Was it a Crime?

Introduction: An emergency call came in from Doug Greene, a neighbor, at 9:45 a.m..Anna
Garcia, the victim, is a 38 year old woman that was found dead in her front entrance hallway on
August 14 at 9:56 a.m.. Several items were found at the scene, including: drops of blood, a
syringe, two pills, muddy footprints, a hair sample, vomit, and a cup that obtained a fingerprint.
An on-going investigation is now taking place.
Summary of Findings: To begin with fingerprint analysis was done on the fingerprint that was
found at the scene and all of the persons of interest. Through similar radial loop patterns and
minutiae, it was determined that the fingerprint at the crime scene belonged to Alex Garcia.
Next, using Anti-A and Anti-B clumping serums, the blood found at the crime scene was tested.
The clumping showed that the blood found at the crime scene was Type B. Therefore, the blood
belonged to Anna Garcia. Also,it was determined that Anna Garcias hair and the hair found at
the crime scene were matches based on the medulla of the hair. A muddy footprint was found at
the scene. The shoe print had a diamond pattern and an empty sole. Therefore, the footprint
obtained at the crime scene matched the footprint obtained from Anna Garcias shoe. Lastly,
pills were collected from the scene.To determine the identity of the unknown substance, an
experiment using the apperance, texture, and reaction to 3 differnt indicators was conducted;
acetylsalicylic acid was th unkown substance.
During the investigation of Annas death, Person of Interest were taken into consideration. Alex
Garcia, Annas ex-husband, saw Anna the night before her death when he came to her house to
discuss insurance paperwork. He is struggling with money and is still a life insurance beneficiary
of Annas. Doug Greene, Annas neighbor and ex-lover, had a relationship with Anna until she
quickly ended it 2 weeks before her death. Erica Piedmont, Annas current wife, last saw Anna
the day before she died when they had an intense argument at Annas home. Lastly, Lucy
Leffingwell, Annas co-business owner and best friend, saw Anna at work the day before her
death when they had an argument about Lucy buying Anna out of their business.
To help get an idea of the manner of death, the time of death needs to be determined, To do so,
Annas rectal temperature was taken-- 92.4 degrees. Her temperature was subtracted by the
average body temperature (98.4) and then divided by 1.5, which equals 4 hours since Annas
death. Therefore, Annas approximate time of death is 7 am.
Then, blood splatter analysis techniques were used to determine the height from which the
blood splatters at the crime scene were found. It was determined that based on the diameter of
the blood splatter that the bloods point of origin was from a 90 degree angle about 25-75
centimeters above the ground.
DNA can be found in several different forms. At the crime scene, blood was found; it was used
to perform DNA analysis. Restriction enzymes cut up the DNA into smaller segments called
RFLPs. A system called Gel Electrophoresis was used to separate and compare the pieces.
Since DNA has a negative charge, the RFLPs were placed on the negative side of the gel so
that the positive side would pull the DNA through the gel. When graphed on the gel
electrophoresis, it was determined that the DNA at the crime scene was Anna Garcias because
both her DNA and the DNA found at the crime scene had the same number of base pairs (bp).
The BP numbers were 12,23,11,33, and 24.
Autopsies are medical examinations that are conducted on a dead body to determine the cause
of death. In the autopsy, it was stated that Anna had edema of the ankles, she had a blunt head
trauma with lack of bleeding (indicating that her blood was not circulating well).

Was it a Crime?
Conclusion: All in all, Anna Garcias case although misleading at times, contains no evidence of
foul play, thus far. With the given autopsy information, it can be hypothesized that Anna Garcia
was having trouble with her heart as well as possible kidney failure. Therefore, it could be said
that Annas manner of death was natural due to heart or kidney problems.