Question
Assume the role of detective with the Metropolis Police Department. You have been assigned the review of Case no. 10102020-1, The death of Kristin Marie
Assume the role of detective with the Metropolis Police Department. You have been assigned the review of Case no. 10102020-1, The death of Kristin Marie Smith (a 4 year-old female). Here are your instructions: ?1.) Assume that the events related in Detective H.W. Larue's initial supplemental report occurred two days ago and the autopsy was performed yesterday. ?2.) Utilizing all the information contained in these reports and any other applicable course materials, you are to create a recommendation to the Metropolis Prosecuting Attorney regarding the disposition of the case. Based on your review of the case reports and the applicable Missouri statutes (i.e., homicide and crimes against children statutes) you will either recommend one or more charges (specifically what statute(s) and against whom) or, that the elements of a crime are not met and recommend no charges. Your memo must include a detailed explanation of the specific facts that support your recommendation.
Report Type: Supplemental Case No: 10102020-1 Date: 10/11/2020 On October 11, 2020, at 0900 hours, I attended and observed the autopsy of the decedent, Kristin Marie Smith (white female, 3 years of ageDOB: 06-05-2017) performed at the Metropolis City Morgue located at 400 N. 10t Street, Metropolis, Missouri by Medical Examiner Mitchell Stephens, M.D. Dr. Stephens concluded that the cause of death was choking due to a plastic piece ofa toy which became lodged in the child's airway. Dr. Stephens noted the bruising around the decedents mouth and left cheek and that the pattern indicated that she had either fallen with an object in her mouth or upon an object. It was determined not to be consistent with an injury caused by being struck. In addition, I observed that the pattern pointed out by Dr. Stephens appeared to be a rectangular shape consistent with the rail on the decedent's bed in the room where the body was located. Dr. Stephens noted that the injuries were likely sustained during the choking incident as the victims commonly thrash or by first falling with the object in her mouth thereby causing it to become lodged in her throat. Dr. Stephens located the plastic toy piece, which is a red in color plastic tongue and appears to be a piece from a \"Mr. Potato Head\" toy, in the decedents airway as he examined and dissected it first noting significant bruising to the airway. The rest of the physical autopsy of the decedent's body was unremarkable. Although he noted no physical indication of sexual abuse, Dr. Stephens completed a sexual assault examination of the decedent's body utilizing a KBI Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit as a measure of thorough investigation. Dr. Stephens assistant, Lee Parker, packaged the decedent's clothing articles, the plastic toy piece located in the decedent's airway, and the bags which were placed over the decedent's hands at the scene for possible evidence preservation, and signed said items over to the reporting detective. I transported the aforementioned items collected as evidence to the Metropolis Police Department where I logged and labeled the items and secured them in the department's evidence room. The reporting detective photographed the aforementioned findings during the autopsy and placed them on a disc which will be placed in the case file. det. H.W. Larue, MPD #128 Report Type: Supplemental Case No: 10102020-1 Offense(s): Suspicious Death [Death Investigation] Victim(s): Smith, Kristin Marie Date: 10/10/2020 On 10/10/2020 at approximately 0715 hours I (Detective H.W. Larue, MPD #128) was contacted via telephone by Officer Joseph Watson of the Metropolis Police Department (MPD #1225) who requested I respond to 1010 S. 50t St., Metropolis to investigate a suspicious death of a three- year-old female. I responded, arrived on scene at approximately 0725 hours, and made contact with Officer Watson in the living room of the residence where he was keeping a crime scene log as well as speaking with two subjects identified as David Raymond Smith (DOB: 05-26-1980) and Sarah Beth Davis (DOB: 02-03-1992), biological father and step-mother of the decedent who was identified as Kristin Marie Smith (DOB: 06-05-2017). I also observed that Sarah was holding an infant who was identified as Elizabeth Kaylee Smith (DOB: 07-20-2020), the biological daughter of David and Sarah. Officer Watson directed me upstairs to the north east most bedroom where the decedent's body was located and where I met with Officer Mosley (MPD #521) who had kept the second floor secure. Upon approaching the northeast bedroom, which had been identified as belonging to the decedent, I observed a hook style lock on the outside of the bedroom door. Upon entering the bedroom, I observed the decedent's body on the floor in approximately the center of the room, positioned on her back with a blanket and a sheet waded on the floor to the right side of her body, and a throw rug under the lower half of her body. I observed two stuffed animals lying on the floor in close proximity to her body, but otherwise the room was minimally furnished (a juvenile bed, a dresser, and a toy box), and notably clean and organized. I observed bruising around the decedent's mouth and left cheek, but no other noticeable trauma. I noted lividity was present on the left side of the decedent's face and the posterior surfaces of her body, and that rigor mortis was present in her extremities. I instructed Officer Mosley to request a police chaplain respond to assist with the family and to continue to secure the second floor while awaiting the coroner's arrival. MPD Chaplain Christopher arrived, spoke with David and Sarah regarding relatives in the area where they could temporarily relocate to, and went to make notifications and arrangements for them. I conducted an interview with David and Sarah individually regarding the decedent's medical history, recent health and activity, and a detailed account of the events of the previous 24 hours. According to both David and Sarah, the decedent had no history of any significant medical conditions except for a very short-term condition at the approximate age of six months which necessitated breathing treatments. They each responded in the negative when I asked if Kristin had ever had seizures, had been diagnosed with any other medical conditions what so ever, or had ever had any serious injuries. I asked each about history of any injuries, even the most minor, and they told me that she had only had bumps and bruises from falls typical of a toddler. According to both David and Sarah, Kristin's level of activity and appetite was normal for that of a 3-year-old and they had noticed no Page 1 and going downstairs at night. David and Sarah both provided me with a detailed account of the events of the previous 24-hour period. According to David, he arose at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Friday 10-09-2020 with Elizabeth (the infant), took her downstairs, changed her, got breakfast ready for her and Kristin, then brought Kristin downstairs to eat breakfast while he fed Elizabeth. He told me that he noted that Kristin's lower lip looked a little swollen and he located what appeared to be a small cut on the inside. David said that he asked Kristin how she hurt her lip and that she only could respond that she got a \"boo boo\" due to her speech issue. According to David, Kristin played and watched TV normally between breakfast and lunch then took a nap after lunch at approximately 1:00 p.m. as usual. David told me that after her nap Kristin played and watched TV until dinner, that she ate hot dogs and corn for dinner, and that she played and watched TV again until she had a bed time snack of grapes and went to bed at 8:00 p.m. per their normal schedule. According to David, Kristin acted normally all day and did not complain of any illness nor appear to be ill. I asked David when the last time he knew for certain that Kristin was active and he told me that at approximately 10:00 p.m. the night before (Friday, 10/09/2020) he and Sarah were sitting on the couch downstairs in the living room and heard noise coming from Kristin's bedroom that sounded like she was out of bed running around. According to David, he went upstairs and told Kristin to stay in bed and stop playing. David said that they watched TV downstairs until approximately midnight then went to bed where they remained until the next morning with no further contact with the children. David said that Sarah woke him up at approximately 0700 this moming and told him there was something wrong with Kristin. He said he found Kristin cold to the touch and unresponsive and had Sarah call 911. I asked David about the position of Kristin's body and he told me she had not been moved except for the repositioning of her head when he attempted CPR. He said her head had originally been turned to the left. Sarah's version of the previous day's events (10/09/2020) did not differ from David's account except for that evening. According to Sarah, she and David heard Kristin making a lot of noise, including a loud thump as if she was jumping off the bed at about 10:00 while they were watching TV, and that David yelled at Kristin from the living room to \"knock it off,\" after which the bottom of her as told me that she arose approximately 6:50 a.m. today's date and that she brought thy heard no further noise. According to Sarah, at approximately 0650 this morning (today's date), she got up and brought the infant downstairs, changed her, and prepared breakfast for the children. Sarah said she went upstairs to get Kristin and that she discovered her lying on the bedroom floor and was cold to the touch and unresponsive. She said she ran to the master bedroom and yelled to David that there was something wrong with Kristin. She said that David jumped out of bed, ran into Kristin's room and when he found her to be cold and not breathing, he told her to call 911. According to Sarah, they tried to perform CPR per the 911 dispatcher's instructions over the phone until Officer Mosely arrived. I asked Sarah about the position of Kristin's body and she told me that Kristin had not been moved from the location in which she was found except for repositioning her head for CPR. She could not recall the original position of Kristin's head. Metropolis County Coroner Dr. Byron Hamond arrived, examined the body of the decedent, interviewed David and Sarah, and contacted the Metropolis City Morgue for autopsy and transportation arrangements. MPD Chaplain Christopher returned and escorted David, Sarah, Elizabeth, and the family dog to Sarah's mother's residence located at 300 N. Braxton Dr., Metropolis. I instructed Officer Watson to conduct a safety sweep of the residence then secure it. After doing so I Page 3 instructed Officer Watson to return to his patrol duties and Officer Mosely to provide scene security while I applied for and obtained a search warrant for the premises and vehicles. 1 executed a search warrant at 1000 hours on 10/10/2020 assisted by Detective J.A. Landry, Officer K.B. Cooper, and Officer Mosely. Detective Landry and I began with photographing both the exterior and interior of the Page 4 premises. I assigned Officer Cooper to scene security duties and maintaining the crime scene log and assigned Officer Mosely to canvassing the neighborhood after taking measurements and preparing a detailed diagram of the location of the decedent's body. I advised Metropolis County Communications to contact Metropolis City Morgue and advise them that we were ready to have the decedent's body removed and they arrived and did so at approximately 1235 hours. During the search we located and seized a Compagq laptop computer with the battery and hard drive removed, a Hewlett Packard desk top computer tower and a Microsoft flash drive (which was inserted in one of the computer's USB ports), and a computer hard drive. I concluded the execution of the search warrant at 1703 hours and turned over the premises to the residents David and Sarah who were present. INVESTIGATION CONTINUES Det. H.W. Larue, MPD #128 Page 5Step by Step Solution
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