SERIAL KILLER MIND

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 90 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Staging. The events may be staged so as to falsely suggest that the baby was born dead or suffered accidental injuries during delivery. Forensic pathology evidence is helpful to resolve this question. One of the most common types of physiological evidence of live birth is the appearance of inflated lungs and an air bubble in the digestive tract. Unexpected death to the neonate in the context of evidence for denial of the pregnancy raises the likelihood of foul play.  

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 89 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   The crime scene may reflect evidence of only the birth, not the death. However, the scene of the birth may also reflect disorganized behavior, such as incomplete attempts to clean blood from the scene. Disorganized behavior may represent panic, particularly when birth and homicide transpire with a relative or other responsible party nearby who might discover the baby and intervene. Disposal of the body, often in a trash receptacle, is not alone evidence of murder. Reconstruction of the infant’s demise may be difficult under certain circumstances of method of homicide. Autopsy remains the most important means for identifying a murder.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 88 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION     Crime Scene Indicators Frequently Noted. Typical methods of neonaticide are suffocation, strangulation, head trauma (usually from dropping into a toilet), and drowning (in the receptacle where the birth occurs). Use of weapons in neonaticide, such as knives, is more indicative of serious mental illness in the mother. At the same time, involvement of an accomplice sup- ports the likelihood of organized, premeditated calculation in effecting the child’s death and concealing it.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 87 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION Defining Characteristics Victimology. The first hour of birth is particularly high risk for this type of victim. Male infants are more often killed than female infants on the day of birth, which is also the day children are most at risk of filicide. The typical neonaticide victim is born to a mother who has concealed his in-utero existence, from herself as well as others in her life. There is no human connection to the developing fetus. Ultimately the mother denies the neonate’s victimhood.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 86 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Some neonaticidal mothers experience dissociative symptoms during labor and after the birth; several neonaticidal mothers have reported amnesia about the events leading up to and surrounding the birth, the birth itself, or events immediately after the birth. Psychosis and depression, however, are relatively less frequent among neonaticidal mothers. After the birth and disposal of the infant’s body, the mother also may exhibit an unfazed or indifferent emotional stance, facilitated by her denial of the existence of the infant—reinforced with the neonaticide but dissolved with revelation of the crime.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 85 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Denial can persist even through labor and delivery. Breaking water may be thought of as urination, and labor pain may be experienced as bowel movement or simple cramping, for which a hot bath may be sought for relief. Delivery is nearly always in secret or isolation, often occurring in the bath- tub or on the toilet.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 84 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   It is common for neonaticidal mothers to remain in denial about the existence of the fetus during the pregnancy. Physical symptoms are ignored or explained away; weight gain is seen as a result of lack of exercise, and morning sickness becomes general nausea. Even if the pregnancy is confirmed by a physician, denial persists vehemently. Baby clothes and toys or pregnancy and name books are not purchased, and prenatal care is not sought out, for example. This denial often extends to those around her: family and friends are unaware of the pregnancy until discovery of the infant’s body or the physical manifestations of birth make it known.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 83 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Although the vast majority of neonaticides are committed by parents of the victim, overwhelmingly the mother, research has demonstrated no racial, cultural, or socioeconomic association with neonaticide. Premeditation of the crime is rare, with the more common scenario including a young, naive mother, with restrained communication about sexuality in the home and traditional and socially isolated homes with disciplining, harsh parents with whom she is close. Social isolation of a neonaticidal mother may be obvious, but it also may be subtle: she may be surrounded by friends and family, and yet no one really knows her.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 82 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES           SECOND EDITION   : NEONATICIDE Neonaticide, or murder of an infant within the first twenty-four hours of life, is the most common form of filicide, which is the killing of a child of any age by a parent. Research shows that 46 percent of infants killed die in their first hour of life. Compared to filicide, neonaticidal parents are younger, more often unmarried, and the pregnancy was more frequently unwanted.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 81 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Outcome Torran made a complete confession and was found guilty of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. He was subsequently sentenced to a maximum term of twelve years at the California Youth Authority in the psychiatric facility. He was reunited with his father during his trial. Both his grandparents and father vowed to support him through his trial and incarceration. Richard Parker and Matthew Jay were found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to fifteen years to life.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 80 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   From this point on until the murder, everyone noticed the change in Torran’s attitude. He began to miss school. His grandmother noticed he now had a blank look in his eyes. The statement that seemed to best describe Torran’s state of mind was found on the side of a cup holder his grandmother saw him use: “Pardon me, but you’ve obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a damn.” Torran’s conversation reflected his plans. He spoke to classmates and close friends about killing his mother and even showed one the noose that he had made. Torran’s indiscretion concerning his crime is reflective of his immaturity. Most offenders do not leave quite as obvious a conspiratory trail.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 79 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   The extensive brutalization that Torran Meier suffered at the hands of his mother obviously fueled his decision to kill her. However, there seemed to be one incident that burdened him beyond his capacity to endure. It was in March 1985 when Shirley informed her mother that Torran no longer wanted to live at home and was not welcome there anymore. She had told Torran that going to live with his grandparents meant he could never return home. Torran immediately moved in with his grandparents. The warmth and affection he experienced there made him feel hopeful that life could be free of the constant harassment and abuse he had known for most his life. Two weeks later, his hope was shattered when the police showed up at Shirley’s request. She had sent them there to return her “runaway” son.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 78 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigation Rory told his story and gave a description of Torran’s car to the sheriff. Meanwhile, Torran had suddenly felt like returning to the canyon. He and Parker had driven just far enough to pass the ambulance and sheriff car coming from the scene. Other sheriff units that had been dispatched to the scene recognized his car from Rory’s description and pulled him over.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 77 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Parker to pick up his bike. Meanwhile, Rory had felt the car move, smelled the gasoline, and soon after saw the flames through his blindfold. He took off his blindfold and saw his mother’s body leaning against the steering wheel with blood all over her face. He managed to free his hand, lower an electric window, and climb out. As the car was enveloped in flames, he climbed a hill crying for help. A young man driving by saw the flames and heard Rory’s cry for help. He helped Rory up to the road and flagged down another car. The heat was too intense for anyone to get close to the car, and by the time the fire department and sheriff arrived, Shirley’s body had already been burned beyond recognition.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 76 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   When they arrived at the preselected spot in the canyon, Torran told Rory he had to be blindfolded and have his hands tied because he did not want Rory to know where Parker lived. Rory did not resist. At this point, Shirley’s body was removed from the trunk and propped up in the driver’s seat. With the engine running, a rag soaked with gasoline was stuffed in the gas tank opening. Parker then lit the rag while Torran and Jay aimed the car for the cliff and put into gear. It rolled across the road, over an embankment, and down a hill. As flames spread through the car, it came to rest on a plateau halfway down the gorge. Torran, Jay, and Parker drove away, heading north. Jay dropped Parker and Torran Meier off at the initial crime scene so any damning evidence could be removed. Signs of the struggle were cleaned up or removed. The poisons and the

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 75 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   After stopping to fill a gas can at a Shell station, Torran, Parker, and Rory (sleeping peacefully in the back seat) drove out to the canyon and chose a suitable spot. Next, they went back to the Meiers’ house and retrieved Shirley’s purse. Once again they stopped at the Shell station and bought six dollars worth of gas. They proceeded to Jay’s house, and he followed them in his father’s vehicle.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 74 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Malibu Canyon Highway contains some of the steepest canyon ledges in Southern California, which became the ideal setting to stage Shirley’s suicide. The road twists along the face of a sheer rocky cliff. Because there are no guardrails, it is a common sight to see a tow truck hoisting a car up that had gone over the side.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 73 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   The method of death they decided on was rat poison. Jay went to the store and purchased rat and snail poison. Torran laced a peanut butter sandwich and flavored milk with the poison, but Rory refused both after getting an initial bad taste. After a few minutes of thought, another course of action was decided on. Ironically, Shirley had helped Torran decide how to stage her death. She had threatened her third husband many times that she was going to drive her car off a cliff someday. Torran had also heard this suicide threat and had made special note of it.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 72 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   When it was apparent that Shirley was finally dead, the three eased off her body. She was bleeding from the nose and mouth, so Jay held a rag under her face to prevent bloodstains on the carpet. After Torran closed the garage door to ensure privacy, Shirley’s body was stuffed in the trunk of her five-year-old Thunderbird. At this point, the three offenders discussed the fact that Rory knew what had happened. They concluded that the little boy would be too damaging a witness, so he would have to be killed.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 71 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Torran requested his mother to close her eyes or allow herself to be blind- folded before entering his room, both of which she refused, but she agreed to walk in backward. As she was backing through the door of Torran’s room, she saw Jay coming at her from behind the door. Parker approached from the other direction and dropped the noose around her neck before she could react. Torran and Jay knocked her to the floor as Parker pulled on the noose. The commotion caused by Shirley’s kicking and screaming woke eight- year-old Rory and bought him to the doorway in time to witness his mother’s death struggle. Torran intercepted Rory and led him to the family room, where he attempted to calm the crying child by watching TV. Over the next twenty minutes, Torran made a circuit between his room to help Jay and Parker and the family room to calm Rory.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 70 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Torran joined his mother, who began complaining about money. After he had finished his meal, he asked her to come into his room so he could show her something. She responded with her typical ire, stating that he was always interrupting her TV programs. Torran told her to wait for a commercial, at which time Shirley rose to follow him into his room.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 69 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Torran rode home on his motorcycle, and the other two followed him in a car, which they parked down the street from his house. Torran entered the house alone and greeted his mother, who was sitting in the dining room. She began to yell at him for coming home so late. Torran offered the excuse of mechanical troubles with his motorcycle. He walked into the kitchen to get some dinner Shirley had left him and then went into his bedroom. He let Jay and Parker into the house through his window and left them hiding in his room with a noose he had made earlier.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 68 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Crime Scene Indicators About 9:45 P.M. in October 1985, Torran Meier set in motion a plan that he had been brooding over for months. Torran, a high school friend named Matt Jay, and a twenty-three-year-old transient named Richard Parker whom Tor- ran had befriended, finalized a murder scheme.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 67 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   As an adult, Shirley went through three marriages, none lasting more than a few months because she abused her children. She became dependent on Valium, attempted suicide twice, and seems to have allowed her sense of propriety to slip away. She would often dress provocatively and go out to bars, leaving the two children home alone. On one occasion, she woke Torran up at 2:00 A.M. to pick her up at a bar twenty miles from their home. Torran was about fifteen years old at the time and obviously troubled and unhappy.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 66 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Victimology Shirley Meier had always been outgoing and lively by her parents’ estimation. It was evident at a young age that she was a talented manipulator. She often fabricated elaborate stories for her parents and teachers in order to get her own way.  

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 65 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Shirley’s erratic and often violent behavior seemed to escalate as Torran became older. She also began to direct it toward her younger child, Rory. Torran was encouraged by his friends and grandparents to persist in his situation with Shirley until he graduated from high school, but the years of abuse had burdened him past his endurance. After sixteen years of it, he finally retaliated.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 64 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Besides being the object of Shirley’s cursing and screaming, Torran often suffered public humiliation when she ridiculed him in front of his friends. She would call him a faggot and tell him he would never be a real man. Torran never seemed to do anything that satisfied Shirley, from his playing high school football to the house cleaning and cooking she demanded of him.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 63 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   This incident was characteristic of Torran’s life with Shirley. One of his first memories of his mother was climbing into a toy box during a game of hide-and-seek. Shirley sat on the toy box, ignoring his pleas to be let out, until the child had screamed and cried for a half an hour.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 62 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Throughout the years of mistreatment Torran was to endure, his grandparents tried to intervene on his behalf. Because Shirley became jealous if she saw Torran getting close to them, his grandparents were allowed to see him only on his birthdays between his fourth and seventh years. On his sixth birthday, when they showed up with gifts, Shirley flew into a rage and threatened to call the police if they did not leave. Torran’s gifts were returned unopened a few days later because Shirley had decided he was not going to have a birthday party that year.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 61 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION CASE STUDY: 122.02: STAGED DOMESTIC HOMICIDE Background Torran Meier was born in 1972 to sixteen-year-old Shirley Meier. Shirley’s mother, Joyce, described her daughter’s treatment of newborn Torran as “if he were a piece of property.” Shirley did not want to hold her son, let alone give him the care and love he needed. Torry’s father, Dennis, was driven away by Shirley’s constant insults and belittlement. Dennis tried to maintain contact with his son, but Shirley forbid him to come near them. She told Tor- ran his father was dead.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 60 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigative Considerations In addition to the considerations listed for spontaneous domestic homicide, the offender will demonstrate a change in pre offense behavior toward the victim. Frequently an improvement in the relationship is seen, and this ap- parent change in heart will be demonstrated in a highly visible manner to others. Post offense interviews of close friends or family members often reveal that the victim had expressed concerns or fears regarding the victim’s safety or even a sense of foreboding. The medical and psychiatric history of the victim becomes important if the investigator suspects the crime has been staged to appear to be a suicide or death by natural causes.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 59 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Common Forensic Findings. The forensic findings of a staged domestic homicide are similar to those for spontaneous domestic murder. The exception is when the suspect includes himself as an apparent victim. If the per- son posing the greatest threat (usually the male) to the alleged intruder receives no or nonlethal injuries while others are killed who pose less of a threat are killed, the investigator should become suspicious that the crime has been staged.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 58 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Staging. Staging is frequently noted in the planned murder. Death may be staged to look accidental (a car malfunction or drowning, for example). Other deaths may appear due to secondary criminal activity, such as robbery or rape. The offender who stages a domestic rape-murder rarely leaves the victim nude; she is almost always partially clothed. Death may be staged to look like suicide, with a suicide note, guns rigged with string, or a drug over- dose, for example. Natural causes—slow poisoning or overdose (insulin is a prime example of an overdose that can mimic natural death)—are also examples of staging.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 57 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Crime Scene Indicators Frequently Noted. The crime scene of the well- planned domestic murder reflects a controlled, organized crime. The weapon, fingerprints, and other evidentiary items often are removed. The body is usually not concealed. It will still often involve the victim’s or offender’s residence, but locations of crime scenes outside the home also are possible.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 56 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   : STAGED DOMESTIC HOMICIDE A staged domestic homicide is planned and may be due to the same stresses as in an unstaged domestic homicide. The major difference between the two homicides is seen in the crime scene.   Defining Characteristics Victimology. The victimology for staged domestic homicide is the same as for spontaneous domestic homicide.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 55 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Martha Johnson was also highly influenced by her environment and had difficulty dealing with internal impulses, as evidenced by her weight. She sought life substance from her external environment through eating, her relationship with her children, and her husband. When this crucial crutch was removed from her life, she used her children to draw Earl Bowen back into an active relationship with her. Johnson experienced emotional crises due to her separation from Bowen. Her children’s deaths served as a valve for the building internal tensions, which she was ill equipped to handle, in addition to providing the remedy: Bowen’s return. It worked every time.   Outcome Martha Ann Johnson was sentenced to death and remains on death row.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 54 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION Investigation The investigative consideration of greatest importance in this case is the cycle of domestic conflict that surrounded every incident. Every death was preceded one week to ten days by marital problems that culminated in a separation, the child’s death, and then reunion of Johnson and Earl Bowen, her spouse during the years of her children’s deaths. Martha Ann Johnson was reported to have been battered by several of her four husbands, and she was completely dependent on her husband, Earl Bowen.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 53 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Martha Ann Johnson demonstrated a consistent choice of “weapon” as listed in the planned domestic murder. It was a method that allowed her seven years of freedom before the cases were reopened after an Atlanta Constitution article in December 1989 questioned Johnson’s family tragedies.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 52 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Forensic Findings Autopsy findings when smothering is the suspected cause of death are minimal. Petechial hemorrhages, one of the forensic indicators of asphyxia, are rarely seen in children, and practically never in infants. This proved to be the case with the three youngest victims. None had evidence of petechial hemorrhage; however, the autopsy of eleven-year-old Jenny Ann revealed petechiae on the face around the eyes, face, and conjunctivae. There also were linear abrasions over both cheeks, another forensic indicator of asphyxial death. In three of the four cases, postmortem exams revealed congestion in the lungs or airways, or both, evidenced by frothy or foamy liquid coming from the mouth and nose, another finding common to asphyxiation. Earl did not exhibit this congestion because he had been on life support, which allowed for his air

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 51 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Victimology The victims were all children of Johnson by her three husbands, and all re- sided with her at the time of their death.   Crime Scene Indicators In all cases, death was staged to appear from natural causes, the crime scene was in the residence, and the weapon was one of opportunity. Johnson weighs almost three hundred pounds, and this certainly was a factor in the smothering death of eleven-year-old Jenny.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 50 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   According to Johnson, her eleven-year-old daughter, Jenny Ann Wright, was complaining of chest pains. She took Jenny to the doctor who gave her Tylenol and a rib belt. On February 21, 1982, rescue personnel were again summoned to the Johnson residence. They found Jenny Ann face down on her mother’s bed, with pink foam coming from her nose and mouth, and un- responsive to revival attempts.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 49 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Earl Wayne Bowen was a thirty-one-month-old child who had been in excellent health except for an occasional ear infection. On Friday afternoon January 23, 1981, he was found with a package of rodent poison. Although he had some on his hands and mouth, it was not clear if he had ingested any. He was treated and released from the emergency room in satisfactory condition. However, according to his parents, he suffered seizures from that point on, lasting from a few minutes to hours. None of these seizures appeared to be witnessed by medical personnel. Despite the fact that the active ingredient in the poison did not cause seizures, the child was started on medication. While being taken to the hospital on February 12 during a seizure episode, he suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest. He was resuscitated after two hours and placed on life support. Subs

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 48 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Three years later, on November 30, 1980, Johnson bathed, fed, and put three-month-old Tibitha Jenelle Bowen down for her nap. When she checked on the child later, she found the baby had turned blue. Rescue personnel were called and initiated resuscitative measures, which again proved futile. Tibitha was pronounced dead on arrival. Her death was also attributed to SIDS.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 47 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   The first victim was James William Taylor, twenty-three-months old. On September 23, 1977, Johnson states that she went in to wake up James from his nap. When she was unable to rouse him, she called for emergency medical personnel, and the child was rushed to the hospital. Attempts to resuscitate James were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 9:15 A.M. His death was attributed to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 46 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION CASE STUDY: 122.01: SPONTANEOUS DOMESTIC HOMICIDE Background On May 5, 1990, Martha Ann Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder for the smothering deaths of three of her four children. In a videotaped confession, Johnson, who weighs close to 300 pounds, admitted smothering Jenny Ann Wright and James Taylor by rolling on top of them as they slept. Martha said her motive was to bring her estranged husband home. Each of the homicides, which occurred between 1977 and 1982, was committed within ten days of having an argument with her former husband, Earl Bowen. She received the death penalty in 1990 and remains on death row.

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 45 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Investigative Considerations If the crime occurs in the victim’s residence, domestic murder should be considered. When other family members are contacted, they often describe a history of domestic violence involving the victim and offender. This is of- ten supported by police reports. A history of conflict due to external sources (financial, vocational, or alcohol, for example) is a common element of domestic homicide. The offender may have delayed reporting the murder, often in order to change clothing and establish a legitimate alibi. Routinely, a third party discovers the body. The offender may have demonstrated personalized aggression in the past, as well as a change in attitude after the triggering event. Search Warrant Suggestions Although most of the evidence will be left at the crime scene, financial and medical records to verify th

  Crime Classification Manual Part II Chapter 6 C 44 A STANDARD SYSTEM FOR INVESTIGATING AND CLASSIFYING VIOLENT CRIMES SECOND EDITION   Common Forensic Findings. Alcohol or drugs may be involved. Finger- prints are often present on the murder weapon. There usually are forensic findings consistent with a personal type of assault. Depersonalization, evidenced by facial battery, overkill, blunt-force trauma, and a focused area of injury, is evidence of a personal assault. Manual or ligature strangulation is a common cause of death with domestic homicide. Gunshot wounds are also a forensic finding of this type of killing. The victim may show signs of being washed up or wounds cleaned.