This text belongs to ‘Dossier Negro’, a newsletter inspired by the podcast of the same name, which Enrique Figueredo will send on Wednesdays on a biweekly basis. If you want to receive it, sign up here.
Those of us who have been following current crime for decades have seen how the collection of fingerprints and even blood groups as one of the few elements of evidence has evolved into complex scientific analyzes linked especially to DNA. The law has a tool that is constantly advancing: forensic techniques. In 1999, when the young Marina Ruíz was murdered in the small city of Cervera, tracking genetic traces was already part of forensic work, although not with the depth of today. However, it was something more mechanical that allowed an identification: it was a bite mark on the victim’s body. This is how Serafín Cervilla, the murderer of the young woman from Lleida, fell, whose case we address in Dossier Negro.
In the case of serial killer Tony Alexander King, responsible for the deaths of Rocío Wanninkhof and Sonia Carabantes, other evidence allowed him to be incriminated. He made a mistake that investigators were able to take advantage of when the time came: he left cigarette butts at the crime scene, in addition to other traces of DNA related to the victims and the place where they were found.
Accusing finger. There is a scientific police test that consists of, using certain reagents, knowing if a person has recently fired a firearm by identifying traces of the shot on the skin or clothing. One of those accused of the murder of the president of the León Provincial Council, Isabel Carrasco, tested positive. Specifically, Montserrat González Fernández.
Palms and shoes. The known murderer of the parking lot in the Barcelona neighborhood of Putxet, Juan José Pérez Rangel, also left part of his trace at the scenes of the two known crimes of his. A palm print appeared on a bag, some shoe prints matched his, and he threw the butt of the cigarette he consumed on the ground next to one of his dying victims. He was then recorded by the suburban cameras leaving the area.
The immaterial trace. Specialists in criminal psychology and crime scene analysis are responsible for searching for the psychological trace left by murderers due to the way they carry out their crimes. The National Police, for example, has a behavior analysis section that supports homicide groups in their investigations.
Fight with monsters. Precisely, from the need to identify the behavioral traits of murderers, especially those who act in a serial manner, pioneers in this area emerged, something that occurred in the 70s of the last century. The study of these criminals turned some of them into pop icons, but also the basis for their classification and improvement of protocols, as told in the series Mindhunter, now on Netflix.
