Expert: Jack Toomey - 6/28/2004

Question
Dear Mr. Toomey,

I'm a screenwriter currently working on a low budget film script that involves a murder/rape scene that occurs at a college fraternity house.

Basic elements of the scene so far:

1) In the story, a college girl overdoses and dies from a date rape drug while a party is in progress.  The crime occurs in one bedroom, unbeknownst to everyone else at the party.   

2) The scene occurs past midnight and many of the party patrons might be underage and/or drunk with possible drug use.  There are probably between 60-70 people at the party.

3) Someone discovers the body hidden in a closet and then calls police.  

My questions are:

When the police arrive what will be their modus operandi?  How many will arrive on the scene?  Will they take everyone at the party to the station?  Will they get statements and send everyone home?  Will the fraternity members that live in the house be forced to move out during the investigation?

Any advise or suggestions for authenticity you might give is much appreciated.

Sincerely yours,
P.D.

Answer
Hello,

   The answers to your questions would vary on the situation, size of the police department, the number of officers available and on the street, whether the department has a detective on duty, etc, etc.  So there is no exact way to answer the question.

   If this is a college campus most likely the campus police would arrive first and screw everything up because they are not experienced in dealing with death scenes.  Proabably most of the party goers would simply leave because there would be no way to detain them and it is doubtful whether the police have the authority to do that without probable cause.  Eventually the county or state police would be notified and would take over the investigation because campus police departments do not handle homicide or death cases.  But getting them there and getting the manpower in the middle of the night to handle that many college students would be a problem.  I would guess that their first obligation to secure the crime scene and try to find out what happened but keep in mind that the first officers would be dealing with intoxicated and probably uncooperative people.  So it would be a mess.

   After the detectives arrive and things calm down then the house would be secured for a time long enough to process the crime scene but I don't think that they would "move out".  Just stay outside for 12-24 hours probably.  Maybe the room itself would be sealed off for a longer period of time,

   If this is not clear or you have any other questions please let me know.