1. Amber

    Amber Member

    Yesterday I stumbled across 'The Unknown Darkness by Gregg O. McCrary (a preeminent FBI profiler) in a used book shop. When I flicked through it, it opened on a page about the Sam Sheppard case and signs of staging, so of course I had to buy it.

    He states ' Noncriminals who stage crime scenes generally reveal their lack of criminal sophisitication. They typically don't know what real crime scenes look like, because their knowledge of crimes comes from what they have read in books, or have see on TV and in movies. The false motives that are staged by criminally unsophisticated offenders are discernible because they are inconsistent with much of the forensic evidence present in the crime and the crime scene

    Crime scenes are high-risk environments, and none more so than a homicide scene. Offenders typically spend no more time than is necessary there for being caught. Consequently there is a high degree of correlation between the amount of time an offender spends at a crime scene and the offenders familiarity with and feeling of comfort there.

    Offenders who remain for a longer time often have a legitimate reason for bring at the scene and are therefore not worried about being discovered or interrupted.'

    He then gives a table which gives red flags for a staged domestic homicide using Sheppard as an example, using the Crime Classification Manual as a guide:

    1. The murder weapon, fingerprints and other evidentiary items often removed.

    (in SS case no weapon found, and no fingerprints of value found)

    2. The victim's body is not concealed

    (In SS case " the body was not concealed rather it was displayed to suggest she had been sexually assaulted"

    3. The crime scene often involves the victim's or offenders residence as the offender typically has control of the scene and therefore can spend time staging the scene without worry of being interrupted.

    4. Death may appear to have occurred in the context of another criminal activity such as robbery or a rape. (kidnapping?)

    (in SS case Marilyn's death appeared to have occurred in the context of a FAILED sexual assault or robbery.

    5. An offender who has a close relationship with the victim will often only partially remove the victims clothing (eg pants pulled down) He RARELY leaves the victim nude.

    6. The offender frequently positions the victim to infer a sexual assault has taken place.

    7. With a staged sexual assault there is usually an absence of seminal fluids in body orifices.

    8. Another red flag apparent in many staged domestic murders is the fatal assault of the wife and/or children by an intruder while the husband escapes without injury. If the offender does not first target the person posing the greatest threat then the police should especially examine all other crime scene indicators.

    9. Did the commission of this crime pose a high risk to the offender?

    In the SS case, the 'intruder' committed the crime at a high risk of detection:

    "if one believes the intent was to sexually assault the victim, the intruder would have been attempting to do so with both the victim's husband and son in close proximity. This high risk approach is very uncommon for rapists who are usually cowardly by nature.

    10. Excessive trauma beyond what is necessary to cause death (overkill)

    11. The offender will often manipulate the victim's discovery by a neighbour or family member.

    Dr Sheppard called his neighbours and asked them to come to the house stating 'I think they've killed Marilyn. Once they arrived he remained downstairs and they went upstairs where they discovered her body. Although Sheppard testified that he had 'discovered' her body on two separate occasions, he never called the police. Instead he called his neighbours who, once they discovered the body, called the police
     
  2. tylin

    tylin Banned

    A most interesting find Amber. :yay:
    First of all I want to say that I don't think Sheppard killed his wife but I do believe the Sheppard crime scene was staged.

    From your article:
    Listed above are the very reasons I want to scream at the intruder theorist...Why oh why can't they see the truth for what it is?
     
  3. Texan

    Texan FFJ Senior Member

    off topic

    This is a link to a document McCrary prepared for the state of Ohio when Chip sued them. You might want to check it out. I didn't find it - some smart poster on this forum did, but I can't remember who it was now. Anyway, the Sam Shepherd case has always fascinated me and this document has interesting points.



    http://www.courttv.com/archive/national/2000/0131/mccrary_ctv.html

    This page also has a chart about staging that is very good.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2006
  4. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Thanks for starting this thread, Amber. It is maddening when all the evidence in this case is true to staging and to one or more of those in the house being involved.

    That last item, the one about "manipulating" the situation so that a neighbor or friend finds the body--that's why I think the Whites and Fernies were called over. But it didn't work, so I think John then HAD to "find" the body because he knew it might be a long time before anyone else looked in that room. Arndt set that up for him, and he bolted STRAIGHT FOR the basement....
     
  5. Elle

    Elle Member

    Thank you Amber and Texan for posting this McCrary information. A few movies have been made relating to this crime. His son, Chip didn't think his father was guilty, and co-authored a book My Father's Shadow: The Sam Sheppard Story (TV movie) 1998.

    The first movie was made in 1979, and I remember this movie making it look very much like it was Dr. Sam who committed this murder, but here are comments from Chip's movie.

    http://imdb.com/title/tt0178779/#comment

    Henry Czerny and Peter Strauss both give excellent performances as the Sheppards. After almost fifty years this case still inspires debate and controversy. This movie shows us as well the tragedy for this poor family. I feel it can be said with a fair degree of certainty that Doctor Sam was indeed innocent and the Richard Eberling was the real culprit as they profess in this movie. He confessed to several people that he really did kill Marilyn (he confessed to a fellow inmate on his deathbed as a matter of fact). Strauss is great as he shows Sheppard being reduced to a pathetic shell of a man by his hellish experience.
     
  6. JC

    JC Superior Cool Member

    These three points make me think Jessica Butts' 11-year-old body was staged.

    5. An offender who has a close relationship with the victim will often only partially remove the victims clothing (eg pants pulled down) He RARELY leaves the victim nude.

    6. The offender frequently positions the victim to infer a sexual assault has taken place.

    7. With a staged sexual assault there is usually an absence of seminal fluids in body orifices.
     
  7. Elle

    Elle Member

    No. 7 could also apply to JonBenét Ramsey, JC.

    The Ramseys, of course went over the top with their staging, didn't they?
     
  8. JC

    JC Superior Cool Member

    Indeed, Elle.
     
  9. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    All three could apply to JB.
     
  10. heymom

    heymom Member

    Has anyone got a copy of MindHunter? I just read some parts of that book on staging and was gobsmacked - one of the cases John Douglas describes could be a model for the Ramseys. If no one has it, I'll get it at the library tomorrow. I didn't want to buy the copy I saw b/c it was in poor condition.

    John Douglas could not have worked for the Ramseys. If he did, he would have totally sold himself out, or he would have had to turn them in for suspicion of murder. He must have a pretty good idea as to their guilt.
     
  11. JC

    JC Superior Cool Member

    I've never read Mindhunters.

    This is from the 48 Hours show.

    "When she was strangled, she was struggling," Demuth says.

    Asked if that is more consistent with a child abduction, he says, "If my conclusions are correct, yeah. That’s child abduction. She’s struggling, she’s breathing, and you’re strangling her. That’s no longer an act of staging."

    "It’s murder," Demuth agrees.
     
  12. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Uh...yeah, DeMuth...but the RANSOM NOTE IS STAGING, YOU TWIT! NOT TO MENTION, DUCT TAPE THAT WAS APPLIED AFTER THE STRANGULATION/HEADBLOW. NOT TO MENTION WRIST BINDINGS THAT DIDN'T BIND....

    Hellllloooooooo? Anybody home? Or just a room full of hot air up there? :moron:
     
  13. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    Sit down, heymom.... Bad news.

    Not only did Douglas go against everything he ever wrote in his books, but when I first came online in 2000, a website called APBnews.com had Douglas writing for them, and what do you think was right there in his own words? How STAGING in the murder of a child is an indicator of the family or someone close to the family being involved; how hard it is for a killer who loved the child to dump the body, so they rather conceal it in or near the home, cover it up, leave things with it to "comfort" the child, etc.

    It explained the circumstances of JonBenet's murder very closely...but...somehow, Douglas managed to completely discount his own words when it came to the Ramseys. Go figure....
     
  14. heymom

    heymom Member

    Cha-ching! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

    I don't even know if money explains it. I really wonder what kind of power this guy has...maybe he's really the anti-Christ. Don't laugh either. He is a total liar and almost giggles now when he talks about his child's death. Have I said yet that just watching him gives me a sick feeling and makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck?
     
  15. koldkase

    koldkase FFJ Senior Member

    No, John Ramsey is a very small fish in the abyss, IMO. Just another human eaten up with his own flaws and unable to face the truth, much less tell it.
     
  16. Tez

    Tez Member

    Hey Mom,

    Yep, John Douglas sold his soul to the darkside. He also claimed somewhere that he gave back the money they paid him. I don't remember where I read that, I just remember it. He went against everything he ever wrote about child murderers when he took the Ramsey's side. He makes me sick.
     
  17. sue

    sue Member

    Plus, how many strangling victims are cooperative enough to let you tie their hair up in the string?
     
  18. Tez

    Tez Member

    Good point!
     
  19. The Punisher

    The Punisher Member

    Damn good!
     
  20. BluesStrat

    BluesStrat BANNED !!!!!

    Only those who have had their skull cracked in half first...
     
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