Jogger Found the Body of a Woman,

¶ … jogger found the body of a woman, naked from the waste down and apparently with a cord tied around her neck the very first thing an investigator would do is to secure the crime scene. This will allow for a "walk through," or a search the area for evidence without interference. (Stuart, 2003) The crime scene must be documented so any evidence found must be carefully identified and marked. Photos and videos should also be taken of the crime scene before any investigation takes place. The investigator will want to interview the jogger, and check their background to make sure the jogger is not also the attacker.

Since the woman was found with no pants, it may be the case that she was sexually assaulted. In such a case the detective will want to search for her pants, and if found they will need to be searched for semen stains. "Seminal stains are often, but not always, found on clothing, blankets, sheets. Allow any stains to air dry, wrap in paper, and package in paper bags. Do not use plastic bags." ("Evidence Collecting Guidelines") It is important that different samples are not mixed together, so it is important to place each stain into a separate paper bag or envelop, and mark each with the appropriate information. (where and when collected, position at crime scene, etc.) Never attempt to wipe a dried stain from the surface of an object with a moistened cloth or paper, always wait until the stain dries and then carefully scrape off stain and place in an envelope and paper bag.

The next thing an investigator will want to do is examine the body. If this woman was assaulted, sexually or otherwise, she may have defensive wounds on her body, as well as samples of the attackers blood, hair or skin on her body, hands or fingernails. When taking samples of any blood at the scene, if it has pooled, then it should be picked up with sterile gauze of cotton, allow to air dry at room temperature, and then either refrigerated or frozen until delivered to the lab for analysis. This must be done within the first 48 hours or the samples could be rendered useless. ("Evidence Collecting Guidelines") Other blood samples, particularly dried blood, should be collected in clean paper, placed in a brown paper bag or box, and sealed and label. If the dried blood is on the woman's clothing, then pieces of the clothing should be removed and sealed. Again each sample must be collected, placed in sealed paper bags, and labeled with the appropriate information.

Human hair can sometimes provide evidence of the attacker's identity. The first thing that must be done is to find and recover all hair present, but be careful to use gloves or tweezers. And make certain that those collecting the samples do not accidentally collect their own hair. The individual samples must be placed in small paper envelopes which are then placed in larger envelopes and sealed and labeled. Since this woman had no pants and it is likely she was sexually assaulted, her pubic area should be thoroughly combed, with a fine toothed comb, and each hair collected and sealed. These hairs can be compared to hers, and if any hairs are found that are not hers then it is likely the attacker left them behind. This will come in handy when a suspect is found and the hairs can be compared to the suspect (or even the jogger).