Identifying Patterns and Links

The eighth stage in the investigation process  is identifying patterns and links from the evidence that has been found during the previous stages. This stage usually comes quite quickly, if not straight after gathering and analysing facts, this is so that evidence that will not help the case is not sent through. If this was not the case then it would take much longer to compare and link pieces of evidence together that would have an effect on the case. Even though this stage is usually an important part of the investigation, there have been many cases where this stage has been taken completely out of the investigation process sue to only a small amount of evidence being found that clearly had no connection to each other, also some crimes do not result in multiple pieces of evidence being found which makes it very hard to find patterns and links.

OJ Simpson:

In the OJ Simpson case where Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman where found killed there where no patterns that would link the case to previous cases in that area , however, there where some pieces of evidence found that would link OJ Simpson to the crime scene. From the police records there where no other crimes in the area that where even similar to what had happened which led the police to think that it was not a serial killer or someone that had committed a crime before, they also thought this due to the mass amounts of evidence that was left behind at the scene such as the footprints that you can see to the left. Even though a lot of evidence was found thanks to some very bad forensic work a lot was contaminated which meant that it could not be used, however, the evidence that was found pointed directly to OJ Simpson, some of the main pieces of evidence used in court to link OJ to the crime was a glove which he was supposedly wearing and footprints which were both found at the crime. The wounds found on the victims (Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman) were brutal and unlike any other crime the police had seen, a lot of the wounds where from behind and self defense which made the police think it was OJ as it must have been someone in which they trusted as a stranger would not be able to get that close without either Nicole or Ron turning around.