Creepy Crime Scene Photography

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“Every measurement slowly reveals the workings of the criminal. Careful observation and patience will reveal the truth.” – Alphonse Bertillon

On the 8th of May 1903, Parisian police were investigating a vicious murder. The victim, Madame Debeinche, lay on the floor next to her blood-stained bed, where she had been killed three days earlier. The police began looking through the crime scene, but this time, they did something slightly different: they took photos of the area. Although this is considered standard practice now, it was something in its infancy at the time. As we know now, crime scene photography can be highly beneficial to investigations, thanks to Alphonse Bertillon, the chief of criminal identification for the Paris police department. Possibly considered the granddaddy of forensics as we know them today, Bertillon helped to improve the recording of criminals, including descriptions and mugshots. This, in turn, successfully increased the chance of catching repeat offenders. He also realised the importance of documenting crime scenes with photography and would use metric photography grids and diagrams to map the crime scene. He made that much of an impression that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote that Sherlock Holmes was ‘the second highest expert in Europe’ after Alphonse Bertillon.

Although, sadly, the murder was never solved, crime scene photography went on to benefit a great many cases. Here are some crime scene photos of various instances throughout the years. Please note that these images can be graphic and are not recommended for children or those of a nervous disposition.

Madame Debeinche

Ed Gein would rob graves, and eventually turn to murder, to satisfy his interest in the human body. Police found many items in his house made from human body parts.

Lana Clarkson was an actress and model who was shot dead by record producer, Phil Spector.

Elizabeth Short, better known in death as The Black Dahlia, was found mutilated, her body cut in half and drained of blood.

Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman were both murdered. Her husband, OJ Simpson, was accused of the murder leading to one of the most infamous trials in history. He was found not guilty, although many are not convinced of his innocence.

Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith had been accused of killing a white man and raping a white woman. Despite no evidence of guilt, and despite being placed in the town jail, a lynch mob still managed to get to them and murder them.

Evelyn McHale committed suicide by jumping off the Empire State Building. The photo was called 'The Most Beautiful Suicide'.

After causing one of the biggest school shootings at Columbine High School, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed themselves rather than face the consequences.

When people hero worship Charles Manson, it is important to remember that this is the reality of his actions. Sharon Tate lies dead at 8 months pregnant.

The crime scene photos of the contents of Jeffrey Dahmer's fridge and freezer. They contained various body parts.

The Zodiac Killer is thought to have killed 5 people in the 1960s. They were never caught.

While researching this, I found an interesting anecdote about the benefits of crime scene photography. At a homicide in Florida, the photographer took photos of inside cupboards, the fridge etc as standard procedure. Looking through the images, they discovered a receipt for a six-pack of beer in one – rather strange considering the victim didn’t drink at all. They identified the shop name and the time from this receipt and were able to view the CCTV from that day. It turned out the victim had picked up a hitchhiker and bought the beer for them, as caught on video, which led to identifying the suspect. All from one photo. I hope you’ve enjoyed this article, thanks for reading and please let me know what you think in the comments. Take care, and I will see you next time.

Hi! I spend a lot of time writing for the website, and I basically exist on caffeine and anxiety - if anybody would like to encourage this habit, please feel free to buy me a coffee!

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