Page 23 - Shell Casing News Today

>> reporter: no test fired shell casing, she said. >> i dont mean to sound cynical, but i know it wasnt there. >> reporter: only possible conclusion, said bianca, it was her accusation, the sandy police must have planted the shell casing in order to link chris missing gun to the crime scene. you think it would be hard for people to accept the idea that this detective would do something as unethical as plant evidence. >> it was not there. i know that. >> reporter: the sandy police department cate...

I remember a time when we used to recover what we called saturday night officials, a little .22, ..32 caliber handgun. maybe six rounds, seven round or whatever. now youre getting high powered semiautomatic weapon, including assault weapons. you go to a crime scene now, you never find one shell casing. you find 30, 40. at scene. its changed dramatically. and the devastation of the wounds. nobody gets shot one time. were talking about people getting shot multiple times with a high-powered weapon ...

Chicago police department in 1968. i spent 30 years a chicago cop. we used to recover saturday night specials. a 22, 32, caliber handgun. maybe six rounds, seven round or whatever. now youre getting high powered automatic weapons including assault weapons. crime scenes now you never find one shell casing. you find 30, 40. at scene. its changed dramatically. and the devastation of the wounds. nobody gets shot one time. were talking about people getting shot multiple times with a high power weapon...

Morning? >> reporter: yeah. hours if hours after this mass shooting first started, you can see behind me here in el paso the authorities are still on scene here just outside the walmart. now, this is a massive crime scene as investigators go through each piece of evidence, each shell casing as they work to get a better understanding of what exactly happened and when. we know the first shots were fired shortly after 10:30 a.m., and this was a packed store, some estimating up to 3,000 people, many...

That it only struck the brains frontal lobe, which can absorb injury better, especially in the very young. >> less than 3 years old, the brains ability to repair is truly remarkable. >> after a delicate 3 1/2 hour surgery, he was encouraged by comparative scans of ericas brain. the bullet and brain fragments in the pre-op image were gone. despite the repair, brain injuries are unpredictable and dr. moriarty urged caution. >> next few days in the icu would be critical. >> shell casing. >> at the ...

Now rick arnold knew it would be a high profile case. he didnt know it would be the case of a lifetime. >> this is the dchblhoning in o. >> this drum where the victims body is a shell casing. >> the harsh reality of death lay side by side with the images of young life. erins body in a pool of blood near a red kiddie wagon. a shell casing and the bed where erica once jumped for joy was covered in her own blood. >> you had blood on the sheets, the pillows and the pillow cases. >> the detective not...

Ground on the loose. >> right. >> what are you doing on that score? >> we had started sending units out to see if anybody had seen anything, see if anybody heard any gunshots. see if anybody saw anybody matching the description of the suspect. and we were not able to find anything. >> reporter: the only forensic evidence douglas could find in the parking lot was the .25 caliber slug that grazed beckys legs. >> her shoes were still laying there. >> we found a spent shell casing, and then we had a...

An arrest. >> you have a shell casing envelope with the serial number of a gun that was uncovered at the crime scene. >> reporter: one month after his fathers death thomas junior was indicted for second degree murder. they said he was insane, didnt know recognize from wrong at the time he fired that shot, didnt understand the consequences of his actions. his attorney with whom he has disagreed with openly in court has pointed to a history of mental illness and that 911 call from his mother shell...

>> this is detective rick arnold. todays day is may 18th, 2006. >> reporter: a video camera rolled as detective arnold processed the crime scene honing in on clues. >> this drew the victims body, the shell casing. >> reporter: the hard reality of death lay alside-by-side with t everyday images of young life. aarons body in a pool of blood near af red kitty wagon, a she casing in front of a box of diapers, and the bed where erika once jumped for joy was now covered in her own blood. >> the blood ...

For harold harper, facing the defendants was simply too much to bear. >> i couldnt look them in the eye without rage. and i was just afraid that i would mess everything up. >> it was an emotional trial. co-prosecutor mark baker, with two young daughters himself, cried in his opening statement. >> once you determine theres still life in that little body, you can imagine what the officers did there at the scene. >> prosecutors maintain that the defendants came to steal earons pills and money but t...