THE SCENARIO

The scene is a first-floor apartment. The deceased person is located in apartment 1C.  

As you walk toward the apartment, you notice there are a series of red stains in the shape of shoe impressions on the sidewalk. These shoe impressions appear to contain class characteristics and you suspect they are composed of blood. There are four shoe prints present, all seem to be from the right foot and appear to have been made from the same shoe. The impressions lead from the front door and disappear into the grass. You see a large knife in the bushes.

Inside the small one-bedroom apartment, the living room is in a state of disarray.  

As you stand in the doorway which is located along the south wall, to the left (west) is a galley-style kitchen which is about five feet deep and six feet wide, with a refrigerator, stove, and microwave. Counters surround three walls of the kitchen with the refrigerator along the south wall, a double sink along the west wall of the kitchen, and the stove with the microwave mounted above it, along the north wall of the kitchen. There is what looks to be standard kitchen equipment present randomly placed on the counters. 

To the right (east) of the doorway along the south wall is a large living/dining room. The living room is about 15 feet by 15 feet. Directly adjacent to the doorway on the east side is a brown leather recliner. The recliner sits at an angle, facing the east wall. On the east side of the recliner is a brass color floor lamp. Next to the lamp is a brown wooden end table with a candy dish on it.

There are heavy green drapes that go from floor to ceiling and cover the entire east wall. The drapes are pulled closed. There is a large, about 80-inch television in the approximate center of the east wall next to the picture window and about six inches out from the east wall. There is a Philips brand clock radio sitting in the approximate center of the top of the television. In the southeast corner of the room on the floor is a gold color frame with broken glass. The frame holds an 8×10 inch photograph of a woman (apparently the deceased). The glass is broken and both the frame and the glass shards that remain in the frame are bloodied and appear to have bloody fingerprints on them. On the back of the photograph is “Jim and Caroline in Cabo.” 

Along the north wall of the living room is a brown leather couch, made of similar material as the recliner. On both ends of the couch are brown wooden end tables, each with a table lamp atop them. There is a deceased woman lying on the couch. The woman, who appears to be a slender blonde-haired Caucasian in her mid-twenties, is clothed in a pair of gray sweat shorts and a crop top gray sweatshirt. Her hair is in a “ponytail” and appears to be shoulder length. Her appearance is unremarkable. She is wearing a minor amount of facial makeup. There are no apparent injuries to the facial area. The woman is barefoot. Visible on the woman’s chest, just below the bottom edge of the crop top sweatshirt are three apparent stab wounds. There is a large amount of blood on the woman’s chest, and blood has pooled on the couch cushions.

Visible on the wall behind the couch are three separate apparent blood “trails” which appear to be cast-off patterns.

About one foot, six inches in front of and centered directly in front of the couch is a glass top coffee table, about four feet long. There are two clear glass “rocks” glasses on the table. Both glasses are partially full and contain an amber liquid. The liquid smells like beer. On the coffee table is a piece of paper, which appears to be an unfolded letter. The writing on the letter states in part: 

“Dearest Jim, 

Although you will always be my first love…. I have found someone else who understands my needs… 

Always, Caroline”

There are several bloody footwear imprints (similar to those found outside) leading from the couch to the front door.

A cursory review of the remainder of the apartment, which consists of a bedroom and a full bathroom, reveals no other items of interest.