The backdoor alarm went off at the residence of 979 West Valley Road at 11:27 pm. Alarm company tried to reach the customer at 11:28 pm with no response, so at 11:29 pm the police were notified and dispatched to the residence. The police arrived at 11:36 pm and both officers got out of the car to inspect the home. As they were walking toward the front door, they heard a cry for help. Both officers drew their guns and proceeded to walk around the home toward the back door. Once at the back door, which was ajar, officers entered announcing themselves loudly. They did see a hammer lying on the kitchen floor.

As they continued through the room again calling out that they were the police, the only answering sound was from a woman calling for help. The officers went through the kitchen and entered the living room noticing the woman on the floor. As one officer, Dan Forte went to the woman, the other officer Max Crenn called for back-up and an ambulance. Officer Crenn then proceeded down the hallway toward the bedroom to examine it, and then toward an office which was completely in disarray.

He noticed that the office window was open. Officer Crenn then continued to look into another bedroom, its closets, and the two bathrooms in order to secure the one story home. In the meantime, Officer Forte was busy assessing the woman's condition. She was coherent enough to give the officer her name and to explain what had happened. The victim, Mrs. Karen Marta, explained to Officer Forte that she went to bed around 10:00 pm and was asleep until she was awakened by a noise coming from her office which was located next to her bedroom. She did glance at the clock which read 11:20 pm and got out of bed calling out "who is there". She began walking in the hallway toward the office and was then hit in the head. She believes she blacked out for about five minutes. When she came to, she heard the perpetrator in the kitchen and eventually going out the backdoor which tripped the alarm. Unfortunately, she caught no glimpse of them. She heard the phone ring, which she knew was the alarm company but was too weak to move. She had no idea of the time or how long the perpetrator was in her home. The ambulance arrived at 11:41 pm, and EMT Margo Limon and John Wyman entered the home to attend to Mrs. Marta. Two other officers arrived with the ambulance as did Investigator Carlos Gomez, and they began to secure the crime scene. Mrs. Marta was transported by ambulance to the local hospital to get stitches for her head wound and to have an MRI to determine the extent of her injuries. The forensic team arrived at 12:00 am and began ta king pictures and bagging evidence.  

Read through the crime scenario carefully, taking notes on the timeline of the crime. Use the crime scenario to  organize the evidence to help Investigator Gomez solve the crime.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In order to help Investigator Gomez solve the crime we can start by organizing the evidence chronologically and categorizing it Timeline 1 Mrs Marta w... View the full answer