Bigguy
05-12-2020, 01:13 PM
I sent the following email to the CID most likely to respond to a murder in this area. I haven't heard back yet, but though I'd post the same questions here to see if somebody might have some ideas.
Sirs:
I am an independent author with 7 titles presently available on Amazon. I presently live in Texarkana, TX. but my home town is Gillett, AR. One of my novels is a political thriller set in southeast Arkansas County. “From The Delta Mud.”
I’m currently writing another novel set in that location, but this one is a murder mystery. I very much want to depict law enforcement correctly, but I’ve already made some major mistakes that will require extensive rewriting.
In chapter 8 I have the investigation undertaken by a Sheriff’s Deputy. I spoke briefly with somebody in law enforcement who told me this was completely implausible. I gathered that due to the limited investigative resources in that region, it is likely your office would assign an agent for the investigation.
I realize that you folks are busy with more important work, but was hoping that somebody with actual knowledge might take enough interest to invest some personal time. I’ll include some background for the story and some question below to give you and idea of what the task might entail.
Summary:
A body is found 5 miles east of Gillett on a farm. It is the farm owner. He is solitary and universally despised by almost every citizen in the area because he is fighting with a petroleum developer. He is costing everybody the chance for some potentially lucrative income.
He is found next to a canal, a mile or more down a muddy road (only accessible by 4WD vehicles) with an arrow in his back.
A hunter finds the body. As the hunter is leaving the woods, he runs into the Sheriff’s Deputy who was trying to find the farmer due to a previous incident.
Questions:
(1) The body lay 12 hours in a huge rain storm and is paper white. Would the Deputy trust his eye that the victim is beyond medical help, or would he check for a pulse?
(2) Determining the victim is beyond medical assistance I assume his next move would be to notify somebody. Who would that be? Would he call CID directly or go through another agency, such as DeWitt or Stuttgart CPD?
(3) Once CID is finished with the crime scene, I assume they would have the local coroner (A funeral Home in DeWitt) retrieve the body. They would want a Medical Examiner to look at the body. Who would take it to the Crime Lab in LR? Would the Crime Lab simply contract it out to the Funeral Home/Coroner, or would they send a vehicle from LR?
(4) The body was found just across the property line on another farm with whom the victim had a contentious relationship. Both properties were posted, though a few people had permission to hunt on them. Surely the Investigator would want to speak with the owner of the other farm to see who had permission to be on the land. Then I’d assume he would want to speak with each of those people to see if they were there that day. (at least 5 people.) I assume this would take a couple of days. To my knowledge, the closest place to stay would be in DeWitt, 14 miles north. Would the agent stay overnight, or just make the commute daily?
(5) More evidence will be discovered in a couple of days as the water in the canal drops. Would an agent make the trip to collect it, or would they have somebody locally (DeWitt if they have an investigator) mail it out?
Sirs:
I am an independent author with 7 titles presently available on Amazon. I presently live in Texarkana, TX. but my home town is Gillett, AR. One of my novels is a political thriller set in southeast Arkansas County. “From The Delta Mud.”
I’m currently writing another novel set in that location, but this one is a murder mystery. I very much want to depict law enforcement correctly, but I’ve already made some major mistakes that will require extensive rewriting.
In chapter 8 I have the investigation undertaken by a Sheriff’s Deputy. I spoke briefly with somebody in law enforcement who told me this was completely implausible. I gathered that due to the limited investigative resources in that region, it is likely your office would assign an agent for the investigation.
I realize that you folks are busy with more important work, but was hoping that somebody with actual knowledge might take enough interest to invest some personal time. I’ll include some background for the story and some question below to give you and idea of what the task might entail.
Summary:
A body is found 5 miles east of Gillett on a farm. It is the farm owner. He is solitary and universally despised by almost every citizen in the area because he is fighting with a petroleum developer. He is costing everybody the chance for some potentially lucrative income.
He is found next to a canal, a mile or more down a muddy road (only accessible by 4WD vehicles) with an arrow in his back.
A hunter finds the body. As the hunter is leaving the woods, he runs into the Sheriff’s Deputy who was trying to find the farmer due to a previous incident.
Questions:
(1) The body lay 12 hours in a huge rain storm and is paper white. Would the Deputy trust his eye that the victim is beyond medical help, or would he check for a pulse?
(2) Determining the victim is beyond medical assistance I assume his next move would be to notify somebody. Who would that be? Would he call CID directly or go through another agency, such as DeWitt or Stuttgart CPD?
(3) Once CID is finished with the crime scene, I assume they would have the local coroner (A funeral Home in DeWitt) retrieve the body. They would want a Medical Examiner to look at the body. Who would take it to the Crime Lab in LR? Would the Crime Lab simply contract it out to the Funeral Home/Coroner, or would they send a vehicle from LR?
(4) The body was found just across the property line on another farm with whom the victim had a contentious relationship. Both properties were posted, though a few people had permission to hunt on them. Surely the Investigator would want to speak with the owner of the other farm to see who had permission to be on the land. Then I’d assume he would want to speak with each of those people to see if they were there that day. (at least 5 people.) I assume this would take a couple of days. To my knowledge, the closest place to stay would be in DeWitt, 14 miles north. Would the agent stay overnight, or just make the commute daily?
(5) More evidence will be discovered in a couple of days as the water in the canal drops. Would an agent make the trip to collect it, or would they have somebody locally (DeWitt if they have an investigator) mail it out?