Last year I posted about a .25 caliber bullet I found with my Toltec II. The bullet was fired from a gun in 1987, and it landed in the front yard. The shooter in 1987 died the same day from a heart attack. The gun belonged to his daughter who was recently divorced, and had moved back into his home temporarily. The police took custody of the gun pending the outcome of their investigation. Since no one was harmed during this shooting, the handgun was returned to the original owner, who was the ex-husband of the woman whose father had used it in anger. Remember, this was in 1987.
In 2008, the original owner of the gun was murdered in his own home. He was shot at close range in the head with a .25 caliber handgun. Although a handgun of the same caliber was found during a search of the crime scene, ballistics proved it was not the murder weapon. During the investigation, the detective learned of the story about the shooting back in '87 from one of the victim's children. He learned from the police that the gun had been returned to the murder victim after the case in '87 was closed. That weapon was never found at any time during the investigation of his murder.
The detective was sharp enough to realize that the missing .25 caliber pistol may be the murder weapon, and he needed to find the bullet in the yard to have it compared with the bullet taken from the victim's brain. If the bullets matched, then the gun would be circumstantially tied to the murder, and only one person would have had access to it.....his wife.
I found the bullet after about a 4.5 hour search with the Toltec II and a 4" sniper coil. It was about 1" down. There was some damage to the bullet since it had lain in the elements for 20 years, but there were enough identifying characteristics for the analyst to say he was more than 90% sure it was from the same gun. Interestingly enough, the bullet was never used at trial. There was so much other evidence that the prosecutors didn't want to confuse the jury with the story of how these circumstances came about. They looked at the bullet as insurance...just in case they came up short in other areas of the case.
His wife was convicted last month, and will spend the rest of her life in prison without parole. I am confident that metal detecting is as good a tool in a forensic setting as in a hobby. This is the second time I have found a bullet in a homicide case, and the other case resulted in a conviction with the same sentence for the killer.
If you ever get an opportunity to either volunteer, or train law enforcement in the use of a detector at a crime scene, don't pass it up.
It's just as rewarding as finding treasure.....
In 2008, the original owner of the gun was murdered in his own home. He was shot at close range in the head with a .25 caliber handgun. Although a handgun of the same caliber was found during a search of the crime scene, ballistics proved it was not the murder weapon. During the investigation, the detective learned of the story about the shooting back in '87 from one of the victim's children. He learned from the police that the gun had been returned to the murder victim after the case in '87 was closed. That weapon was never found at any time during the investigation of his murder.
The detective was sharp enough to realize that the missing .25 caliber pistol may be the murder weapon, and he needed to find the bullet in the yard to have it compared with the bullet taken from the victim's brain. If the bullets matched, then the gun would be circumstantially tied to the murder, and only one person would have had access to it.....his wife.
I found the bullet after about a 4.5 hour search with the Toltec II and a 4" sniper coil. It was about 1" down. There was some damage to the bullet since it had lain in the elements for 20 years, but there were enough identifying characteristics for the analyst to say he was more than 90% sure it was from the same gun. Interestingly enough, the bullet was never used at trial. There was so much other evidence that the prosecutors didn't want to confuse the jury with the story of how these circumstances came about. They looked at the bullet as insurance...just in case they came up short in other areas of the case.
His wife was convicted last month, and will spend the rest of her life in prison without parole. I am confident that metal detecting is as good a tool in a forensic setting as in a hobby. This is the second time I have found a bullet in a homicide case, and the other case resulted in a conviction with the same sentence for the killer.
If you ever get an opportunity to either volunteer, or train law enforcement in the use of a detector at a crime scene, don't pass it up.
It's just as rewarding as finding treasure.....