• Question: What was the hardest case you have ever had

    Asked by anon-346879 on 13 Jan 2023. This question was also asked by anon-346842.
    • Photo: Lorna Dawson

      Lorna Dawson answered on 13 Jan 2023:

      The search cases where we don’t find the victims are really hard. They remain in your thoughts and you hope that one day they will be found to be returned to their loved ones.

    • Photo: Shelina Jilani

      Shelina Jilani answered on 13 Jan 2023:

      Every case has its own complexities. However, the most challenging cases are those which involve twins since they can appear so much alike.

    • Photo: Sue Black

      Sue Black answered on 13 Jan 2023:

      In agreement with Prof Dawson, the hard ones are the ones where you don’t get a resolution either because the deceased isn’t identified or we know there are remains but we can’t find them.

    • Photo: Caroline Wilkinson

      Caroline Wilkinson answered on 13 Jan 2023:

      Cases involving children are usually the most difficult – both scientifically and emotionally.

    • Photo: Richard Case

      Richard Case answered on 13 Jan 2023:

      It depends on how you are defining hard?

      I have dealt with murders where the fingerprint evidence was very clear and not too difficult to match the suspect… and I have had cases of low-level theft whereby the fingerprint evidence was very scrappy!

      Fingerprints left at scenes can be partial and/or are contaminated with dirt or grease.

      When I have attended crime scenes, the bodies in all but one have been removed to the mortuary, but it can still be upsetting.

      Also I have attended mortuaries to take fingerprints from dead bodies. That is particularly difficult if the body is in a poor condition or the person s particularly young

    • Photo: Prof. W Meier-Augenstein

      Prof. W Meier-Augenstein answered on 13 Jan 2023:

      Answering this question is hard because hard could mean difficult/challenging to solve, or difficult/hard to deal with. Speaking for myself, the two cases I found very hard to deal with involved the violent deaths of two very young children.

    • Photo: Charlie Frowd

      Charlie Frowd answered on 14 Jan 2023:

      Good morning SethM and Orla

      Thank you both for your question. One of the most complicated cases I worked on was a few years ago when a man attacked his neighbour and then went on the run. We built an EvoFIT composite of the man that portrayed him in different disguises–wearing hats and hoods, different beards and hair, and other changes in appearance. The images were used by the police investigation team trying to locate him. What found, he looked like one of the images created with a beard. These cases are tricky as someone has usually been hurt and the person responsible must be located promptly.

      With best regards

      Charlie.

    • Photo: Katy Bruce

      Katy Bruce answered on 23 Jan 2023:

      As a researcher, I don’t work on real cases so I’m afraid I’m unable to answer this speaking from experience. However, Richard has a very valid point – it does depend on how you define a hard case.

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