The O.J. Simpson case is a murder case with pathetic forensic analysis that led to an unfair verdict. The processes that were used to collect valuable evidence that would help in determining the culprit was done shabbily as forensic investigators did not follow the right procedures to collect, store, and analyze Simpson’s DNA. This paper will look at these faults and then determine what should have been forensically. It will then examine the results that should have come from the forensic laboratory.
The Crime Scene
The assassination of Nicole Simpson, O. J. Simpson’s wife, and her friend Ronald Goldman occurred on the evening of June 12, in 1994 in her California, Beverly Hills home (Newton and Hubler, 1994). Their bodies were spotted, and the police notified. The investigators arrived at the murder scene and discovered a pile of blood that led to two bodies that had been stabbed numerous times with their throats slit open. Ms. Simpson’s body lay some fifteen feet from the sidewalk with her back lined up with the stairs at her rear, and the left side of her face had been pushed next to the sidewalk. The cut in her neck was severe as it almost severed her head, and her body was soaked in her blood. Goldman’s body was identified some meters from Simpson’s behind a bush. He had several stabs on his body, and his fully clothed body lay slumped on his right side fully drenched with blood with his eyes open. Between them were a bind cap, a beeper, a key set, a white envelope that was bloody, and a left-hand glove that was equally bloody. Bloody footprints and blood droplets led away from the bodies to the property’s backside.
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The Evidence. The scene was secured with 18 officers. The police then commenced surveying the area and taking pictures of the general neighboring. Investigators drove to O. J’s house to notify him to collect his children and noticed that the driver’s door of his car had blood on it which made them think that he was also a victim of murder. They mounted the stone wall and opened the door to his house. On the walkway, they came across a bloody right-hand glove that was identical to the left-hand glove on the murder scene. There were also drops of blood near and in his two cars, with further investigation presenting more blood stains inside the Bronco (Crime Museum, 2017). In the house, there was also a pair of socks that was soaked in blood. A photographer came to take pictures. Soon after, the glove and the blood spots were removed in the absence of a warrant as they believed that the proof was manifest.
At Ms. Simpson’s place, the investigators began to collect evidence many hours from the time they had discovered the scene of the crime. Medical examiners carried the bodies for autopsy. Investigators photographed the footprints that led to the backyard. They also collected hairs from the shirt of Mr. Goldman as well as the bloody glove and bloody envelope. They also took the cap and the Goldman’s shirt that had fibers ad hairs and packed them in one bag (Crime Museum, 2017). Blood from the different pools of blood was swabbed using damp cotton swatches. They were then packed in a plastic bag and put into a truck with high temperatures. A technician who wore gloves stained with O.J.’s voluntarily drawn blood then handled the blood from the crime scene without changing them. To add on to that, some of the blood did not undergo the first run-through and was only collected three weeks after the observation of this fact. The blood in the bloody socks which had been packed together was discovered to be Nicole’s and was only considered after a week from the initial investigation. Professionalism was not considered as a junior detective collected most of the evidence with no one supervising although the process was caught on camera. From the footage, the junior detective was seen dropping a number of blood swabs and dabbing tweezers with unclean hands. The evidence from the glove was discarded and the fibers lifted. With all the evidence, O.J. was asked to give a sample of his blood which was drawn a few hours after midday, though this vial only reached to the evidence recorder much later (Crime Museum, 2017).
The Analytical Tests. There was a massive sum of blood as evidence. O.J. needed to undergo genetic fingerprinting tests for this case. Considering the enormous quantity of blood, the laboratory employed Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) tests for extra accuracy. Toxicology tests were also run to identify EDTA and blood degradation (Crime Museum, 2017). A shoeprint analysis was done to determine the characteristic of the shoe print and the wearer. Trace evidence tests were also done with a hair analysis giving details about the hair strands. An autopsy determined what led to the death and the nature of the weapon used. A considerable amount of the blood stains in the crime scene were highly consistent with O.J. Those on his cars were a mixture of his blood and that of Nicole. The glove also confirmed a mixture of blood from the three individuals. The bloody sock also indicated that the blood belonged to Nicole. However, toxicology reported indicated a limited degradation of her blood than that drawn from her. The shoe print was also determined to belong to O.J.’s shoe. The strand of hair from Goldman was of an African-American nature which was consistent with O.J.’s and the fiber matched O.J.’s socks. The autopsy indicated that the victims had died from 6 inches long single blade knife stabs. The amount of evidence collected pointed to O.J. Simpson though he was never found guilty in court for the murders. The reason for this was due to the numerous mistakes involved in the forensic investigation process.
What I would have done forensically. One of the reasons why the forensic process was declared a sham was due to contamination of evidence. The initial investigation involved 18 investigating officers at the scene. Mistakes that took place included covering Nicole’s body with a blanket to keep her from being viewed by the public which tampered with any credible evidence. Medical personnel also took 10 hours to recover the bodies and this tampered with any likely valuable evidence. To avoid this, the bodies should have been collected as soon as was fitting in the investigation. Collecting blood with contaminated wet swatches and putting them in a hot truck caused quick degradation which tampered with the DNA rendering it unusable. Placing the cap and the shirt together, as well as the bloodied socks together, allowed any trace evidence to mix. The blood collected from O.J. was also not stored appropriately and delivered to the laboratory on time as the person with the vial drove around with it in his pocket and only turned it hours later, which would have allowed him time to contaminate the blood. Some blood evidence was also not backed up by accurate and timely photos. The technician also contaminated blood from O.J.’s system and that from the evidence as he did not change the stained glove thus resulting in false DNA results. The patterns of the blood stains in the house, and other points were not accurate as they failed to match the story.
In an investigation scene, it is important to keep contamination minimal. This means that the more the people, the higher the chances of contamination as they will tend to move around haphazardly. The proper way to have done it would have been to send a few investigators as fitting to the investigation to the site of murder. The first thing would have been to identify any likely points of hazards or safety and controlling access with a yellow crime scene tape so as to avoid unauthorized entries by onlookers. A survey of the area would have then been conducted to determine any present evidence and these points communicated to the team. Documenting the crime scene would have then followed to avoid instances such as those whereby photos did not match the story. Sketches of the diagrams should have also been included in the photographing process. Evidence collection would have then ensued adhering to the right collecting, packaging, and preserving processes of biological evidence. This involves collecting a sample, packaging it, labeling it with details and storing it according to procedures and transported to the laboratory as soon as it should.
From the laboratory, I would expect the technician to run the appropriate tests on the various samples using the right laid down procedures. I would, therefore, expect results for O.J.’s blood in both cases where his blood was drawn and that from the evidence. I would have expected the victim’s blood samples to be run in comparison to that found in the crime scene and an analysis report given. I would expect the technician to run tests on the fiber and hairs on Goldman’s shirt detailing its source. I would also expect an autopsy report indicating the cause of the murders. During the process, I would expect communication to flow between the technicians and the investigators in matters pertaining to quality evidence samples so as to maintain the legality of the process. I would then expect a full report to be submitted to the relevant authorities.
References
Crime Museum. (2017). Forensics at the Trial of O.J. Simpson Trial; So, What Went Wrong? Retrieved from https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/justice-system/forensic-investigation-of-the-oj-simpson-trial/
Newton, J., & Hubler, S. (18 June, 1994). From the Archives: Simpson Held After Wild Chase: He's Charged With Murder of Ex-Wife, Friend. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/local/la-oj-anniv-arrest-story.html
