COPPER, BENTONITE AND BRUTALITY

Two cases examined by the author demonstrate the utility of the examination of geologic materials in homicide investigations. Critical in this process was the meticulous docu-mentation of the crime scene by investigators who consulted with the author early on in their investigations and insured that thorough and complete exemplar sampling from the scene and, in one case, samples from the suspect's clothing and in the other from the suspect's vehicle. The first case discusses the investigation of 4-year old Tahisha Clay; Tahisha was abducted from her gated apartment complex and later murdered, her body dumped into a Bentonite quarry some miles distant from her residence. The questioning of the suspect during a neighborhood canvass and the seizure of his clothing as he was preparing to wash them yielded critical evidence. Follow-up investigation by the author further isolated the collected evidence from five other Bentonite quarries that were located within a 50-mile radius of the crime scene. The second case discusses the invest-tigation of the murder of an individual and the malicious wounding of his friend while parked on the shore of the Shenandoah River. The surviving victim was very hesitant to cooperate with detectives but diligent investigation by the Warren County Sheriffs Office began to develop a suspect. The suspect was under surveillance when he went to wash his vehicle and the lead detective, aware of the value of forensic geology, had the vehicle seized and examined before the suspect could remove possible evidence. Examination of soil smears and traces revealed minerals of unique composition for the region that were quite foreign to the suspect's area of residence. Coupled with the uniquely sorted river sand found on the suspect's vehicle a search of the area by the author located the source of the minerals at a nearby mine located upstream.