Update - Volume 13, Number 1, 2000

Tips for Investigating Child Fatalities

by Devon Lee, James May, Erin O'Keefe1

According to an annual survey of vital statistics published in Pediatrics, homicide is the third leading cause of death of children between the ages of one and four in the United States.²  Because of the sensitive nature of child deaths, the desire to avoid upsetting grieving parents, and misleading stereotypes about what abusers look like, these cases present unique challenges to investigators.   This Update offers some tips on interviewing, gathering evidence, and creating a timeline to help investigators conduct a solid investigation.

Identify Your Witness

Although children often have minimal interaction with the world outside of their families, investigators need to consider a wide range of potential witnesses.  False notions of the ideal family, the abusive family and typical abuse scenarios may cause something important or out of the ordinary to be missed.³  Identify and interview every possible witness.  Certain essential questions will help focus the investigation:  How was the child brought to the attention of medical personnel?   who was called to the scene?  Where was the child taken for attempted revival?   Who was caring for the child?

When possible, first interview the medical professionals who dealt with the child.   Treating physicians may have general knowledge about the nature and likely cause of the child's injuries that will help direct the investigation.  In addition, information provided by emergency personnel can be critical in distinguishing a child homicide from an accidental or natural death.    Speak with anyone who had contact with the victim or the victim's family or caretakers, including any hospital reception people, nurses, ambulance driver, EMTs, firefighters, 911 dispatchers, and responding patrol officers.  These individuals may have heard statements or observed conditions that can be used to develop a history independent of the one received from the caretakers.  Ideally, investigators can use the background information acquired from the emergency personnel in conducting interviews with any parents, caretakers or witnesses who were present around the time of the incident.

In the next round of interviews speak with everyone who recently saw the victim or who knew the victim well, including the parents, the caretakers, siblings, grandparents, neighbors, and others who were at the scene.⁴  Do not forget to include young children, particularly about traumatic events.  Arrange to have young children interviewed by a trained forensic interviewer.⁵

Other witnesses may be helpful in providing background information on the family.  Be thorough in your inquiry.   Do not forget to include neighbors, people in the local market, the victim's teacher, and the family's insurance agent, as any of these individuals could provide valuable information.

Freeze and Seize

The crime scene in a child fatality case may be very different from that of an adult victim.  Dead children (regardless of cause of death) are often moved from where they were found and the scene is often cleaned or otherwise contaminated by the parents/caretakers or emergency medical personnel.  It is therefore essential to preserve the original crime scene and search it as soon as possible.  Note that there is no crime scene exception to the 4th amendment, so investigators should obtain either a warrant or consent to search the scene.⁶ Investigators should be aware of the caretakers' explanation for the child's injuries before engaging in a comprehensive search.  It is important to keep in mind that items that appear to be irrelevant at the outset of an investigation could prove to be essential evidence as the investigation progresses.  The following list of suggestions is not exhaustive, but offers some general evidence gathering tips that may be  useful when investigating a child fatality.  Investigators should tailor this list to fit the facts of the case.   Investigators should also consider developing a child death review protocol⁷ and using a child fatality checklist.⁸

• Photograph and videotape the entire house.  In addition, take measurements for a scaled floor plan.⁹
• Videotape the parent(s)/caretaker(s) demonstrating what happened to the child.  Be as precise as possible using the scene and a doll (similar in size to the child).¹⁰
• Seize the instrumentality of death (e.g., child allegedly fell from a car seat, high chair or baby swing).  If it is not possible to seize the items involved, the items should be listed, described by color, make and model, measured for size, shape, and their spatial relationship to other objects in the room.  The items should also be photographed from several different angles and videotaped in such a way as to "capture" the items' exact placement within the room.
• Obtain the clothes and diaper/underwear that the child was wearing when the incident occurred - investigators should coordinate with EMT and emergency room personnel in order to preserve this potentially valuable evidence.¹¹
• Collect the clothes that the caretakers were wearing; they may be useful particularly if the child was bleeding, vomiting or frothing at the mouth.
• Collect the child's bedding.
• If the caretakers claim the child fell, photograph, videotape, and measure the area where the fall allegedly occurred.   Describe in detail the surface onto which the child fell (carpet, pad, linoleum, concrete) and, if possible, take a sample or cross-section (i.e. carpet and pad).
• Seize used bottle and food containers; they may help establish when the child last ate. If appropriate, note the lack of these items and the lack of appropriate food for the child.
• Document the names and manufacturers of all poisons and medicines in the house.  Check under the sink in the kitchen and bathrooms and in the medicine cabinets.
• Search laundry hampers, trash, diaper pails, and the yard for items that may have been thrown away, such as bloody or stained/soiled clothing, etc.
• Check the walls, and corners of furniture for evidence of impact, blood, hair and skin.  If possible, seize any time in the house that contains this type of evidence.
• Collect home videos/pictures of the child that may provide a record of past injuries or evidence of how the child appeared when healthy.  Recent video may also help establish the developmental level and ability of the child or children in the house.  in the alternative, note any lack of photographs/videos of a particular child or children in the home.
• Collect all medical data that relates to the children in the home and collect any insurance information.
• Look for signs of stress or triggers that might have resulted in the attack on the child, e.g., soiled pants, spilled food, or evidence of financial or marital trouble.
• Look at the home as a whole for evidence of a staged crime scene, evidence of neglect, evidence of appropriate caretaking (baby-gates, outlet covers), and age-appropriate toys and clothes.

Create a Timeline/Analyze the Data

A carefully constructed timeline of the child's last hours, days, or even short lifetime can be very helpful in determining what happened to the child.  A timeline can, for example, help determine whether the caretakers delayed in bringing an extremely ill child to the hospital, or ignore a clearly life-threatening situation.  Such a delay in seeking medical attention can be used to prove intent or as an aggravating factor in a criminal prosecution.  A timeline can also help determine whether the defendant's explanation for the injuries to the child makes sense or is truthful.  Caretakers may explain that the child was acting normally all day, suffered no falls or trauma, was put to bed, and suddenly stopped breathing or began to have seizures.  A timeline can also help establish when injuries occurred if the parents offer no reasonable explanation.  Often, abusive caretakers will alter or add to their stories over time, changing their explanations to account for medical issues.  When confronted with the extent of the injuries and a comprehensive timeline (which includes details provided by other witnesses), the caretaker may suddenly "remember" that the baby fell off the couch, or that a sibling was playing rough with the victim.

The key to the timeline is to establish when and where the child was last known to be alive or healthy.  Speak individually with everyone who saw the child in the last 24-72 hours and have each witness describe the victim's last day or days.  Determining when the child received the fatal injuries is important if the child has had more than one caretaker or if a caretaker's story contains discrepancies.  Pinpointing when the child became symptomatic can help establish when the child was injured.  In cases of severe head trauma, for example, symptoms such as vomiting and seizing often manifest themselves within a very short time frame.¹² If the caretakers' story is that the baby fell three days ago and then suddenly became non-responsive, an investigator should be suspicious. 

When interviewing the caretaker(s) and other witnesses, the following questions may be helpful in creating the timeline:

• When did the caretaker first notice something was wrong?  What was wrong?
• When was the last time someone other than the caretaker saw the child play, make eye contact, smile or engage in other age appropriate behavior?  Who were the witnesses - neighbors, friends, or family?
• When did the child last eat and drink?  Did the child eat and drink the usual amount?  When was the child's last bowel movement?  Was it normal?
• How did the child normally act?   Was the child being particularly fussy or was the child ill recently?
• If medical personnel were called to the home, when did this happen?   Who called them?  What did the caretaker say was wrong with the child?
• If the child was brought to the hospital, what time was the child admitted?  What was the condition of the child at that time?  Who brought the child to the hospital/doctor?
• What was the condition of the child when it first received medical attention?
• What were the caretakers' schedules?   Who was home when the child showed symptoms?  Was this the family's normal routine? 
• Were there other children in the home?   Did they witness anything?
• What medical records are available?   When and why have doctors seen this child in the past, either for routine or emergency care?
• Was life insurance coverage changed or issued for the child recently?
• What has been happening in the family that might cause extra stress?
• Carefully collecting and organizing information about the child's death can help investigators determine what happened to the child, when the fatal injury occurred, and who was responsible.  Although time consuming, a thorough investigation is essential to achieve justice for victims of fatal child abuse.

¹ Staff Attorneys, APRI's National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse.

² Bernard Guyer, et. al., Annual Summary of Vital Statistics-1998, 104 PEDIATRICS 1229, 1242 (1999).

³ See Carole Jenny et. al, Analysis of Missed Cases of Abusive Head Trauma, 281 J. AM. MEDICAL ASSOC. 621 (1999) (finding that abusive head trauma was more likely to be missed in cases of young white children from intact families).

⁴ It is important to keep in mind that in many instances the caretakers may have been interviewed by medical professionals prior to the investigative interview.  In some jurisdictions trained medical professionals conduct a preliminary interview of the caretakers, a strategy that can have investigative advantages.  If this is not the case in your jurisdiction, make sure that you know what the caretakers were told about their child's injuries before you conduct your interview.  For a review of how medical professionals can handle child abuse cases without jeopardizing criminal investigations, see CHALLENGES OF SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME (Maxishare Corp. 1998) (training video, which can be used by law enforcement, prosecutors, and other child abuse professionals to become aware of the dynamics involved in the assessment of potential shaken baby cases and the different issues that confront prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and physicians in the investigation of these cases).  This video is available from Maxishare at 1-800-44-7747 or www.maxishare.com.

⁵ APRI's National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse, in collaboration with CornerHouse, offers Finding Words, an intensive forensic interviewing course.  For more information on Finding Words, please contact the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse.

⁶ For an excellent discussion of warrantless crime scene searches, see Mark Hutchins, Crime Scene Searches, THE PROSECUTOR, Nov./Dec. 1999, at 25.

⁷ Sample child death review team protocols are available from the Center.

⁸ See American Prosecutors Research Institute, INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF CHILD ABUSE 158-172 (2nd ed. 1993).

⁹ Mike Vendola, Scene Investigation and Suspected SBS Incidents, NATIONAL INFORMATION, SUPPORT AND REFERRAL SERVICE ON SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME, Summer 1998, at 6.

¹⁰ A video record of the parents'/caretakers' explanation(s) for how the child was injured is useful to highlight improbabilities and inconsistencies and to lock parents into stories.   For example, if the parent/caretaker claims that he or she found the child not breathing, and then shook the child to revive, have the parent/caretaker demonstrate on videotape how long, how hard and in what position he or she shook the child.  Ask questions during the video to clarify what exactly the parent/caretaker is demonstrating.

¹¹ See David Bigbee, Physical Evidence in Child Abuse Cases, in FORENSIC EVIDENCE IN CHILD ABUSE CASES:  COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION (APRI conference manual August 1999) (discussing the proper way to obtain the clothes of the child).

¹² For an excellent discussion of investigating Shaken Baby cases, see Vendola supra note 9, at 6.