 3:00PM Operation Hummingbird - UK Nurse Serial Killer Investigation
3:15pm - 5:15pm Katherine Wilson Abduction - Canada
Wednesday, August 14
8:00AM - 10:00AM Murder of James Faith, Jr.
10:15AM - 12:00PM Fentanyl Death Investigations for Law Enforcement
12:00PM - 1:00PM Lunch
1:00PM - 3:00PM Arson Related Homicide Investigation
3:15PM - 5:00PM Cellular Analysis Updates
Thursday, August 15
7:30AM - 8:00AM General Membership Meeting (All Welcome)
Detective Mike Cavilla/Evan Matshes MD FRCPCTsuut’ina Nation Police Service and NAAG Forensic PC
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, Detective Chief
Inspector Nicola Evans, Detective Superintendent Simond David Blackwell, Detective Sergeant Danielle Stonier
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes, Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Evans, Detective Superintendent Simond David Blackwell, Detective Sergeant Danielle Stonier - Cheshire Police - UK
Superintendent Ken Leppert (Retired) - Ontario Provincial PoliceLeppert Consulting
Detective Eric T. Barnes (ATF TFO) - Dallas Police Department
Master Investigator Jim Peters - Riverside County Sheriff’s Office
Asst. Fire Marshal Jeremy Davis and Fire Investigator Samantha Peek - Santa Clara County Fire Department
8:00AM - 10:15AM Murder of Ray Wright - No-Body Homicide DDA Matthew Chisholm and Investigator Ashley EnglefieldSacramento District Attorney’s Office
10:30AM - 11:45PM The Psychology of Dismemberment
11:45AM - 12:15PM Awards Ceremony
12:15PM - 1:15PM Lunch
1:15PM - 3:50PM Jason De Leso Murder Investigation
4:00PM - 5:00PM DNA Investigative Technology Updates
5:30PM - 7:30PM Social Event - The Union Pub (sponsored by DNA Labs International)
Friday, August 16
8:00AM - 9:00AM NamUs
9:15AM - 12:30PM Oxford School Shooting
Dr. Peter Collins, CD, MD, MCA, FRCP, CTAP - Ontario Provincial Police
Detective Superintendent Des Bray, APM – South Australia Police, Officer Commanding Major Crime Investigative Branch
Ms. Danielle Gluth - DNA Labs International
201 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20002 (12 minute walk)
Program Specialist Amy Jenkinson, M.S. - Forensic Services Program Manager Heather McKiernan - NamUs
Investigator Michael Thomas, Prosecutor Karen McDonald, Asst. Prosecutor Mark Keast - Oakland County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney
UPCOMING REGIONAL TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
FOUNDATIONAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS COURSE
July 22,2024, Tacoma, WA
2024 IHIA 30TH ANNUAL TRAINING SYMPOSIUM
August 11-16, 2024, Washington, D.C.
FOUNDATIONAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS COURSE
September 9, 2024, Grand Junction, Colorado
DNA & GENEALOGY SUMMIT
September 10-12, 2024, Ottawa, Canada
MASS CASUALTY RESPONSE AND ACTIVE SHOOTER INVESTIGATIONS COURSE
October 7-11, 2024, Columbus, OH
COLD CASE CONFERENCE
December 3-5, 2024 Horseshoe Bay Resort, Texas
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2024 September Issue August 20th
2024 December Issue November 20th
The IHIA will be in the capital city of Canada (Ottawa, Ontario) for our fourth iteration of the DNA & Genealogy Summit. This two-and-a-half day training event will include foundational, practical, and region-specific information on how to practice FIGG in the law enforcement profession.
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*This training summit is for law enforcement officials and those working directly with law enforcement. Those without governmental contact information will be vetted by the IHIA board to determine eligibility.** Department credentials will be required at check-in. Individuals who do not have issued department credentials should contact us directly prior to arrival. **
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1. Foundational FIGG knowledge & case criteria
2. Compare & contrast with other novel investigative DNA methods
3. Unique parameters around practicing FIGG in Canada: - legal and prosecutorial nuances - disclosure requirements - lab accreditation
4. Multidisciplinary team approach & fitting FIGG into existing human ID methods
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2024 Cold Case Conference Save the Date
The IHIA and the Texas Attorney General’s Office Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit will present the 2024 Cold Case Conference in Horseshoe Bay, Texas
December 3-5, 2024 Horseshoe Bay Resort
200 Hi Circle North - Horseshoe Bay, Texas 78657
For questions, please contact:
Lt. Steve Lewis (ret), (813) 299-9921, slewis@ihia.org
Sr. Investigator Ed Striedinger, edward.striedinger@atg.wa.gov, (206) 992-5610 or visit IHIA.org
Department credentials will be required at check-in. Individuals who do not have issued department credentials should contact us directly prior to arrival.
