Expert: Philip Sweeting - 4/30/2007

Question
At a murder scene, are bodies outlined in chalk or can something else be used? Just need information for an art project. Thanks!

Answer
They just do that in movies but....I suppose there are some situations where you might.

In many cases the body has been moved prior to the crime scene people getting there to some degree either by the cops or paramedics to try determine if the victim is alive. So...seldom is the body in the exact position as when they died.

Once the crime scene people get there, they will take pictures, a video and do a diagram of the scene/victim prior to moving the body so there is no point in drawing a an outline around the body.

But if you were so inclined to outline the body it would make more sense to do it in masking tape since it would be difficult put an outline of chalk on carpet, etc. and the tape would be more visible in pictures....assuming the victim was in a building...

If the victim was outside...you would outline the body in a florescent spray paint which is often used at traffic accidents to mark the locations of vehicles. Hope this helps.