What evidence should a forensic scientist collect from the body of a murder victim?
The first thing that has to be done is to identify that victim. And that is done through the photographs of the body and finger printing the body. But once that is accomplished, the search for physical evidence becomes the ultimate goal. So, we must do it right the first time. We must collect the clothing of the victim to make sure that there is nothing deposited on that clothing that ultimately has forensic value. Of course, there is that we would carry out in the crime laboratory. Finger nails scraping must be collected from the victim to make sure that there is no small bits of fibers or other items for physical evidence like the cloth in the finger nails of the victim, perhaps is the result of the physical encounter with the perpetrator. If there are sexual overtones to the crime, head and pubic hair swabbings or collections, I should say, must be undertaken. Anal, vaginal and oral swabs must be collected again if there are sexual overtones. In case there was a shooting and there were bullets involve, the bullets must be removed from the body and collected, preserved and sent to the crime lab for analysis. But the important thing is that all of this has to be done the first time around. Once the body is on the ground, once the body's cremated it's pretty difficult to correct for errors.
