Now. Look. Fell bears a resemblance to Nelson, Kate showed Chuck the photo she had. And, like Nelson, Fell was a computer expert who lived alone. However, according to neighbor interviews and documents Goodsill obtained at the time, there are unsubstantiated indications that Fell may have had a girl on his property whose age would fit with Taras.
Then she explained the record for Krasimira Zurrn.
Wherere you going with this, Kate?
Chicago.
40
Saint Paul, Minnesota
The states main crime lab was housed in the Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions headquarters, a three-story brick-and-glass building on Maryland Avenue. Displayed in the atrium was a large steel-and-stained-glass sculpture known as Exquisite Corpse.
Staci Anderson considered the eye-catching artwork a beautiful metaphor for uniting the crime-solving work done in the complex. She drew heavily on its inspiration today as she worked, for she was feeling the pressure of this new case on all fronts.
It had been twenty-four hours since her crime scene team had returned from the grisly homicide in Lost River State Forest. Today shed learned that it had been given priority status. The BCA state lab also functioned as one of the FBIs regional mitochondrial DNA labs and Anderson was told there was a federal push to expedite the case, given its ritualistic nature.
The lab was already grappling with a backlog, but the team set aside all other ongoing work to undertake analysis of the evidence theyd collected at Lost River.
Andersons husband, an engineering contractor, was not pleased when shed called him to say shed miss dinner and would be late getting home. Again.
It means you have to take Chloe to the mall tonight to get a birthday present for her friends party tomorrow, she told him.
Me? But Im meeting the guys to watch the game at Stans tonight.
Im sorry. See if Taylor can sit when you get back from the mall, then catch up with the guys.
Yeah, Ill do that. Youre putting in a lot of OT these days.
It was true.
But when she measured her personal guilt against the agony of the victims and their families, it was easy to concentrate on her job. She was good at it and was often called upon to coordinate investigations.
It was true.
But when she measured her personal guilt against the agony of the victims and their families, it was easy to concentrate on her job. She was good at it and was often called upon to coordinate investigations.
Anderson held a masters degree in microbiology from the University of Illinois and degrees in science and chemistry from the University of Wisconsin. She was one of the sections strongest scientists when it came to presenting court testimony and was being considered for a senior supervisory post.
Today shed been working steadily at her station on the hair sample taken from the victims scalp, which included the root. With the first level, microscopic examination, she was studying shaft characteristics, scale patterns, color, length and many other aspects before extracting the DNA, which could conclusively prove identity.
DNA analysis involved many time-consuming steps.
Extraction usually took a day. Then there was quantitation and amplification, usually another day. They were followed by an instrument run that could take half a day. The procedure then called for a rigorous cover-to-cover review of her work by another section scientist, which could take up to a week. Once that was completed the results could be submitted for comparison to state and federal databases like the FBIs CODIS databank, a variety of state and national missing persons networks, and new systems holding the DNA of victims of major crimes.
After working for several hours amid the white countertops and neat array of equipment, Anderson collected her tablet and left her station. She needed to check the status of work under way by scientists in other sections who were examining items from Lost River.
Glancing at her screen, Anderson continually insured that the team had taken care with the proper collection and disposition of the evidence. Each piece had been stored separately in proper containers, marked with its position, location, description and the name of the analyst responsible for it. Anderson checked that each item had been photographed before it was removed from the scene.
Janice Foley, expert in biological fluids, was handling what they believed to be blood. Shed scraped some dried traces. Where she couldnt scrape, shed moistened a gauze pad with distilled water. Foley was also analyzing a discarded fast-food take-out cup and straw for traces of saliva. She didnt find much else at the scene in the way of substances.
We didnt find any indication of urine, feces or vomit, Foley said.
Yes, weve noted that.
Ive got no semen traces near the body or at the scene.
Okay. Anderson made a note on her tablet. Well send a reminder to the ME in Ramsey to take a vaginal swab while hes conducting the autopsy. I know they know, but its our job. Keep me posted, Janice.
Anderson moved on to Heather Wick, who was responsible for trace evidence. Wick was studying the fibers, fabric and additional hair shed collected at the scene near the impressions.
Ive got some hemp, some cotton, nylon polyester, chips of treated wood. Wick was bent over her microscope. And Im looking at thread counts and fiber twists before I can be conclusive.
When will you have that additional hair ready for me?
Shouldnt be much longer, then you can start extracting.
Sounds good, Heather, thanks.
Travis Shaw was one of the countrys best analysts when it came to tracks and footprints. Tire impressions filled his large computer monitor when Anderson approached him for an update. Head nodding to the music flowing through his earbuds, he was the youngest scientist on the team. Anderson tapped his shoulder and he tugged at his plugs, music ticking from them after theyd fallen to his shoulders.
What about the tripod theory, Trav?
I agree one hundred percent. The impressions and the positioning with the buried body are consistent with recording, photographs, video or both.
But?
As weve said, this is bird-watching country. A birder couldve set up there. Still, soil conditions match what weve got on the foot and tire impressions. Take a look.
Shaw clicked on an array of enlarged tire tracks in the dirt.
I got great images and casts of everything. Im still analyzing the tire impressions, but weve ruled out police or park vehicles. Im confident, given the conditions of the soil that captured the impressions and the soil that entombed the victim, these impressions are from our suspect vehicle. You know, weather wear, timing, all concern the same time period.
Good.
As with my earlier analysis, again, given soil depth, estimated vehicle weight and tread, were looking for a heavy-duty pickup, utility or a van, as the suspects vehicle. Ive still got work to do on damage, wear, then Ill start going through the directories to confirm tire type and model.
Okay.
Shaw clicked on images of foot and shoe impressions. Like with the tires, I ruled out all other potential shoe impressions-our witnesses, the first responding officers.
Good.
Got some awesome ones here. The soil was very moldable-it worked to our advantage.
I see that.
The victim was buried without shoes, so these are her foot impressions. Now here- he clicked -it looks like a male size-twelve boot. Im still working on it. And here, another set of smaller impressions from footwear from a female. Again, in both cases, I still have to study characteristic properties, tread wear and look for shoe type and model.
What do you think?
My preliminary take? I think there were three people at this crime scene. Two women and one man.
And if we only have one victim that means two people connected to this womans murder are still at large, and I dont know if anyones stated the obvious.
Whats that?
This is one of the most horrific scenes weve ever had.
41
Ramsey, Minnesota
The unidentified victims naked corpse lay on a stainless-steel tray in one of the autopsy rooms of the Midwest Medical Examiners Office in Ramsey.
Female. White. Five feet four inches. One hundred twenty pounds. Age between twenty-four and twenty-eight.
Her open, lifeless eyes stared up into the brilliant LED exam light.
What dreams did they hold? Did she have a good life? Pathologist Dr. Garry Weaver wondered before he and Monica Ozmek, who was assisting, resumed their work.
Weaver and Ozmek had conducted many autopsies over the years.
Theyd grown accustomed to the coolness of the autopsy room with its smells of ammonia and formaldehyde. They knew the egg-like odor of organs, their meaty shades of red and pink. They were familiar with the pop sound when the calvarium was removed, opening the skull to reveal the brain and dura. Weaver made the usual primary Y incision across the chest as they worked their way through the external and internal examination of the body.
Theyd photographed it, weighed it, measured it and x-rayed it.
Their job was to determine the manner, cause, time and classification of death, as well as positively confirm the victims identification. Weaver was confident about manner and cause, but identification would be a challenge.
The dermis of the victims fingertips has been disfigured, likely due to being subjected to a caustic substance, he said.
Yes, I noted that when we were bagging the hands after wed removed the body from the ground.
This tattoo may help.
Weavers rubber-gloved right hand pointed a finger at the left upper neck and the tattoo of a small heart with wings.
It should.
Did you submit the dental chart to the databases?
Yes.
And we also have a shot if Andersons team down in Saint Paul gets a hit through DNA-Monica? Are you all right?
He saw that, behind her plastic shield, her face had saddened.
Yes, lets continue.
Weaver hesitated before resuming.
Bearing in mind that his assistant seemed to be struggling with her composure, he maintained his clinical, professional distance as he found the facts to support his findings. The victim had been buried and as a result she had suffocated. There was thorax compression, but death by asphyxiation was a result of occlusion of the respiratory tract.