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Have you ever seen that show, The First 48?

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It's a true crime series that first aired in 2004 and has covered over 450 violent crime

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cases since its debut.

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The premise is in the title, which is that the first 48 hours after a violent crime occurs

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is the most critical and stands a better chance of solving the case if investigators get enough

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leads through their own efforts, plus from the help of police officers, eyewitnesses,

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and the general public.

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According to the New York Times, it frequently takes more than 48 hours to even produce viable

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leads.

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What really helps to solve these crimes is to dedicate more manpower and investigative

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hours to do so, which is not always easy to do.

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Realistically, we know that resources are not always readily available.

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In fact, Chicago, Illinois, which currently holds one of the highest crime rates in America,

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only clears 14% of murder cases within those first 48 hours.

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By clearance, I mean that investigators were successful in gathering enough evidence to

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make an arrest.

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This is just one example of how agencies are challenged with gathering evidence and putting

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the puzzle pieces together in the first 48.

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Hi everyone, this is Deb from Dying to be Found.

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Before we get started, I just wanted to say that episodes contain disturbing discussions

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on harmful acts and crimes against animals and or humankind.

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Discussions are not intended for young or sensitive audiences due to the content nature

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of this podcast.

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Listener discretion is strongly advised.

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Hi everyone, this is Deb, your host from the True Crime Podcast, Dying to be Found.

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Welcome to DB2F's mini episode series called Dying to be Found The Dash where I bring you

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short stories on true crime events.

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Sometimes I go solo and sometimes I talk with fellow true crime podcasters or enthusiasts.

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Things are getting a little busy around here and if you're listening to this episode,

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you know that I've created a second podcast.

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Be sure to search for Dying to be Found The Dash wherever you get your podcasts where

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I'll bring you short stories.

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You all know I like to tell stories, so be sure to DM me and let me know what you think.

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Let's talk about a couple of past vs present crimes and how investigative methods occurred.

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In days past, in contrast to how they are investigated today, I mentioned that the first

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48 hours is critical, but we'll get back to that in just a moment.

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While I was researching this episode, I found some additional information that is equally

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important when it comes to solving crimes.

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That brings us to solving bomb threats.

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If you listened to episode 59, The Brian Wells Story on the Dying to be Found podcast, you

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know bomb threats are uber time sensitive.

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Back in the day, bomb squad teams were alerted, travel time to the scene would add to the

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critical time factors, and assessments had to be made.

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In Brian's case, the bomb was locked around his neck.

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Let's just say that these types of bombs don't always work out in everyone's favor.

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Fast forward to modern times, technology is used in various ways that cuts through some

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of the time critical factors.

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Robots come along for the ride with the bomb squad.

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They're deployed close to the threat and take pictures that can be uploaded for further

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analysis.

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But what if the bomb threat is called in, say, in a busy city high rise or even a school?

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Companies now use software programs similar to Google Maps to grid a city block and quickly

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locate the coordinates where the bomb threat was issued.

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They can also access digital floor plans to access bomb locations and conditions, plus

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evacuate buildings quickly and efficiently.

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So let's get back to the violent crimes that I talked about at the very beginning of this

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episode.

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According to the Marshall Project, violent crimes fall under various categories, including

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homicide, manslaughter, rape, assault, and robbery.

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Remember now, the first 48 hours of a violent crime taking place are the most critical in

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clearing a suspect.

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Clearance just means that a suspect is identified, but further investigations must take place

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to determine if charges can even be filed.

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Specifically, cleared murder related cases were at their lowest in 1997 and have not

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dropped in that low ever since.

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As of 2020, however, the national homicide clearance rates did drop, but this has contributed

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to the many restrictions we experienced during the height of the COVID pandemic.

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There are still ongoing challenges associated with violent crimes.

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On the whole, murder cases are becoming increasingly difficult to investigate because the rate of

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strangers committing these crimes is on the rise.

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Whereas in decades past, a lot of these incidents occurred by someone we know.

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Violent crimes involving firearms are the most difficult to solve due to the fact that

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guns are used more frequently during the act of a felony where the perpetrator and victim

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do not typically know each other.

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On the other hand, stabbings are 39% more likely to be solved within that 48 hour mark

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because many times these incidents occur during a heated argument and are not fully planned

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out.

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And this usually means that it's a crime of passion, if you will.

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What this really boils down to is that investigators usually have to go back to the drawing board.

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Modern technology and DNA advancements do help to bring a fresh approach to new and

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cold cases, but it still takes well over 48 hours to collect evidence.

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Investigators sometimes have to sift through decades old evidence, if there is any, to

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conduct forensic testing and DNA analysis.

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We've all heard that fresh eyes help to solve cold cases, and there's definitely some truth

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to this.

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However, it's just not that simple.

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Local agencies face ongoing staffing shortages to investigate cold cases because we know

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newer cases usually take priority.

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Agencies also have hurdles to jump through when attempting to reopen cold cases.

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Ultimately, they're responsible for collecting enough evidence to convince lawmakers and

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other agencies that a cold case should be reopened and has a chance of being solved

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this go round.

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I came across an absolutely fascinating story of a forensic scientist by the name of Dr.

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Angela Gallup.

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Dr. Gallup is also known as the Queen of Forensics because she has solved crimes that nobody

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else could.

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In 1982, a man was discovered hanging from a bridge in central London, England.

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This death was ruled a suicide, but family members did not accept this as the case.

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Nine years later, they asked Dr. Gallup to review the case, and boy did she.

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Dr. Gallup took a look at the evidence, reconstructed the scene in her own backyard, convinced her

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husband, who was about the same size and build as the deceased man, to reenact the steps

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that the man would have taken to his death, and came to the conclusion that this was,

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in fact, a homicide.

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In 1999, Dr. Gallup successfully provided evidence in a decade-old case where three

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men had been wrongly accused of stabbing a sex worker to death and they were sentenced

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to life in prison.

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Dr. Gallup was asked to work on this case and identified a tiny, and I mean minuscule,

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speck of blood inside the plastic wrapping that cellophane that cigarette packages have

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around them.

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This helped to prove that the men were not involved in this crime, and they were set

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free.

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Among several other forensic cases Dr. Gallup has helped to solve, the most notorious is

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likely the case of Princess Diana.

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Dr. Gallup was asked to take part in this investigation to eliminate conspiracy theories

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surrounding Princess Diana's death.

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Alright, so we're going to switch gears.

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Let's take another right-hand turn here.

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Albeit controversial, there is one method that is becoming increasingly popular when

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solving violent crimes, and this is to access public databases.

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Some agencies argue that these sites invade individual privacy laws.

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However, some sites allow you to check a box that say you give permission to add your DNA

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to a database to help identify potential suspects in violent crimes.

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One example is how public DNA databases have helped to solve high-profile crimes such as

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Joseph James DeAngelo, commonly known as the Golden State Killer.

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DeAngelo went on a crime spree between 1974 and 1986, and his identity was not discovered

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until 2018 when a distant relative had submitted to one of those genealogy websites.

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Alright, you all, one more last right-hand turn.

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If you're listening to this podcast, you obviously have a healthy obsession with true

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crime.

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I get it.

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There are tons of careers out there in forensics.

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If you're currently trying to figure out what to do with your life, there are jobs where

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the occupational outlook is quite high.

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I already mentioned that manpower is tested in numerous agencies.

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Looking into these careers not only helps our communities, but will give you a sense

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of reward when helping to solve crimes.

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According to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, firearms are used in 70% of murder cases in

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the United States.

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As a ballistics expert, you can help process crime scenes by performing a forensic analysis

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on evidence related to a firearm and start with an average salary of $50,000 US dollars

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per year.

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If you have the stomach for it, blood spatter analysts start off by making around $42,000

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US dollars per year, you'll examine evidence on-site, collect trace evidence, take photographs,

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and perform simulations like you see on that show Dexter.

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If you serve as an eyewitness during a trial, your earning potential can go as high as $160,000

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US dollars per year.

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If you're like me, you kind of dig working with technology, but you won't always be working

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with crime agencies.

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More industries like healthcare, financial institutions, account, and law firms would

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love to hire you at $89,000 US dollars per year as a computer forensics expert.

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Your typical day will consist of monitoring hacking activities and protecting data from

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security breaches.

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You'll need a forensic degree and have working knowledge of information technology systems.

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Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are ready to hire you as a crime lab analyst.

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You'll analyze all that evidence brought to you from the crime scene.

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You get to put together all of your findings into a report that will later be used in a

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court of law.

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Crime scene analysts earn around $56,000 US dollars per year if you have a chemistry

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or forensic science degree.

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There are also a ton of jobs to be found where you will process crime scenes such as being

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that photographer, a forensic artist, and an investigator.

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Opportunities are endless.

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So if you are interested in pursuing a career in any of these positions that I mentioned,

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look at your local colleges and universities to see what programs are available.

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Many times employers will help out with tuition, so give it a shot.

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Well that's the story of how crimes get solved.

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We know that the first 48 hours are very critical, but not always conducive to clearing a case.

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There is a plethora of reasons why law enforcement agencies run into roadblocks.

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Manpower is low, witnesses need to be located, but this does not mean that criminal cases

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should get shelved and forgotten.

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It just takes time to investigate.

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You know what that means eh?

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If you are at a crossroads in your career, consider looking into some of those jobs I

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listed.

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There is a cool website out there called Occupational Outlook Handbook, which I'll add to my show

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notes.

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This website is sponsored by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and is a great way to

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search for careers through forecasted growth over the next 10 years.

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Plan out your future guys.

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So there you have it.

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Be sure to give me a shout on Instagram at Dying to be Found and let me know what you

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think of today's episode or if you have a storyline that you would like to hear specifically

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on Dying to be Found the Dash.

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You can always let me know how we're doing right now by clicking that follow button and

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please rate this podcast because it really does help with visibility in the rankings.

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If you're a True Crime podcaster or work in the True Crime industry and want to be featured

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on Dying to be Found the Dash, send me your email and I'll send you information on how

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to get on one of our future episodes.

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Remember the more people I interview, the less you have to listen to me.

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Talk to you soon.

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Thanks for listening to Dying to be Found True Crime podcast and our Dash mini series.

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Every week we'll bring you a variety of True Crime episodes, a little dash of hope plus

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special bonus episodes with some really cool guests.

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Before we go, we'd love for you to share this podcast with your friends and give us a five

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star review.

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Follow us on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest at Dying to be Found or visit

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our website at Dying to be Found dot com spelled just like you see it in our logo.

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Better yet, click on our Linktree account found in the show notes where you'll find

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all the information in one place.

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Be sure to dash in every Wednesday for our mini episodes plus every Thursday when I get

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together with some of my family members.

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Thanks again everyone and we'll talk to you soon.