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Incident Report
 

YOKNAPATAWPHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

INCIDENT REPORT (SUMMARY)

Investigating Officer: Det. S. Murphy
Incident No.: 002821-15G-2000
Date: 7/15/00, 12:27 p.m.
Incident Address: Off Route 7, behind Popeye's restaurant
Incident: 911 Report - Discovery of Dead Body
 
Victim's Name: unknown
Victim's Age: unknown
Victim's Address: unknown
Suspects: None at this time
 
All detailed reports on file
 

DESCRIPTION:

At 12:15 p.m., Dispatch received a 911 call regarding the discovery of a body at the Kelly Green housing development. The caller identified himself as Earl Sullivan, site supervisor.

Unit #224 (Officer Steve Harding) was immediately dispatched to the scene. Detectives Armstrong and Murphy were assigned and proceeded directly to the scene. Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson was notified at R/I 's request to respond to scene. Officer Steve Harding arrived at the scene at 12:20 p.m. Deputy P.J. Watson arrived at the scene at 12:22 p.m. to provide backup and assistance.

Reporting Investigators (R/I) arrived at the scene at 12:27 p.m. and found Deputy Watson and Officer Harding had secured the area and had requested backup to assist with crowd control. Environmental conditions at scene upon arrival are as follows: Weather: clear/dry; Ambient temperature: approximately 96º F / 36º C; Relative Humidity: approximately 90 percent.

FINDINGS:

Deputy Watson made the following verbal report, which is stated in summary and not verbatim, upon our arrival. Deputy Watson stated that Sullivan, along with Miles Jackson, the man who actually discovered the body, had met him and Officer Harding when they arrived and directed them to the location where the body was found. After Deputy Watson and Officer Harding confirmed the presence of the body, Deputy Watson secured the scene while Officer Harding detained witnesses at the scene including Sullivan, Jackson, and Michael Robbins, who arrived on the scene shortly before the officers. Officer Harding stated in summary and not verbatim he had seen Robbins leaving the woods where the body was located as Officer Harding arrived at this location. Officer Harding further stated that, to the best of his knowledge, the following personnel have had occasion to enter the crime scene area and must be excluded by CSU personnel: Deputy P.J. Watson, Miles Jackson, Michael Robbins, and himself.

After receiving reports from Officer Harding and Deputy Watson, R/I Murphy contacted Dispatch regarding the status of the Coroner's Inspector and the Crime Scene Unit. Dispatch indicated the Inspector's ETA was approximately 5 minutes and CSU's ETA was approximately 10 minutes. Jackson then escorted R/Is to to the location of the body, while Officer Harding asked Robbins some preliminary questions and Deputy Watson stayed with Sullivan and supervised crowd control.

Jackson escorted R/Is to a location approximately 100 yards from the Kelly Green construction site into Kelly Woods. The location is a clearing approximately 70 yards by 25 yards, bordered by kudzu. Jackson guided R/Is to the west side of the clearing, where R/Is observed a lifeless human body, partially obscured by kudzu. Upon closer examination, R/Is saw it was a partially clad female, who appeared to be in her late twenties. Visual inspection indicated the victim was wearing blue jeans and a bra, but no shirt. The body lay face down with the head turned to the right. The arms were stretched slightly above the head. The head of the body faced in a northerly direction and the feet in a southerly direction. The body displayed signs of significant trauma to the back of the head. No other injuries were immediately apparent. Pending official analysis by the coroner's office, initial observation indicated the victim apparently received multiple blows to the back of the head with a blunt object.

Coroner's Inspector Johnson arrived at the Kelly Green construction site at approximately 12:38 p.m. and was directed to join R/Is at the body's location. Inspector Johnson pronounced the victim deceased at 12:42 p.m. by visual observation that the victim was not breathing and by tactile observation that the victim did not have a palpable carotid pulse. Inspector Johnson noted that the victim appeared to be in full rigor mortis. While she withheld an official estimate pending an autopsy, Inspector Johnson speculated the victim had been dead at least 12 hours and the apparent cause of death was severe blunt force trauma to the head. Inspector Johnson indicated that further details would be available in the preliminary coroner's report, with definitive information in the ensuing official autopsy report.

After Inspector Johnson completed her initial inspection of the body, she stayed with the CSU team to ensure integrity of the body, while the team took photographs of the scene and performed preliminary analyses, until the body could be removed from the scene without destroying other evidence.

After R/I's inspection of the body was concluded, Jackson pointed out the tire tracks that drew him to the scene and R/Is instructed CSU to make casts of the tracks.

A preliminary search of the area uncovered no additional evidence items. A search for the victim's shirt and weapon(s) causing the injury to the deceased met with negative results.

Following inspection of the scene, R/Is escorted Mr. Jackson back to headquarters to conduct a preliminary interview with him and to permit CSU to complete the processing of the scene. A transcript of Jackson's interview is attached to this report.

Before leaving, R/I Murphy instructed CSU to seal the scene upon completion or end of day suspension of processing. CSU to notify R/Is of progress by the end of this date. As of this filing, CSU is still actively processing at the scene.

Body of the deceased remanded into the custody of Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson. Inspector Johnson assigned Coroner ID Doe, Jane #00-112 to deceased pending further identification. Deceased was removed from scene at 2:45 p.m. and transported to the coroner's office for autopsy. A preliminary autopsy report is expected within seven days of this report, with detailed findings to follow at a later date.

Evidence remanded into the custody of Forensics officer T. R. Douglas for transport to the state crime lab for routine analysis. CSU is expected to submit a detailed report of their findings, including inventory of fingerprints, fibers and other items taken into evidence, within seven days of this report.

 
REPORT FILED 07/15/00, 6:30 P.M.
 
//Sam Murphy, Yoknapatawpha Sheriff's Detective

ATTEST

//Ted Armstrong, Yoknapatawpha Sheriff's Detective

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