The words "Suspicious Death" came over the radio.
That's going to be the next job, I thought.
Pretty much everything else will be put on hold for such a job.
A death can be labelled as suspicious for many reasons and by a number of people. The most common scenario is that a Paramedic has attended a job and found a person deceased. The Paramedic will normally make an informed decision as to whether or not two and two make four.
If it doesn't add up then they will call us.
The normal response is an Officer or Supervisor, sometimes both, will attend the scene and collect the facts.
An Inspector and a PC attended this job and they agreed with the Paramedic that the death appeared suspicious.
Sometimes the Officers don't agree, but Supervision will often ask for CSI in order to confirm or deny these suspicious aspects. That's always a tough one. Diplomacy at it's best.
If a death is likely to turn into a murder investigation, then a Crime Scene Manager (CSM) will always be appointed. The CSM will coordinate department's response.
Luckily for us, CSM Lady was on duty. She's been off for a while. It's nice to have her back. I asked if I could come along to assist and she agreed.
I drove to the scene. I've got a shiny new van, full of kit. This would be it's first decent job.
The address should have given it away. Maybe I hadn't noticed, maybe I was thinking about other things. This part of town has a large number of tower blocks. They're not called 'Sunny Tower Block' but they're all called 'Something' 'House'.
I don't know if it's the Council's way of brightening up a deprived area, or whether or not the person in charge at the time, thought it funny. They don't look like a house, they don't smell like a house and it's downright misleading to call them a 'House'.
I wouldn't live there.
I reversed the van up next to the Police car, so we could access the back doors of the van from the pavement. We put a collection of equipment into a small box to carry it to the scene, grabbed our cases and headed inside.
You get used to the aroma by the time you reach the stairs.
We looked at each other in realisation that the scene was on the top floor.
Two options, two flights of stairs for each floor for sixteen floors or the lift.
CSM was in charge. Sixteen flights was an awful long way to walk with the kit.
The lift it was.
I hate the lift. There was the usual; graffiti on the wall, smell of urine, chewing gum on the buttons. Someone here though had taken it up a notch. Faeces on the ceiling. Great.
We get out on the correct floor and we are met by a bobby guarding the scene. Half an hour ago, this floor was buzzing with people. Paramedics, a handful of bobbies, neighbours and Council workers. All in a space impossible for two people to pass each other.
Now it was the PC, CSM Lady and me. I prefer it this way.
CSM had a discussion with the bobby and then a conversation on the phone with the Inspector who attended.
CSM Lady delegates the videoing of the scene to me. She volunteers to take the photos. She takes the photos first. I follow behind her, making sure I'm not in any of them.
This place is a mess. I wasn't expecting much, but this is a wreck.
The guy has very little furniture. The living room consists of a single mattress with a waterproof cover as a sheet, an avocado coloured arm chair and a television.
That's it.
There was no carpet on the floor, no door handles on the doors, no light bulbs in the lights and no food in the cupboards.
There were six empty cans of strong cider, an empty packet of Monster Munch and some chocolate wrappers on the floor amongst the other rubbish.
The floor was covered in a thick layer of dirt and grime. I'm glad I have my white suit and footwear protectors on. As always, two pairs of gloves.
This is a property provided by the Council.
This is Social Housing.
The kitchen sink had dried blood and mucus in it. It was clear this guy wasn't well. No wonder, looking at where he sleeps and lives.
He was on a cocktail of drugs for various conditions. Empty boxes lay on the floor, as did the odd crushed tablet.
The male lay on his back, on the mattress. He was in his late forties. He looked in his late sixties.
The TV was still on, but just giving out static. I wonder what he was watching before he died?
Once all the photos had been taken, it was my turn to come in with the video.
The video won't show anything that the photos didn't show. The video is often used at any subsequent briefing.
I started at the front door. I pushed record. I took a breath and began.
"I am CSI Guy 999 of Anytown CSI and the time is 1100 on the 1st January 2001"
It felt weird at first, talking to the camera. I soon got into the swing of it. As I progressed through the property, I gave a commentary.
People use the camera in different ways. I try to stand still whilst it's recording and pan from left to right. I will talk about what can be seen and then hit pause. I will then move to another part of the room and do the same again. I will do this from each corner of the room, ensuring that everything is captured on film. Some people try to walk with the camera or use the zoom, I've seen one of these videos and it feels like a roller coaster ride. The screen is all over the place and it's difficult to keep track of what is where.
It felt like I had been in the property with the camera for fifteen minutes. The elapsed time was 05:04. Not long at all.
There wasn't much to see.
It was hot inside. Not because the heating was on, I doubt this flat ever had the heating on. Being in a suit, with a mask and gloves on whilst working can work up a sweat.
The only clean place to put the camera was an Argos catalogue. It couldn't have been here long. I put the camera down on top of it and I stepped out onto the balcony. I'm on the sixteenth floor, no one's going to see me in my suit up here. I could see for miles and miles. It was a brilliant view. I'd love to get a photo from this balcony at night.
I'm not sure I'd want to walk in this area at night, let alone with my camera. It's sad really, there are some really nice people that live near here, I'm sure. The problem is, there are some really nasty people too. Once an area gets a reputation, it's difficult to shake it.
I'm not sure if this was the highest building I'd been in or not, the cars look like toys on the road below.
Once I finished with the video, I went back into the hallway. CSM Lady was on the phone to the Inspector. When she finished we went back inside.
The suspicious element of this job came about when and how the male was found. There was nothing else to suggest his death was untoward. We always check the person for any injuries. That was next.
This is where my double gloves come in handy.
CSM Lady took some close up photos of the male. She took one of his face, square on, this may be useful if his identity is unknown. The male had some tattoos and she photographed these too. I held his arms and hands in place for photos.
We need to check his back.
I took hold of his right arm and right leg and rolled him away from me. He was stiff. Rigor Mortis had set in. When I rolled him over, his back was different colours. Parts of his back were deep purple and some were pale, almost white.
When someone dies, the blood in their body stops circulating and as a result of gravity, will sink to the lowest accessible parts. This is known as 'Hypostasis' or 'Lividity' as well as other similar names. This can be useful determining whether or not someone has been moved after death. After a period of time, and this varies, the blood will remain fixed in the lower parts of the body. If a person is then moved, it will be clear to an investigator that the body isn't in the position it was when it died. This difference can also be seen in a person's organs.
The white parts of the male were where his body had been against the mattress. It was visible on his shoulders and his buttocks. The pressure on the skin prevented the blood settling there. These white areas can be seen on most people when they've died. Elasticated socks, tight belts, bra straps, watches and any ligature will have the same effect.
I could also see the dirt and grime from the mattress that had stuck to his back, along with a few copper coins.
He had no injuries that would give CSM Lady or myself cause for concern.
CSM Lady decided that the male would have a Post Mortem to determine the cause of death. Until that was completed, the property would remain secure.
We brought in two body bags. We lay the first one out next to the male. We unzipped it and lifted him into it. We lay the second body bag out next to the first and lifted that one into the second. Once they were both zipped up, the outer bag needs a tamper evident seal. This allows the Dr at the PM to be confident that the bag hasn't been opened in transport or storage. CSM Lady photographed this.
I didn't go to the Post Mortem, it took place the following day whilst I was off. It turned out the male died as a result of the numerous conditions he suffered from and there was no indication of foul play.
The Council will be happy that the can let that flat out again. I wonder what the next tenants would do with the place.
CSI Guy
Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Death. Show all posts
Suicide
I've been lucky enough not to have attended any horrific suicides since I joined CSI. Needless to say, any suicide is sad. I think the saddest part for me is the fact that someone is in a situation that they believe causing their own death is the only answer.
In a professional way, I enjoyed going to this particular job. I know at first it sounds morbid or even heartless, but you have to understand that these are the type of incidents I will attend throughout my career, I will never enjoy the fact that people have caused their own death, but I do enjoy the opportunity to investigate it. My aim is to conduct myself as professionally as possible and that the investigation is conducted to the best of my ability.
I wasn't far off the end of an early turn (0700-1500) when the call came over the radio. Uniform and CID officers were at an address where a male was deceased. I didn't have to go, as the lates crew were on. CSI Woman (not the same person as CSI Girl obviously) was heading out to it and asked if I wanted to come along. I'd never turn down an opportunity to gain experience.
I sent a text message to my other half to tell her I'd be late home- she's used to it by now.
It didn't take long to get to the address, it was only a few miles away. I drove in a seperate van to CSI Woman so I could go back to the office when we'd finished. We approached the address together, but I let CSI Woman go slightly ahead of me, after all this was her job and she has much more experience than me.
I could see two uniformed officers at the end of the pathway, they'd already recognised our vans and knew who we were, the Detective was inside the property. We'd been called as it wasn't clear how the male had passed away at first, and we are called to any unexplained or suspicious deaths. A police officer's first and foremost duty is to protect life and property, once it had been ascertained that the male had passed away, officers should leave the address to preserve as much evidence as possible.
If it had turned out that the male had been murdered, for example, then the potential for contamination or disturbance of any evidence is high, especially if a Detective was wondering around inside picking things up!
CSI Woman waited at the door and called the Detective outside. He explained to us that the male was in the upstairs rear bedroom and that it had appeared he had taken an overdose.
CSI Woman and I suited and booted, we wore white suits, shoe covers, masks and gloves. This is for two reasons- the first and most important is to avoid any contamination of evidence. We don't want to deposit anything from our persons at the scene and nor do we want to move evidence on our clothing or shoes etc. The second reason is for hygiene, I don't particularly want any hazardous fluids on my clothing, and the other half also has an issue with it apparently.
The officers confirmed that the property had been secure upon their arrival, and that they'd forced the door with an enforcer as there were concerns for the safety of the occupant.
We made our way to the upstairs rear bedroom. It was important to actually look and observe whilst we made our way there- the stairs were void of any carpet. The bare wood was exposed, but it wasn't treated. There were splashes of paint on the wood. It was clear that this was old as the hallway seemed to have had paper on the walls for sometime.
As I walked into the bedroom where the male was, the first thing I saw was a large dark wood chest of drawers. There were various items on the top of this. The thing that stood out the most was the assortment of tablet containers, there were an unusually odd number of them.
As I pushed the door, it opened to show the whole room. No lights were on and it was cold, it was still light outside and the light shone through the window which gave a slight yellow hue to the room.
Face down, half on the bed and half on the floor, sloped at an awkward angle, was the deceased male. He was wearing a dark red jumper and green cord trousers, and he was likely to be in his late forties. The room was littered with cigarette ends and ash. There was a dustbin but there was little rubbish inside it, and I noted six empty whisky bottles on the floor near the male.
Before we touched or moved anything, CSI Woman took photographs. This allows a record to be made of the scene before we 'disturb' it. If we needed to confirm or query something at a later date, we could refer to the photographs.
Whilst CSI Woman was taking the photographs of the deceased male, I had a look in the front bedroom. It wasn't really a bedroom so much as a junk room. There were nondescript boxes stacked four or five high along one wall. They were addressed to the deceased male, and on closer investigation I could see they were full of Styrofoam balls. I dug around in the box and found a number of tubs, identical to those on the chest of drawers in the rear bedroom. I looked at one of the delivery notes inside one of the boxes, they had been shipped from an Internet based company in the States. They appeared to be mostly herbal tablets for weight loss- there were probably in excess of a hundred containers of tablets.
The Detective had found a note in the front room downstairs which appeared to be written by the deceased male. It was a note explaining why he had taken his own life and how he couldn't carry on with things as they were. The male had experienced serious mental health issues for some time and it was evident that his treatment had little effect. Along with the note were details of the deceased male's bank accounts, his will and other documents that would assist his family in dealing with his affairs after his death.
The fact that everything so far was suggesting that the male had committed suicide meant that we now had to ensure there was no evidence to the contrary at the scene.
CSI Woman and I had a thorough look around the property. Sadly, there weren't many personal possessions there at all, the fridge was full of food that had been decaying for weeks, even though the male had been seen alive only a few days ago. I also noted that there was a pet's food bowl in the kitchen on a mat and a cat flap, so I assumed the cat was out.
The male was obese and appeared rather unfit. However, there were fitness and body building products in the kitchen cupboards, including more containers of the herbal tablets that I had found upstairs.
Once we had finished our search and established that there appeared to be nothing that would raise suspicion of anything other than suicide, we went back to the upstairs rear bedroom.
We had to check the deceased male's body for any bruising or wounds, I checked the male's back. His skin was blistered and off colour but there were no wounds. As the male was of large build, it took two of us to turn him over. Where his face had been against the edge of the bed, it had flattened on one side.
After the heart stops beating, the blood in the body stops moving around. Gravity will take effect on the blood and it will settle in the body- this is known as Lividity or Livor Mortis. When the skin where the blood has settled comes into contact with an hard object or surface, that area appears to be white, the blood cannot settle there due to the contact. The male's face had an area of skin that was still white, whereas the rest was a dark red colour, almost purple. Sometimes Lividity can look like bruising and it's important to realise the difference.
Underneath the male was another empty whisky bottle. It appears he may have had this bottle in his hand when he fell.
We checked the male's hands for any cuts that would suggest he'd been involved in an altercation before he died, we also checked the rest of his body, and there was nothing to suggest anything other than suicide.
Once we were satisfied that it was suicide, we requested that the undertakers attend the scene to remove the deceased male. Whilst we waited, I collected all of the open containers of pills from the bedroom and bagged them in clear plastic bags. These would prove useful if the Pathologist had any queries about the male's stomach contents when it came to the Post Mortem.
After a short time, the undertakers arrived. It was the same two undertakers that had attended the decomposed male in the bath (http://tinyurl.com/yfvgex6). The first thing we discussed was how difficult it would be for them to remove the male. I took them upstairs to the rear bedroom where the deceased male was, they looked at him and then looked at me with raised eyebrows. I took this to mean they'd need a hand in getting the male into the bag they'd brought with them.
The undertaker unzipped a large, thick, black bag, and lay it on the ground beside the male. We each took hold of the male and lifted him only a few inches off the ground and sideways into the open bag. He was heavy and the bag only just closed, he filled the bag with little room to spare.
The undertakers took the male down the stairs, pausing three times to rest before finally getting out of the front door and to their vehicle.
I had one quick look around the property and ensured we left with all of our kit and left. I got home only a few hours late.
In a professional way, I enjoyed going to this particular job. I know at first it sounds morbid or even heartless, but you have to understand that these are the type of incidents I will attend throughout my career, I will never enjoy the fact that people have caused their own death, but I do enjoy the opportunity to investigate it. My aim is to conduct myself as professionally as possible and that the investigation is conducted to the best of my ability.
I wasn't far off the end of an early turn (0700-1500) when the call came over the radio. Uniform and CID officers were at an address where a male was deceased. I didn't have to go, as the lates crew were on. CSI Woman (not the same person as CSI Girl obviously) was heading out to it and asked if I wanted to come along. I'd never turn down an opportunity to gain experience.
I sent a text message to my other half to tell her I'd be late home- she's used to it by now.
It didn't take long to get to the address, it was only a few miles away. I drove in a seperate van to CSI Woman so I could go back to the office when we'd finished. We approached the address together, but I let CSI Woman go slightly ahead of me, after all this was her job and she has much more experience than me.
I could see two uniformed officers at the end of the pathway, they'd already recognised our vans and knew who we were, the Detective was inside the property. We'd been called as it wasn't clear how the male had passed away at first, and we are called to any unexplained or suspicious deaths. A police officer's first and foremost duty is to protect life and property, once it had been ascertained that the male had passed away, officers should leave the address to preserve as much evidence as possible.
If it had turned out that the male had been murdered, for example, then the potential for contamination or disturbance of any evidence is high, especially if a Detective was wondering around inside picking things up!
CSI Woman waited at the door and called the Detective outside. He explained to us that the male was in the upstairs rear bedroom and that it had appeared he had taken an overdose.
CSI Woman and I suited and booted, we wore white suits, shoe covers, masks and gloves. This is for two reasons- the first and most important is to avoid any contamination of evidence. We don't want to deposit anything from our persons at the scene and nor do we want to move evidence on our clothing or shoes etc. The second reason is for hygiene, I don't particularly want any hazardous fluids on my clothing, and the other half also has an issue with it apparently.
The officers confirmed that the property had been secure upon their arrival, and that they'd forced the door with an enforcer as there were concerns for the safety of the occupant.
We made our way to the upstairs rear bedroom. It was important to actually look and observe whilst we made our way there- the stairs were void of any carpet. The bare wood was exposed, but it wasn't treated. There were splashes of paint on the wood. It was clear that this was old as the hallway seemed to have had paper on the walls for sometime.
As I walked into the bedroom where the male was, the first thing I saw was a large dark wood chest of drawers. There were various items on the top of this. The thing that stood out the most was the assortment of tablet containers, there were an unusually odd number of them.
As I pushed the door, it opened to show the whole room. No lights were on and it was cold, it was still light outside and the light shone through the window which gave a slight yellow hue to the room.
Face down, half on the bed and half on the floor, sloped at an awkward angle, was the deceased male. He was wearing a dark red jumper and green cord trousers, and he was likely to be in his late forties. The room was littered with cigarette ends and ash. There was a dustbin but there was little rubbish inside it, and I noted six empty whisky bottles on the floor near the male.
Before we touched or moved anything, CSI Woman took photographs. This allows a record to be made of the scene before we 'disturb' it. If we needed to confirm or query something at a later date, we could refer to the photographs.
Whilst CSI Woman was taking the photographs of the deceased male, I had a look in the front bedroom. It wasn't really a bedroom so much as a junk room. There were nondescript boxes stacked four or five high along one wall. They were addressed to the deceased male, and on closer investigation I could see they were full of Styrofoam balls. I dug around in the box and found a number of tubs, identical to those on the chest of drawers in the rear bedroom. I looked at one of the delivery notes inside one of the boxes, they had been shipped from an Internet based company in the States. They appeared to be mostly herbal tablets for weight loss- there were probably in excess of a hundred containers of tablets.
The Detective had found a note in the front room downstairs which appeared to be written by the deceased male. It was a note explaining why he had taken his own life and how he couldn't carry on with things as they were. The male had experienced serious mental health issues for some time and it was evident that his treatment had little effect. Along with the note were details of the deceased male's bank accounts, his will and other documents that would assist his family in dealing with his affairs after his death.
The fact that everything so far was suggesting that the male had committed suicide meant that we now had to ensure there was no evidence to the contrary at the scene.
CSI Woman and I had a thorough look around the property. Sadly, there weren't many personal possessions there at all, the fridge was full of food that had been decaying for weeks, even though the male had been seen alive only a few days ago. I also noted that there was a pet's food bowl in the kitchen on a mat and a cat flap, so I assumed the cat was out.
The male was obese and appeared rather unfit. However, there were fitness and body building products in the kitchen cupboards, including more containers of the herbal tablets that I had found upstairs.
Once we had finished our search and established that there appeared to be nothing that would raise suspicion of anything other than suicide, we went back to the upstairs rear bedroom.
We had to check the deceased male's body for any bruising or wounds, I checked the male's back. His skin was blistered and off colour but there were no wounds. As the male was of large build, it took two of us to turn him over. Where his face had been against the edge of the bed, it had flattened on one side.
After the heart stops beating, the blood in the body stops moving around. Gravity will take effect on the blood and it will settle in the body- this is known as Lividity or Livor Mortis. When the skin where the blood has settled comes into contact with an hard object or surface, that area appears to be white, the blood cannot settle there due to the contact. The male's face had an area of skin that was still white, whereas the rest was a dark red colour, almost purple. Sometimes Lividity can look like bruising and it's important to realise the difference.
Underneath the male was another empty whisky bottle. It appears he may have had this bottle in his hand when he fell.
We checked the male's hands for any cuts that would suggest he'd been involved in an altercation before he died, we also checked the rest of his body, and there was nothing to suggest anything other than suicide.
Once we were satisfied that it was suicide, we requested that the undertakers attend the scene to remove the deceased male. Whilst we waited, I collected all of the open containers of pills from the bedroom and bagged them in clear plastic bags. These would prove useful if the Pathologist had any queries about the male's stomach contents when it came to the Post Mortem.
After a short time, the undertakers arrived. It was the same two undertakers that had attended the decomposed male in the bath (http://tinyurl.com/yfvgex6). The first thing we discussed was how difficult it would be for them to remove the male. I took them upstairs to the rear bedroom where the deceased male was, they looked at him and then looked at me with raised eyebrows. I took this to mean they'd need a hand in getting the male into the bag they'd brought with them.
The undertaker unzipped a large, thick, black bag, and lay it on the ground beside the male. We each took hold of the male and lifted him only a few inches off the ground and sideways into the open bag. He was heavy and the bag only just closed, he filled the bag with little room to spare.
The undertakers took the male down the stairs, pausing three times to rest before finally getting out of the front door and to their vehicle.
I had one quick look around the property and ensured we left with all of our kit and left. I got home only a few hours late.
Deceased Male in Bath
Deceased Male in Bath
Although this is the second out of three posts that involves a death I must add that we don't deal with these discoveries every day!
We don't know when we turn in for work at 0700 what the day will present. We can, however, expect certain jobs on a regular basis. Burglaries, TOMV (Theft of Motor Vehicle) as well as TFMV (Theft From Motor Vehicle) and assaults. We photograph injuries for certain levels of assaults, I will cover this in a future post. Every now and then, probably a few times a week, we will also attend a house or other building that has been used for the cultivation of Cannabis. We call these Cannabis Factories. This list in not definitive and we'd attend most scenes if there was a requirement for forensic recovery.
I want to share my experience of a discovery of a male who had been deceased for somewhere between 10-12 months.
The male lived alone in a local authority owned property. The male was not elderly and well below 50.
He was discovered by bailiffs acting on behalf of the local authority, who had attended the property to evict the tenant for non payment of rent.
They found out why he hadn't paid it.
There was a mass of envelopes and flyers, mainly junk and overdue bills, nothing personal. There were a number of handwritten and hand delivered debt collection notices.
The Police will often attend incidents of unexplained deaths. CSI will attend, normally we are the first to enter the scene, and we will work with CID to determine the cause of death.
When both CSI Girl and I arrived we put on gloves (I've always got a pocket full!) and a full body suit.
When we walked in I could smell the decomposition.
The property was a maisonette and had one living room, one bedroom, a kitchen and small bathroom. There was no furniture in the living room, not even a TV, something many of us consider a necessity.
The male had died whilst in the bath.
Decomposition or putrefaction is the gradual breakdown of dead organic matter and the release of elements and compounds into the environment. In the human body, decomposition usually starts immediately but isn't noticeable for a few hours.
The energy and water suppliers had cut the supply to the address. The toilet had no water in it, it was just lined with brown staining. With no heating, the property was noticeably colder than outside. This meant that although decomposition had occurred, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
The male was on his back with his knees bent slightly, like some taller people do in the bath. The stopper was in but most of the water had seeped down the plughole. There was about 3 inches of bodily fluids, a dark brown colour, in the bottom of the bath.
It stank, I had a mask but chose not to wear it. I got use to it after a few minutes.
There were hundreds of dead flies in the house. There were also little brown marks on the windows and sills. These marks were transfer from the body caused by the flies landing on the male and moving away again. Entomology can assist to establish an estimate to the time of death but only really within a number of hours rather than months. Certain insects will appear before others and these insects go through certain cycles.
A police surgeon attended the scene to pronounce the male as deceased. A medical practitioner needs to do this and strangely the male was pronounced deceased at the time of the examination, but had clearly been dead a long time.
The male's neighbours didn't really know him. It appears that he'd lived there for about 3 years, but never really spoke to anyone else. No one missed him either.
My next blog will discuss some of the chemical treatments used to find fingerprints on items unsuitable for powdering.
Fire Fatality
Fire Fatality
The call came over the radio:
"CSI Guy and Girl, can you please attend 123 Any Street, CID are in attendance, there has been a house fire with a fatality"
I looked at my crew mate, she had a puzzled expression on her face. I asked her how far away it was. It was only a matter of minutes away. We diverted to the station to collect extra kit. We needed our 'arson kits' that contain boiler suits, a special face mask and a hard hat. Although we weren't going to an arson (it was an accident) we would need the same protective equipment. My crew mate said that we normally require this kit as fire scenes tend to be dangerous, even after the fire has been extinguished.
As we approached 123 Any Street, there was a PCSO diverting traffic down a parellel road. He recognised our unmarked van and waved us through. There were three fire engines in the road. I could hear indistinct voices on their radios. The shutters were up on the side of each engine. There was dirty water in the gutter where excess water from the hoses ran over the small patch of grass regarded as a garden at the front of the flats.
The flat was the last on the ground floor of a block of twelve which was arranged four side by side on three floors. Both CSI Girl and I bent over and made our way under the police tape and gave our names and collar numbers to the officer managing the scene log.
We walked down the side of the flats and through the gate. The back door was open, there was what looked like rubbish scattered over the grassed area. It turned out that these items were personal effects from the flat that the fire officers had removed in order to gain entry to the flat.
There were one or two fire officers inside, without breathing apparatus surveying the scene. I stepped closer to the back door. The door was a UPVC frame with two large sections of glass, top and bottom. I put my hand on the glass, it had a thick coating of soot, my hand left a void in the soot.
I'd never smelt it before but I new what it was.
As I entered the flat, I stood in the living room. It was full of charred belongings, each item with a thick black coating. There was hardly room to stand. There were items everywhere that hadn't been moved for years. It was a one level flat, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. No bedroom. This was accommodation provided by the local authority for one elderly male. It was shocking. This male had been left on his own, without aid for months and months. There was little evidence of any substantial diet.
The hallway was the root of the smell. Naked from the waist down lay a seventy something male, on his back on top of a collapsed bicycle, an expression on his face of shock. His mouth was wide open.
Rigor Mortis had fully developed and was present in his face, jaw, arms, legs and hands.
I won't forget the smell. It was mixed with smoke and soot. It wasn't as strong as it could have been. The door had been open for some time when I had arrived which provided some ventilation.
The Fire Brigade had sent a member of FIT, the Fire Investigation Team, to determine the source of the fire. It transpired that there was an electrical fault on a light in an old display cabinet that had slowly burnt the chipboard.
It was unclear what had caused the elderly male to die. Had he died before the fire or as a result of it? He had soot in his nostrils, which may suggest he was breathing when the smoke was present. The cause of death wouldn't be determined until a Post Mortem was complete.
I held the male's arms in place as well as I could so that CSI Girl could photograph his hands and arms. This was done as a way to show that there were no injuries, defensive or otherwise. His arms were cold to touch.
CSI Girl took a number of photographs of the male. She also took photographs of the flat. This helps show the standard of living of the deceased male. The bath was full of belongings piled almost as high as the top of the door frame. The kitchen surfaces had rubbish and frying pans scattered over them with an additional layer of dust and dirt that had collected over the months.
It was decided that the fire was accidental and not suspicious. All the doors were locked and there was no sign of forced entry. The male was elderly and visibly frail. He had no injuries. The photographs would be kept for evidential purposes. The post mortem was likely to confirm the FIT's thoughts.
One thing that I will remember is that the smoke detectors had been removed. The elderly male was a smoker and didn't like going outside to smoke. If the detector was in place it may have given an early warning.
As we approached 123 Any Street, there was a PCSO diverting traffic down a parellel road. He recognised our unmarked van and waved us through. There were three fire engines in the road. I could hear indistinct voices on their radios. The shutters were up on the side of each engine. There was dirty water in the gutter where excess water from the hoses ran over the small patch of grass regarded as a garden at the front of the flats.
The flat was the last on the ground floor of a block of twelve which was arranged four side by side on three floors. Both CSI Girl and I bent over and made our way under the police tape and gave our names and collar numbers to the officer managing the scene log.
We walked down the side of the flats and through the gate. The back door was open, there was what looked like rubbish scattered over the grassed area. It turned out that these items were personal effects from the flat that the fire officers had removed in order to gain entry to the flat.
There were one or two fire officers inside, without breathing apparatus surveying the scene. I stepped closer to the back door. The door was a UPVC frame with two large sections of glass, top and bottom. I put my hand on the glass, it had a thick coating of soot, my hand left a void in the soot.
I'd never smelt it before but I new what it was.
As I entered the flat, I stood in the living room. It was full of charred belongings, each item with a thick black coating. There was hardly room to stand. There were items everywhere that hadn't been moved for years. It was a one level flat, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. No bedroom. This was accommodation provided by the local authority for one elderly male. It was shocking. This male had been left on his own, without aid for months and months. There was little evidence of any substantial diet.
The hallway was the root of the smell. Naked from the waist down lay a seventy something male, on his back on top of a collapsed bicycle, an expression on his face of shock. His mouth was wide open.
Rigor Mortis had fully developed and was present in his face, jaw, arms, legs and hands.
I won't forget the smell. It was mixed with smoke and soot. It wasn't as strong as it could have been. The door had been open for some time when I had arrived which provided some ventilation.
The Fire Brigade had sent a member of FIT, the Fire Investigation Team, to determine the source of the fire. It transpired that there was an electrical fault on a light in an old display cabinet that had slowly burnt the chipboard.
It was unclear what had caused the elderly male to die. Had he died before the fire or as a result of it? He had soot in his nostrils, which may suggest he was breathing when the smoke was present. The cause of death wouldn't be determined until a Post Mortem was complete.
I held the male's arms in place as well as I could so that CSI Girl could photograph his hands and arms. This was done as a way to show that there were no injuries, defensive or otherwise. His arms were cold to touch.
CSI Girl took a number of photographs of the male. She also took photographs of the flat. This helps show the standard of living of the deceased male. The bath was full of belongings piled almost as high as the top of the door frame. The kitchen surfaces had rubbish and frying pans scattered over them with an additional layer of dust and dirt that had collected over the months.
It was decided that the fire was accidental and not suspicious. All the doors were locked and there was no sign of forced entry. The male was elderly and visibly frail. He had no injuries. The photographs would be kept for evidential purposes. The post mortem was likely to confirm the FIT's thoughts.
One thing that I will remember is that the smoke detectors had been removed. The elderly male was a smoker and didn't like going outside to smoke. If the detector was in place it may have given an early warning.
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