Scripting a Murder: Applications of Crime Scripts in Homicide Investigations

• In Event: Murder Investigations: Locations, Bodies, Scripts, and Arrests

Abstract

During major crime investigations, detectives need to assess the veracity of victim allegations, suspect alibis, and case theories. False allegations, staged crimes, distorted offense details, and jail house informants may all be potential issues. Crime scripts are a thinking tool that can be used to test the logic and validity of a narrative. A “story” can initially appear reasonable but lose veracity when properly dissected. Breaking events down into the temporal, spatial, and behavioral stages of a script exposes parts and connections, not just the overall trajectory. Progress along a path requires phase transitions, which can be evaluated to assess the feasibility of the story – does the narrative logically link the different actions, locations, and/or times? If “you can’t get there from here,” there are likely validity issues that require further exploration. The presentation will use three murder investigations as case studies.

Authors

• Kim Rossmo, Texas State University

• Eric Beauregard, Simon Fraser University