The Art of Ransacking

Mauro Corvasce and Joseph Paglino's book, Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide, has a plethora of information necessary for writing a great murder mystery. I'm in chapter four, dealing with drug-related homicides. I didn't cover everything in the chapter, but there's one more bit of information I'd like to cover before moving on to chapter five, gang murders. The authors include a tidbit about ransacking.

Ransacking is when a criminal searches a residence for valuables: cash, jewelry, high-end electronics, and basically anything that can be pawned for a decent amount of money. The motive is greed: they need cash for drugs, rent, bling, or whatever else criminals feel the need to purchase. Ransacking is used in two different situations: an actual robbery, and when a killer wants the scene to look like a robbery has taken place. Regardless of the reason your criminal has ransacked a house, there are two different methods for ransacking, and you, as the writer, need to know which one your character will use. 

The first method of ransacking is to empty every drawer, look under every piece of furniture, and generally create chaos in the residence--make a total and absolute mess. This method is used by juveniles and inexperienced criminals. This type of search is noisy and time-consuming, and let's face it, not very efficient. Most home-owners don't store their jewelry in the medicine cabinet, so why would a thief look there? If you have a teen-age thief who is high on drugs, he's not going to think like a seasoned thief, or even a logical thief, and look only in those places where valuables would normally be stashed. Most likely he's going to tear the house apart in a frenzy, as he's terrified of getting caught, he's desperate for cash, and his judgment has been impaired from the drugs.

However, if you've got a seasoned criminal who wants to make the scene look like a juvenile tossed the joint, then it would make perfect sense for the house to be a complete mess once he's finished. Keep in mind that this criminal will do it quietly and quickly, as he doesn't want to get caught while he's staging his masterpiece. You could have fun with this one, if he's trying to frame a neighborhood hoodlum for it, or if he's using it as a forensic counter-measure to make the police look in a different direction. Keep in mind, the longer a thief is inside the house, the more likely he is to leave some sort of evidence behind: fingerprints, footprints, hair, bodily fluids (how many thieves sneeze when they rifle through an old shoe box?), trace from clothing, etc.

The second method of ransacking is to be methodical and logical, looking only in places where home-owners are likely to store valuables: dresser tops and drawers (jewelry, cash), desk drawers (cash, bank books, credit cards), entertainment centers (electronics), and garages (power tools). The experienced criminal will try to leave everything as neat as possible so the home-owners won't notice the theft for awhile. The thief wants a hefty cushion of time to elapse between the robbery and police arrival. The chances are much greater, that way, for any evidence left behind to become contaminated or even eliminated. For example, the thief is careful to wear gloves but leaves a strand of hair at the scene. If the theft isn't noticed for a day, there's a chance a family member could pick up that hair on clothing or shoes and transport it outside. It's not a great chance, but it's something.

If you're planning a good ransacking for your novel, make it believable by using the proper motivations and methods--and don't forget to drop some clues for the detectives so the guilty party has a harder time with a clean get-away.

-Sonja

Homicides Among Casual Drug Users

I'm exploring Mauro Corvasce and Joseph Paglino's book, Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide, chapter 4, dealing with drug-related homicides. Today's discussion covers casual drug users. I'll follow the same format of scenario, motive, and methods the authors use in the book.

Scenario:

Casual drug users, as opposed to junkies, tend to be from the middle-class, usually older teens and young adults. They use "recreationally" for fun and generally are not addicted (obtaining and using drugs is not their chief goal in life). Murders among these people usually occur at parties where all the guests are under the influence of narcotics, and typically are not premeditated. Today's drugs of choice are heroin and meth, but you can choose any drug you like for your murder mystery. Meth keeps the user awake and active for twenty-four hours, so they can "party" for longer periods of time. Heroine is highly addictive. Marijuana relaxes the user, and therefore a party full of these users will look much different than a party of meth users. 

Regardless of which drug you plunk into your murder scene, they all can cause irritability, impaired judgment, and violent behavior. Which is perfect for a murder mystery!

Motive:

Motives involving casual drug users vary with the drug they've taken. Meth causes irritability and violence, and something as simple as an argument over which music to play on the stereo can lead to homicide. If you've chosen heroin for your fictional party, the stakes go much higher. Here are some common motives for heroin-inspired murders (copied out of the book):

• Cover up a theft done to get money to buy the drug
• Stop an informant from going to the police
• Stop someone from informing a teenager's parents about the drug use

"Since these drug users are from middle-class and upper-class families," the authors say, "the motive for murder is usually not profit oriented." However, as the author of your story, you can make it all about profit if you want. Or about love. Or revenge. Or Cheetos dust spilled on an expensive sofa. Just keep in mind that most homicides among casual drug users aren't premeditated--they're usually spur-of-the-moment, drug-induced rages against whoever happens to be there. 

Methods:

Usually, casual drug users don't show up at the neighborhood party with murder on their minds (in other words, they didn't arrive with a gun in their pocket). It's much more common for partiers to get high, their inhibitions are lowered and their judgment becomes impaired, then they argue with someone. This leads to fighting, most often hand-to-hand, which will continue until others break up the fight or someone ends up dead. If the attacker is in his own home, he might retreat to find a weapon, then return to shoot his opponent (or stab, or bludgeon, or garrote...). If the attacker isn't at home and finds himself losing the fight, he may drive away, find a weapon, then return to finish off his opponent. You can play with these variations, but they typically involve some sort of cooling off period, where the combatants are separated for a span of time, then come back together when one or both are armed. 

It's also believable that, once the combatants are armed, someone else steps in to separate them and gets killed in the process. Or someone on the sidelines threatens to call the police and ends up dead. Or one of the combatants has horrible aim and someone other than the intended victim dies. Again, the variations are plentiful. Choose one that works with your scene and your characters. As I said in the previous post, choosing unique and fresh methods and motives will engage the reader more fully, so don't settle for the typical factors, even if the scene is a short or minor one. 

-Sonja

Dead Drug Dealers

I'm knee-deep in this fascinating overview of Mauro Corvasce and Joseph Paglino's book, Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide. I'm in chapter 4, dealing with drug-related homicides. Today's discussion is about drug dealers. I'll follow the same format of scenario, motive, and methods the authors use in the book.

Scenario:

The inner-city drug dealer is usually male, and he views dealing as a business: he needs to turn a profit to make it worthwhile. He doesn't dip into his product, as that won't make him any cash. In fact, becoming a user will bring his business to an end quickly, so he tends to avoid the stuff. He lives in an inner-city neighborhood, often the one where he was born. He belongs to the predominant ethnic group of the area and is known by the other people who live in the area. 

Because of his business success, he can afford nice clothing and an expensive vehicle (or two). The people who live there respect him for his wealth and success. Because of his wealth, he has power in that neighborhood, so he's also feared. He attracts people to him, especially children and teens, who want to work for him and achieve some measure of his success and wealth. The dealer offers these people a sense of place, of belonging, of power. He pays them more money than they could ever make at McDonalds. Since they're minors, if they're caught by the authorities, they don't face heavy prison sentences. And since they are loyal to him (along with a healthy dose of fear), they won't betray him to the police. 

Motive:

When his business is threatened, the drug dealer will protect his turf. Maybe someone else wants to move into his territory. Maybe someone wants to steal his money or his product. Maybe one of his underlings thinks he can do a better job of running the turf than the dealer. All these scenarios can lead to homicide.

Methods:

There are plenty of ways to kill a drug dealer--you've seen them on TV or read them in books. Hire someone to do it. Walk up and shoot him in the back. Do a drive-by from the safety of a vehicle. Since the goal is to kill the dealer, robbery typically isn't involved, but you can toss that into your murder mystery if it suits the scene and the character who's committing the homicide. If the killer is a junkie looking for a score, it makes perfect sense that the dead dealer's pockets will have been searched and emptied. 

Keep in mind that the killer's main goal is to kill his target, followed closely by getting away without being shot at or stabbed by someone loyal to the dealer. 

Make it fresh:

These scenarios listed above have done portrayed so many times in TV and books they can become cliche. Readers have seen it, heard it, and are bored with it. Try injecting your scene with the unexpected to jolt the reader out of the skimming phase. Maybe instead of a greed motive, explore something further removed from normal. What if your killer truly loves the dealer and believes that killing him is the only way to save him? Or the killer is female and loves the second-in-command, who gets to take over the operation once the dealer is dead? Maybe your drug dealer is female--it's rare, but it can be done in a realistic manner if you're careful. The gender change, alone, can snap a reader to attention. Or maybe you choose a method that differs significantly from those typically portrayed. Knives and guns are the usual murder weapons. What about an interesting weapon of opportunity? Lead pipes are kind of overdone, but what about loose bricks, rocks, rum bottles, or a well-placed kick while wearing steel-toed combat boots? Use your imagination and your scene descriptions to come up with something unique, and you'll make your reader happy.

Comments? Questions? The next post deals with the casual drug user (as opposed to the junkie I covered two posts ago). 

-Sonja

Covering Up A Bank Robbery

Chapter three of the book Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide by Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino is about financial murders. I'm not covering everything in the chapter, so if you're interested in getting all of it, buy the book. Today I'm skipping ahead to covering up a bank robbery. Following the authors outline, I'll discuss the scenario, motives, methods, and the capture.

Scenario: Bank robbers sometimes get their grand idea in a brilliant brainstorm and act immediately by walking into any old bank and robbing it. This is called a crime of opportunity. Most of these guys are caught because they didn't plan ahead: gloves, mask, weapon, bag for holding money. They rarely net more than five thousand dollars for their hard work, and if they get a chance to spend it before they're caught, that's all the benefit they get. The best bank robbers (if there is such a thing) plan ahead. Sometimes they even include a partner or two or six. Even with the best-laid plans, people can end up dead: bank guard, police officer who responds, witnesses (anyone caught looking at the robbery or anyone acting hysterically are at risk), or even the partners.

Motives: The motive for killing during the commission of a bank robbery is pretty simple: they don't want to get caught, and/or they want the cash (greed).  

Methods: An experienced bank robber plans the perfect robbery. He expects certain things will during the robbery (customers will be frightened, tellers will try to hit panic buttons, guards will go for their guns). It's when something out of the ordinary occurs that things can go horribly wrong. An off-duty police officer is a customer. A security guard has an over-developed sense of justice. The robber does drugs/alcohol before going into the bank and his body reacts strangely. All these factors, plus the robber's fear of getting caught, lead to a higher chance of someone being killed. (Side note: the authors bring up a humorous situation in which the robbers got the money, but dropped it and fled when something went wrong. Adding a touch of humor to your fiction is great because it catches the reader off guard, and therefore it's memorable.)

Investigation/Capture: Corvasce says, "A common misconception about bank robberies is that the FBI is always called in because the money is guaranteed by government insurance. In actuality, the only time the FBI assists in an investigation is when either a weapon is used or a threat of using a weapon is made." For this reason, many robberies are investigated by local authorities. Robberies usually aren't too difficult to solve because of the number of witnesses involved. Armed guards and security cameras provide accurate descriptions of the robber--and once they have a description and identify the perp, they usually find all the proof they need: bags of cash. 

Here's another little tidbit: A large number of robbers are caught while they're still inside the bank or just exiting the bank. You can use this believably in your fiction if you need the action to end quickly. If it's your main plot, then you'll definitely want your robber/murderer on the run. 

Keep in mind it's the little details that will lead to his ultimate capture: witnesses, forensic evidence, family member/friend turning him in, etc.

-Sonja

Covering Up A Bank Robbery

Chapter three of the book Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide by Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino is about financial murders. I'm not covering everything in the chapter, so if you're interested in getting all of it, buy the book. Today I'm skipping ahead to covering up a bank robbery. Following the authors outline, I'll discuss the scenario, motives, methods, and the capture.

Scenario: Bank robbers sometimes get their grand idea in a brilliant brainstorm and act immediately by walking into any old bank and robbing it. This is called a crime of opportunity. Most of these guys are caught because they didn't plan ahead: gloves, mask, weapon, bag for holding money. They rarely net more than five thousand dollars for their hard work, and if they get a chance to spend it before they're caught, that's all the benefit they get. The best bank robbers (if there is such a thing) plan ahead. Sometimes they even include a partner or two or six. Even with the best-laid plans, people can end up dead: bank guard, police officer who responds, witnesses (anyone caught looking at the robbery or anyone acting hysterically are at risk), or even the partners.

Motives: The motive for killing during the commission of a bank robbery is pretty simple: they don't want to get caught, and/or they want the cash (greed).  

Methods: An experienced bank robber plans the perfect robbery. He expects certain things will during the robbery (customers will be frightened, tellers will try to hit panic buttons, guards will go for their guns). It's when something out of the ordinary occurs that things can go horribly wrong. An off-duty police officer is a customer. A security guard has an over-developed sense of justice. The robber does drugs/alcohol before going into the bank and his body reacts strangely. All these factors, plus the robber's fear of getting caught, lead to a higher chance of someone being killed. (Side note: the authors bring up a humorous situation in which the robbers got the money, but dropped it and fled when something went wrong. Adding a touch of humor to your fiction is great because it catches the reader off guard, and therefore it's memorable.)

Investigation/Capture: Corvasce says, "A common misconception about bank robberies is that the FBI is always called in because the money is guaranteed by government insurance. In actuality, the only time the FBI assists in an investigation is when either a weapon is used or a threat of using a weapon is made." For this reason, many robberies are investigated by local authorities. Robberies usually aren't too difficult to solve because of the number of witnesses involved. Armed guards and security cameras provide accurate descriptions of the robber--and once they have a description and identify the perp, they usually find all the proof they need: bags of cash. 

Here's another little tidbit: A large number of robbers are caught while they're still inside the bank or just exiting the bank. You can use this believably in your fiction if you need the action to end quickly. If it's your main plot, then you'll definitely want your robber/murderer on the run. 

Keep in mind it's the little details that will lead to his ultimate capture: witnesses, forensic evidence, family member/friend turning him in, etc.

-Sonja

Bumping off the Business Partner

Welcome back to this series on solving homicides. Chapter three of the book Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide by Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino, is all about financial murders. Today is all about bumping off the business partner. I love how the authors take care of this chapter: they offer a believable scenario, showcase the motives and methods, then cover the investigation and capture.

Scenario: Two men share equal rights in a company that manufactures gaskets for oil filters. I'll call them Bob and Doug. The business is in the black, but neither partner can have that lavish lifestyle they desire. The senior partner, Bob, in the midst of a midlife crisis, finds himself a pretty young woman who enjoys spending his dough, and the wife becomes suspicious. Bob is in a quandary: he wants to keep the lover, but he doesn't want his wife to find out because she'll divorce him and take him for everything he has. If that happens, the lover leaves and he's got no one and no cash. What's a man to do?

Motive: Panic, fear, and greed, the trifecta of all great murder plots. Bob could choose to dump the lover and remain faithful to his wife. Instead, he decides to kill Doug so Bob can have all the cash to himself. (Never mind the fact that, if his wife finds out about the affair, all the new cash will be gone, too. Men in the midst of midlife crisis who decide that killing someone is the best option are rarely thinking logically.) Bonus: Doug also has a life insurance policy that pays out to Bob in case of death. (Again, wife will get it in the divorce and/or if Bob goes to prison.) 

Method: Bob, in a bold and brilliant move, decides that Doug's death must look like suicide. To make it believable, this homicide has to fool seasoned homicide detectives, forensic specialist, and medical examiners--all of whom have seen this before. The best scenario would be if detectives on the scene label it a suicide, therefore skipping the forensics and ME's. 

Bob cooks up a plan to make all the employees at the factory think Doug is going through some serious personal problems. Bob changes business meetings to different times and locations without telling Doug, so Doug misses these meetings and it's noted by the employees. Bob also makes it look like Doug is buying unnecessary equipment for the company, wasting precious profits. Eventually, the employees will come to believe that there's something wrong with Doug. Bob may even suggest, in front of witnesses, that Doug find some professional help for his issues. Poor Doug is clueless.

Every year about the same time, Doug heads to the office on a Sunday to prepare for the annual inventory. His family and friends expect it of him, and no one else is at the factory during this time, so Bob grabs the opportunity. He purchases an illegal weapon and heads to the office to do some "work." He finds Doug at his desk, pulls out the gun, and shoots Doug in the head at close range. There are no signs of forced entry, no signs of struggle, and poor Doug is dead of a head wound that is a typical suicide method of adult males. Bob thinks he's gotten away with murder.

Investigation and Capture: Bob's not as smart as he thinks he is. Doug's fingerprints aren't on the weapon or on any of the unfired bullets inside the gun. That, alone, points to murder, since Doug's not wearing gloves. Because of this small detail, homicide detectives will immediately look at those closest to Doug: his wife and his business partner. It won't be long before Bob's fitted for his prison garb.

Such a simple thing, huh? In almost every crime, it's the little details that lead to the perpetrator's capture. Keep this in mind when planning your fictional perp's capture. Things like a witness, video surveillance, or trace physical evidence can all have a huge impact even by themselves. When combined with other "little" details, they can lead to capture and conviction.

Any questions? Comments? I love hearing from you:)

-Sonja

Bumping off the Business Partner

Welcome back to this series on solving homicides. Chapter three of the book Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide by Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino, is all about financial murders. Today is all about bumping off the business partner. I love how the authors take care of this chapter: they offer a believable scenario, showcase the motives and methods, then cover the investigation and capture.

Scenario: Two men share equal rights in a company that manufactures gaskets for oil filters. I'll call them Bob and Doug. The business is in the black, but neither partner can have that lavish lifestyle they desire. The senior partner, Bob, in the midst of a midlife crisis, finds himself a pretty young woman who enjoys spending his dough, and the wife becomes suspicious. Bob is in a quandary: he wants to keep the lover, but he doesn't want his wife to find out because she'll divorce him and take him for everything he has. If that happens, the lover leaves and he's got no one and no cash. What's a man to do?

Motive: Panic, fear, and greed, the trifecta of all great murder plots. Bob could choose to dump the lover and remain faithful to his wife. Instead, he decides to kill Doug so Bob can have all the cash to himself. (Never mind the fact that, if his wife finds out about the affair, all the new cash will be gone, too. Men in the midst of midlife crisis who decide that killing someone is the best option are rarely thinking logically.) Bonus: Doug also has a life insurance policy that pays out to Bob in case of death. (Again, wife will get it in the divorce and/or if Bob goes to prison.) 

Method: Bob, in a bold and brilliant move, decides that Doug's death must look like suicide. To make it believable, this homicide has to fool seasoned homicide detectives, forensic specialist, and medical examiners--all of whom have seen this before. The best scenario would be if detectives on the scene label it a suicide, therefore skipping the forensics and ME's. 

Bob cooks up a plan to make all the employees at the factory think Doug is going through some serious personal problems. Bob changes business meetings to different times and locations without telling Doug, so Doug misses these meetings and it's noted by the employees. Bob also makes it look like Doug is buying unnecessary equipment for the company, wasting precious profits. Eventually, the employees will come to believe that there's something wrong with Doug. Bob may even suggest, in front of witnesses, that Doug find some professional help for his issues. Poor Doug is clueless.

Every year about the same time, Doug heads to the office on a Sunday to prepare for the annual inventory. His family and friends expect it of him, and no one else is at the factory during this time, so Bob grabs the opportunity. He purchases an illegal weapon and heads to the office to do some "work." He finds Doug at his desk, pulls out the gun, and shoots Doug in the head at close range. There are no signs of forced entry, no signs of struggle, and poor Doug is dead of a head wound that is a typical suicide method of adult males. Bob thinks he's gotten away with murder.

Investigation and Capture: Bob's not as smart as he thinks he is. Doug's fingerprints aren't on the weapon or on any of the unfired bullets inside the gun. That, alone, points to murder, since Doug's not wearing gloves. Because of this small detail, homicide detectives will immediately look at those closest to Doug: his wife and his business partner. It won't be long before Bob's fitted for his prison garb.

Such a simple thing, huh? In almost every crime, it's the little details that lead to the perpetrator's capture. Keep this in mind when planning your fictional perp's capture. Things like a witness, video surveillance, or trace physical evidence can all have a huge impact even by themselves. When combined with other "little" details, they can lead to capture and conviction.

Any questions? Comments? I love hearing from you:)

-Sonja

Murder for Financial Gain

When planning a murder mystery, one of the most important aspects is motivation. In today's post, based on the book Murder one: A Writer's Guide to Homicide by Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino, the motivation is financial gain. This isn't the same as an organized crime murder, but rather an individual killing for personal financial gain.

There are several motivations within the realm of business for your bad guy. I'll call them sub-motivations. They include:

1. Greed: killing off the business partner means 100% of the profits are up for grabs.

2. Competition: get rid of the competition, and the job/money is secure.

3. Cover-up: antagonist stole from the company, but somebody knows about it. They can't squeal if they're dead.

4. Frame-up: antagonist stole from the company, but frames the partner and kills him. Now no one's investigating the theft, and killer gets the dough.

Each of these makes a believable motivation for killing someone within the business realm. There are other scenarios that involve financial gain that aren't set in the business world. The authors bring up a situation in which burglars are surprised by returning homeowners. The burglar kills the homeowners in an effort to get away. Sometimes this happens because the burglars are inexperienced (maybe teenagers?) and are afraid of getting caught. If they're burglaring in their own neighborhood, they may be afraid of being recognized. Yet another scenario of killing for financial gain is covering up a criminal past. If a co-worker finds out, the ex-criminal may kill to keep the secret and the job. 

These are all great motivators for committing murder. Over the next several posts, I want to dig deeper into each of these and discuss how law enforcement personnel go about solving these types of crimes. Stay tuned! There's great stuff coming up.

-Sonja