Summary
Highlights
Investigative approaches include the physical/crime scene approach, which focuses on collecting and analyzing physical evidence (corpus delicti, associative, tracing evidence). Key steps involve securing the scene, documenting through photographs (general, midrange, close-up, extreme close-up) and sketches (rough, finished), and collecting weapons and biological evidence. The psychological/behavioral approach examines suspects' mental and emotional states, history of abuse, family dynamics, and behavior to uncover motives like revenge or financial disputes.
This video introduces specialized crime investigation, specifically focusing on 'Specialized Crime Investigation with Legal Medicine.' This subject deals with crimes against persons and special laws, requiring unique investigative techniques due to the nature and complexity of these offenses. The three main goals of investigation are to identify, locate, and arrest the suspect, and to provide evidence of guilt.
Parricide involves killing one's father, mother, or child (legitimate or illegitimate), ascendants, descendants, or spouse. The penalty is reclusion perpetua (20 to 40 years). A crucial aspect is 'blood relationship.' For ascendants and descendants, the relationship must be legitimate (both sets of parents/grandparents must be married). Death under exceptional circumstances, such as killing a cheating spouse or a daughter and her lover caught in the act at home, reduces the charge to destiero (banishment), not parricide.
For Muslim marriages, parricide only applies to the killing of the first wife. A stranger collaborating in parricide is liable for murder or homicide. Ignorance of the relationship between the killer and the victim is immaterial to a parricide charge. Killing siblings, uncles, aunts, or adopted children does not constitute parricide; these cases fall under homicide or murder depending on the circumstances.
The interview and interrogation approach differentiates questioning witnesses (interview, open-ended) from suspects (interrogation, accusatory). Forensic/scientific approaches utilize scientific methods like pathology (cause of death via autopsy), DNA analysis (linking suspect to evidence or establishing relationships), ballistics, toxicology tests for poison/drugs, and digital forensics (extracting data from devices). The legal/documentary approach ensures proper evidence documentation, chain of custody (to maintain evidence integrity), compliance with Miranda rights, and verification of relationships through documents like birth and marriage certificates.
The sociological/environmental approach investigates community and environmental factors contributing to the crime, such as poverty, economic problems, inheritance disputes, family pressure, cultural influences regarding parental authority or honor, and external stressors like peer influence or isolation. These factors help understand the broader context of the crime.
Murder involves killing a person not covered by parricide, with a penalty of reclusion perpetua. It requires qualifying circumstances, such as treachery (not giving the victim a chance to defend themselves), taking advantage of superior strength (e.g., killing a child), using armed means, employing tactics to weaken the victim's defense (e.g., intoxication), an act for a price/reward, using means like inundation, fire, poison, explosion, or motor vehicles, or with great waste and drawing.
Treachery or 'alibosya' means preparing the act to ensure execution or hinder defense, not spontaneous acts. Evident premeditation implies cool thought and reflection over a sufficient period before the crime. The presence of any qualifying circumstance leads to a murder charge. The positioning of the victim (frontal or back) is not the sole determinant of treachery; surrounding circumstances rule. Intent to kill is also not the direct baseline for differentiating between homicide and murder; qualifying circumstances are key.
Homicide applies when a person is killed without justifying circumstances and without the qualifying circumstances of murder, parricide, or infanticide. Infanticide involves killing a child less than three days old (72 hours). The emphasis for infanticide is time. For infanticide to apply, the child must be born alive and viable for independent life (typically more than six months intrauterine life). Killing a non-viable fetus (six months or below) is abortion, not infanticide. A stranger cooperating in infanticide with a parent is also liable for infanticide, with a penalty equivalent to murder.
The investigative approaches for murder and homicide cases include crime scene investigation (physical evidence, chain of custody, documentation), follow-up/in-depth investigation (re-interviewing witnesses, interrogating suspects, background checks, motive identification, case linkage analysis, arrest warrants), forensic/scientific approach (pathology, ballistics, DNA, toxicology, digital forensics), and sociological/environmental approaches as previously discussed for parricide.