A-Z of Murder: Clues for Crime Writers. #A
So, I’ll be doing 26 topics about elements of crime that can help you with clue making. It mostly covers murder, but it can help for other crimes. This should be a weekly thing provided I can stay on track. If you have your own ideas or questions about these topics, pop it in the comments.
(I’ll be using these cases again soon. They’re very interesting cases and worth a bit of research or watching a documentary about them.)
Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay Case: Fake alibis
Colin Stagg’s wrongful arrest over the murder of Rachel Nickell
Murder of Jean Barnes: Inaccurate time of death.
Alibi: An alibi excludes you from being available/there to commit the crime. “I was here, so I couldn't possibly have done it.” It is a key part of any investigation and helps to eliminate a lot of suspects. However there are times this makes for a good clue. I'll list a few:
No one else can verify where they were: For an alibi to be solid, there has to be proof that the suspect was in the place that they say. CCTV, some technology or another person can be used to say that they aren't lying. But there isn't always that proof. For example, were they in the house alone or unseen? Should we believe them or not?
Someone lies to give another an alibi: This happens in real life, like with the real killer in the Rachel Nickell murder. The killer’s mother said he was with her at the time. The reasons why can vary, some do it knowing exactly what they have done, and others are oblivious and just want to be spared the 'bother' investigations can bring.
An obvious alibi: an example being the Sebastian burns and Atif Rafay case. Some offenders can make themselves REALLY stick out at the time of the crime to make a fake alibi. Pay a big tip to a waiter/waitress or make a ruckus before they go into a cinema for example and everyone will remember them and say “Yes, they were here at this time.” When really they'd committed the crime before, after or during their ‘big night out’.
A fake alibi- but not for the reasons you’d expect: Your suspect lies about where they were. Maybe they were cheating on their partner, gambling, or something else they’d rather keep to themselves - a useful red herring.
Forensic Experts get the time of death wrong: This means if police are led to believe the murder happened three or four days ago, and it was actually weeks ago, well, they will be looking in the wrong place. In some cases it can take months to know an accurate time of death. This occurred with the murder of Jean Barnes. (I’ll go over times of death and forensics in another post).
So there we have it, one of twenty six. I hope these help!
