Constructing a Victimology: Victim Information

Homicide is defined as "the killing of one human being by another" (Homicide, 2007). Not all homicides are criminal, and not all criminal homicides are murder. All homicides are nevertheless investigated. Regardless of the final determination, all investigations include a background investigation of the victim. This will establish the victim's lifestyle, associates, and other personal habits. The extent of the investigation may well be driven by the type of homicide. Murder, defined as the unlawful, willful killing of a human being by another (Fallis, 1999), requires the most extensive and expensive investigation.

Since the majority of murder victims were either close friends or related the offender, determining who last saw and spoke to the victim is paramount (Karmen 2004). The first thing to ascertain is whether or not there were eyewitnesses to the event. If there were, then a complete interview with this witness would be initiated by a detective. The witness would be asked for a complete description of the offender or offenders. The witness would also be asked what there relationship was to the victim or offenders. It must be kept in mind that eyewitness accounts tend to be surprisingly unreliable (Fallis, 1999). Beyond the possible eyewitness, search warrants would be required for the victim's cell phone records and land line records. A forensic search of the victim's computer would reveal what online chat providers were utilized and what the victim's email and internet service providers were. Emails and chat transcripts may be able to be retrieved from the computer, but separate search warrants would be necessary to obtain records directly from the providers (New Mexico Survivors of Homicide, 1977; Karmen 2004).

The victim's residence would also be processed after receiving a search warrant. Any and all calendars with appointments, phone messages, voice mail, and answering machines would be processed. From all of these items, a chronological listing of the individuals the victim

met or spoke with prior to the murder would be made. Each of these individuals would be interviewed. New leads could easily develop as the victim may have made statements concerning recent events that could lead to them being a victim. Each of these new leads would need to be investigated (NMSOH 1997).

Interviews with those listed from the above information would provide information on employment and significant relationships, including those that were adversarial. Any domestic relation that was identified would be interviewed. The information provided would be cross checked to detect any significant discrepancies in the statements from different individuals.

Co-workers and supervisors would be interviewed to determine any lifestyle or financial information that might be relevant. Indicators of financial instability, such as garnishments, draws, and collection calls at work would be investigated. Statements the victim made to his co-workers could shed light on other aspects of the lifestyle the victim enjoyed or not enjoyed. Any adversarial business relationships would be identified and investigated.

From the information above, a list of domestic/significant relationships would be built. The victim's next of kin and close friends would be interviewed to determine the lifestyle the victim enjoyed. This information would be compared to the information obtained from the co-workers to identify areas that may need to be further investigated.

Information from bank statements and other financial information located at the victim's residence would also be processed. This would be used to trace an individual's movement through the use of their credit cards. Where they were prior to the crime might be traced through

the use of their credit cards. Interviews with the staff of these establishments could determine if the victim was alone or with someone at the time of purchase. Store or ATM surveillance cameras might have images that would be recognized by the investigators as those they have already interviewed. If the victim's credit cards or bank accounts were utilized after their demise then the images and descriptions provided by staff would have a great bearing on the case.

Information from these financial records would also be indicative of their lifestyle. The records may show more income then their employment would allow, for example. The records may shed light on gambling activities, infidelity, and other indiscretions. For example, if there is a credit card charge for flowers or gifts that the spouse states they never received, then that may be indicative of an extra-marital affair. Once again, interviews with the staff at the businesses in question would be helpful in the investigation, such as