CSI CASE STUDY PRESENTATIONS

CASE: THERE’S BEEN A

KIDNAPPING AND RAPE

ONE

• DATE: 1ST CALL ON SATURDAY AUGUST 22, 2010

• TIME: OFFICER ARRIVED AT THE SCENE AT 11:00AM, CALLED IT IN AT 11:30AM

• PLACE: APARTMENT COMPLEX LOCATED ON MEETING ST. NEW COLUMBUS, IOWA

• INITIAL REPORT: PATROL SERGEANT SMITH- “ALL WE KNOW IS THAT THE ROOMMATE

OF THE VICTIM RETURNED TO THEIR APARTMENT THIS MORNING AND FOUND BLOOD

AND SIGNS OF A STRUGGLE THROUGHOUT THE APARTMENT. THE YOUNG WOMEN ARE

BOTH COLLEGE STUDENTS, BUT THE MISSING ONE IS A FOREIGN EXCHANGE STUDENT.

THE ROOMMATE FOUND SOME BLOOD AND A USED CONDOM IN THE APARTMENT

AND CALLED US.”

ONE

• WHAT IS THE CASE ABOUT?: A POSSIBLE SEXUAL ASSAULT

AND KIDNAPPING

• WHAT HAPPENED?: THE OFFICERS EXPLAINED THAT THE

VICTIM APPEARED TO HAVE BEEN ATTACKED IN THE

ENTRANCE OF THE APARTMENT AND ASSAULTED IN HER

BEDROOM. THEY ADDED THAT HER PURSE AND CELL PHONE

WERE FOUND ON THE LIVING ROOM FLOOR IN FRONT OF

THE COUCH. THERE WAS BLOOD ON THE FLOOR IN FRONT

OF THE BEDROOM AND A CONDOM ON THE LEFT SIDE OF

THE BED. THERE WERE ALSO A FEW DROPS OF BLOOD ON

THE FLOOR ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BED.

• WHEN DID IT HAPPEN?: 3:00AM ON AUGUST 22, 2010

• WHERE DID IT HAPPEN?: APARTMENT COMPLEX LOCATED

ON MEETING ST. NEW COLUMBUS, IOWA

ONE

• WHO WAS INVOLVED?:

• FIRST OFFICER ON SCENE- PATROL SERGEANT SMITH

• DETECTIVE

• ROOMMATE- SAMANTHA ADAMS

• VICTIM- NADIA PANTOVICH

• WITNESSES- JANET WILLIAMS, BRIAN MATILLA, FEDERICK BROWN, SHANNON

SMITH, MARIA KOSTAGONOAS

• CO-WORKERS- SHERYL FREEMAN, BILLY ROACH, VICKY THOMPSON

• 1ST SUSPECT- GARY DANIELS

• OTHER STATEMENTS- JEN ROSENBERG

• 2ND SUSPECT- ALEXANDR ROMANOV

ONE

• HOW DID IT HAPPEN?:

• PANTOVICH WENT OUT TO A CLUB ON BAY STREET ON THE NIGHT OF AUGUST 21-22 2010 AND WAS WALKING

HOME INTOXICATED AT ABOUT 3:00AM.

• ROMANOV, WHO IS A VOLUNTEER FOR STUDENT HELPING STUDENTS (THE SCHOOL’S ORGANIZATION FOR

MAKING SURE STUDENTS GET HOME SAFELY AFTER A NIGHT OUT), FOLLOWED HER HOME.

• HE APPROACHED HER AT FIRST AND SHE SAID SHE WAS FINE AND HE ASKED ABOUT HER ROOM-MATE. SHE

STATED THAT HER ROOM-MATE WAS STAYING AT HER BOYFRIENDS AND THAT’S WHEN ROMANOV SAW HIS

OPPORTUNITY. HE FELL BACK AND FOLLOWED HER HOME.

• WHEN PANTOVICH GOT TO HER DOOR, SHE FUMBLED THE KEYS BUT MANAGED TO OPEN THE DOOR. ONCE SHE OPENED IT, ROMANOV CAME UP BEHIND HER, PUSHED HER INTO THE APARTMENT, THREW HER ON HER BED,

SLAPPED HER, TOLD HER TO BE QUIET, TIED HER UP, RIPPED OFF HER CLOTHES, PUT ON A CONDOM AND RAPPED

HER. HE CLEANED UP A BIT AFTER HE WAS DONE, SHE TRIED ESCAPING, PUNCHED HIM IN THE NOSE, BUT HE

CAUGHT HER ROMANOV GRABBED A KNIFE AND TOLD PANTOVICH THAT THEY WERE GOING TO WALK TO HIS

CAR AND IF SHE MADE A NOISE HE WOULD KILL HER.

TWO

• ASSESSMENT:

• THE SCENE WASN’T REALLY COMPLEX OR EXTENSIVE. MOST OF THE NEEDED EVIDENCE WAS THERE AND

VISIBLE. A CRIME SCENE UNIT WAS NEEDED TO GATHER THE EVIDENCE TO BE SENT TO THE LAB. THERE WAS

NO RISKS AT THE SCENE.

• THE CSU CAME IN AND DECIDED WHAT THEY NEEDED TO MARK AND WHAT NEEDED TO BE COLLECTED.

• OBSERVATION:

• THERE WAS A LOT OF IDENTIFIABLE EVIDENCE AT THE SCENE;

• MAGAZINES THROWN AROUND THE LIVING ROOM

• BLOOD ON THE BEDROOM DOOR

• USED CONDOM ON THE FLOOR, SLIGHTLY UNDER THE BED

• SCARVES TIED UP TO THE POSTS IF THE BED

• BLOOD ON THE SHEET ON THE BED

• NIGHTSTAND WAS TIPPED OVER

• THE SCENE DID NOT NEED TO BE INTRUSIVELY SEARCHED AT THIS STAGE

TWO • DOCUMENTATION:

• MARKERS WERE PLACED NEXT TO THE EVIDENCE

• PHOTOGRAPH WERE TAKEN OF THE SCENE AND EVIDENCE

• FINGER PRINTS WERE FOUND/LIFTED FORM THE BEDPOST

• BLOOD SAMPLES WERE TAKEN FROM THE BEDSHEET FOR LAB ANALYSIS

• A PHOTO LOG WAS CREATED

• AN ENTRY LOG WAS CREATED

• A PROPERTY REPORT WAS CREATED

• A REGULAR REPORT WAS WRITTEN

• THE SCENE WAS DOCUMENTED CORRECTLY AND THOROUGHLY

• SEARCH:

• EACH PART OF THE APARTMENT WAS SEARCHED

• SPECIAL ATTENTION WAS FOCUSED ON THE LIVING ROOM AND VICTIM’S BEDROOM SINCE MOST EVIDENCE WAS

FOUND THERE

• MOSTLY, OBJECTS DID NOT HAVE TO BE MOVED

• THERE WAS EASY ACCESS TO EVIDENCE AT THE SCENE

TWO

• COLLECT:

• COLLECTION OF:

• APARTMENT:

• CONDOM/SEMEN

• BLOOD

• FINGERPRINTS

• CAR:

• GOLD CROSS NECKLACE

• FINGERPRINTS

• HAIRS/FIBERS

• CAR WASH RECEIPT

• STRONG EVIDENCE FOR TESTING

Analyze/Process:

N/A

THREE

• WHAT PHYSICAL EVIDENCE WAS LOCATED AT THE SCENE AND WHAT IS THE INTERPRETIVE VALUE?:

• BLOOD- THERE WAS WAS PHYSICAL HARM AND/OR FIGHTING

• SEMEN- A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER TOOK PLACE

• CONDOM- A SEXUAL ENCOUNTER WAS ATTEMPTED/HAPPENED

• FINGER PRINTS- PUTS SOMEONE AT THE SCENE

• GOLD CROSS NECKLACE- PUTS SOMEONE AT THE SCENE

• CARWASH RECEIPT- SHOWS ROMANOV TRIED TO CLEAN UP HIS TRACKS

• CELL PHONE- SHOWS PANTOVICH UNWILLINGLY LEFT

• PURSE- SHOWS PANTOVICH UNWILLINGLY LEFT

• THROWN MAGAZINES- SIGNS OF STRUGGLE

• HAIRS- PUTS SOMEONE AT THE SCENE

THREE • MAJOR PHYSICAL EVIDENCE DISCOVERED:

• FINGERPRINTS

• SEMEN

• BLOOD

• WAS IT ACCURATELY DOCUMENTED AND IDENTIFIED?

• YES

• A SEARCH WARRANT WAS ALSO OBTAINED

• EVERYTHING WAS DOCUMENTED

• WHAT FURTHER EXAMINATIONS/ANALYSES COULD BE PERFORMED?

• NONE

• DID ANY EVIDENCE LEAD TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF A SUSPECT?:

• YES, FINGERPRINTS AT THE SCENE MATCHED THOSE OF ROMANOV.

FOUR

• IS IT POSSIBLE NOT ALL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE WAS

COLLECTED/PROCESSED?

• POSSIBLY, BUT THE EVIDENCE THAT WAS COLLECTED

AND PROCESSED WAS ENOUGH FOR A HIT.

• CREATE A LIST OF ADDITIONAL PHYSICAL EVIDENCE YOU

BELIEVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN COLLECTED AND WHAT TYPE OF

SCIENTIFIC TESTING YOU WOULD REQUEST FROM THE CRIME

LAB:

• PURSE

• COULD HAVE A CELL PHONE; CALLS OR TEXTS

• ANY RECEIPTS FROM THE NIGHT SHE WENT MISSING

TO SHOW WHERE SHE WAS

• RIPPED CLOTHING FOR DNA

FIVE

• YOU ARE NOW ASSUMING THE ROLE OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY. REVIEW THE CASE

AS IF YOU ARE REPRESENTING ONE OF THE DEFENDANTS.

• DID YOU DETECT ANY DEFICIENCIES IN THE INVESTIGATION?:

• STUDENT’S HELPING STUDENTS

• WHEN TAKING ROMANOV IN FOR QUESTIONING, THE OFFICERS LEFT HIM IN A

ROOM A ALONE FOR AN HOUR

• WHAT COULD BE DONE IN THIS INVESTIGATION TO ELIMINATE THESE

DEFICIENCIES?

• GET THE SCHOOL INVOLVED SINCE IT IS THEIR PROGRAM

• BRING UP THE POINT THAT IT IS NOT FAIR TO MAKE HIM SIT ANXIOUSLY. HE

COULD CONFESS DUE TO NERVES.

SIX

• WHAT STEPS WERE TAKEN THAT LED TO THE RESOLUTION OF THIS INVESTIGATION?:

• TALKING WITH DIFFERENT WITNESSES GAVE TWO GREAT LEADS

• THE COLLECTION OF DNA FROM THE SCENE LED TO THE RESOLUTION

• HOW WAS IT RESOLVED? IF THE CASE IS UNSOLVED, WHAT SUGGESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR

FOLLOW-UP?:

• THE CASE SHOWS THAT ROMANOV WAS THE ONE WHO RAPPED AND KIDNAPPED

PANTOVICH, BUT WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHERE SHE IS. WE KNOW THAT HE DROVE HER

TO A HESS GAS STATION IN HARDEENVILLE, SC AND HANDED HER OFF TO TRANSPORTERS,

BUT HER WHEREABOUTS AFTER THAT ARE UNKNOWN.

• WE ALSO DO NOT KNOW WHAT GROUP ROMANOV IS WORKING FOR. DOMESTIC?

INTERNATIONAL?