Diver finds murder weapon

[tonka97]

September 25, 2007 Charleston Daily Mail newpaper:

"Police have discovered a hammer they believe was used to kill a 35-year-old Egyptian-born man.

But investigators might still be searching for a murder weapon if not for the help of a Ripley insurance agent who dives for underwater Civil War artifacts in his leisure time.

Mike McGrew received a phone call around 3 p.m. Friday from a policeman asking if he could come down to Riverfront Park in Ravenswood with his underwater metal detector."

Here is link to story:

Charleston Daily Mail

 

[13psi]

September 25, 2007 Charleston Daily Mail newpaper:

"Police have discovered a hammer they believe was used to kill a 35-year-old Egyptian-born man.

But investigators might still be searching for a murder weapon if not for the help of a Ripley insurance agent who dives for underwater Civil War artifacts in his leisure time.

Mike McGrew received a phone call around 3 p.m. Friday from a policeman asking if he could come down to Riverfront Park in Ravenswood with his underwater metal detector."

Here is link to story:

Charleston Daily Mail

RIP to the victim. That's awesome he found the hammer. Now they can nail that worthless human to life/death.

 

[Garrobo]

Hammer in water. No prints. No DNA.

 

[irishsquid]

RIP to the victim. That's awesome he found the hammer. Now they can nail that worthless human to life/death.

Won't that contaminate the evidence?

 

[Guba]

Hammer in water. No prints. No DNA.

Au contrare...hammers leave other evidence when used to bash the human body. Impact impressions, holes in the skull, the match of the handle to head (of the hammer) and to the points of impact, etc...
DNA and prints are only some of the avenues forensics can trace. While these bits of evidence cannot make the case on their own, they can and do augment and bolster the body of evidence in such cases.

 

[ReefGuy]

You would probably be surprised at what evidence can remain behind. I personally have retrieved a homicide weapon from chemically active water 20 hours after it was wrapped in a sheet and put there. We were able to retrieve a partial fingerprint. Enough to put the gun in the shooter's hand.

If a proper recovery is done, you never know.

Hammer in water. No prints. No DNA.

 

[ReefGuy]

I don't see anything in the article that would indicate any contamination.

Won't that contaminate the evidence?

 

[13psi]

Hammer in water. No prints. No DNA.

Au contrare...hammers leave other evidence when used to bash the human body. Impact impressions, holes in the skull, the match of the handle to head (of the hammer) and to the points of impact, etc...
DNA and prints are only some of the avenues forensics can trace. While these bits of evidence cannot make the case on their own, they can and do augment and bolster the body of evidence in such cases.

I rest my case

 

[tc]

Hammer in water. No prints. No DNA.

Not sure on DNA but I know in tests they were able to get prints from an object underwater for 3 weeks. Article was probably in Searchlines from IADRS or one of Robert Teather's books, been a number of years ago so I can't recall.

Not likely they'll find anything but possible. Not mentioned in the article but it was likely one of the suspects that told them where it had been disposed of- finding it will provide a bit of corroboration.

 

[irishsquid]

I don't see anything in the article that would indicate any contamination.

Hey Reefguy,
Sorry 'bout my post. I probably shouldn't have been so flippant. I was razzin on the comment made about; since they found the hammer they could nail the guy. I was envisioning using the evidence (hammer) to drive nails into the SOB that perpetrated the crime. My sick humor.