Assassination Attempt at Oheka Castle, Long Island - Research Paper Example

Investigation of the Assassination Attempt at Oheka Castle, Long Island A masked assailant attempted to murder Gary Melius, 69, at Oheka Castle, Long Island on Monday 24, 2014. Gary Melius, the owner of Oheka Castle was short in the head through what the police consider as an assassination attempt. However, the attempt failed because Gary Melius survived and a relative rushed him to hospital where he received treatment. Garry Melius is an outstanding developer who has turned the decaying estate of Oheka Castle at Long Island into a luxury hotel and events space (Sandoval and O’Connor, 2010). His efforts have been seen as a great achievement because he made use of an otherwise useless place into an economic powerhouse. The attempted murder near the hotel is therefore something either coincidental or planned. Gary Melius, who is also a politician, had been entangled in a legal dispute over the control of a certain company involved a business of making ignition locking devices intended to reduce drunkenness of drivers while driving (Van Sant et al, 2014). In the dispute, Melius has been engaged in a serious battle with John Ruocco who had founded interceptor ignition interlocks (Van Sant et al, 2014). It was reported that one of the recent struggles between Melius and Ruocco occurred on Friday before the day of the attempted assassination. Melius had accused Ruocco for company mismanagement and financial misappropriation. In retaliation, Ruocco referred Melius to as a duplicitous political fixer (Van Sant, 2014). A judge had ruled in court on December 24, 2013 that Ruocco was to be stripped of his ownership of the interceptor company. Before the Monday incident, Melius had sent a letter to investors informing them that he was going to appoint new directors at a shareholder’s meeting scheduled for that Monday when he was assaulted. Sandoval and O’Connor (2010) also suggest that Melius was in conflict with other celebrities including former presidents. He is considered to be actively involved in politics of Long Island. Daily News argues that Melius had spoken with law enforcers investigating political corruption in Long Island. As a lead investigator in the attempted murder, I would carry out various activities of investigation including: visiting the site, visiting the scene, carrying out forensic investigations on materials found on the scene, and interviewing people. The first step, of course, would be to visit the scene and attempt to get eye witness to the crime. While on the scene, I would try to find anything important to the investigation, e.g. traces or prove of bullets so that it can be determined whether the bullets would be traced to any registered gun owner. I would also try to find out whether there was any exchange of words between the victim and the assailant, and if there is anyone who heard what they were talking about if at all they exchanged words. I would also look for anything on the ground that would have been dropped by the assailant during the incident. Throughout the visit to the scene, I would take important notes. Photographing could also be an important thing to do during an investigation in the scene of crime. Sometimes the perpetrator may return to the scene after unmasking himself in order to know what happened after the incident. Photographing can also be carried out in order to keep a record of the scene in case something arises later which can be determined from the situation of the scene around the time of the assault. The next step in the investigation involves cross-examination of the victim (Ruslander, n.d.). In this case, Melius should be asked several questions in order to determine the situations that might have led to the assault. For instance, he may be asked whether there was someone he argued with recently or if he was in conflict with anyone. As indicated by the preliminary findings of the situation, it is clear that Melius has some differences with some people. He may also be asked about how the man in a mask appeared to him; the direction he came from, and the direction he headed after the assault. The photographs taken from the scene will be helpful in this step. If he cannot remember anything about these questions due to the problem he went through, any witness to the crime, if any, can be asked the same questions. The victim should also be asked if he noted any mark or anything he can identify the assailant with. This can be used as a lead to establish the extent to which their conflict had gone. Everything in the investigation is to find a link and determine all situations related to the crime. All questions asked should be directed towards finding some evidence or information that can lead the investigator to find some investigation. As the lead investigator, I would also visit the hospital and get the medical report of Melius from the doctor. This can help a lot in the investigation. Specifically, the investigator would want to know the extent of the injury, how it may have happened, how long it will take to heal, and other details that concern the victim and the possible sources of information that could help the investigation. Another person who can possibly be interviewed is the relative who took the victim to the hospital and other relatives, especially the person who was with him last before he went to Oheka Castle for his business. Such people can inform the investigator whether there was someone who visited Melius before the incident, or whether there was anyone they noted who acted suspiciously as Melius left for work. Any information gathered from the people who were with him and who knew him well will be very important. The public can also be asked to report anything they noted or saw that day in Long Island that they think could be helpful in the investigation. The other group of people who can be interviewed are the people who were in conflict with the victim before the assault, mainly Ruocco. In this case, Ruocco should be considered as one of the suspects. He should be asked a series of questions, including his view about his relationship with the victim. The investigator may also investigate the activities of Ruocco a few days to the day of the crime, and the people he met within those days. The investigation should note all the places that Ruocco went to for the two days after he argued with Melius, the people he communicated with, and the items he bought or the transactions he made through bank or other financial institutions. The people he conducted business with within the two days should be investigated. If the victim had noted any mark on the assailant, he can be asked to search for them among the people being investigated. Another important approach that can be used to catch the assailant is forensic investigation. This involves fingerprint and footprint evidence. If the assailant had made contact with anything around the scene of the crime using his feet or hands, patent prints can be noted. Such fingerprints and footprints can be latent or visible (Ruslander, n.d.). A forensic investigation of the fingerprints can be carried out and the results of the forensic investigation can be used to identify the assailant in the database of the police. References list Ruslander, H.W. (n.d.). Searching and Examining a Major Case Crime Scene. Accessed March 4, 2014 from http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/searchingandexamining.html Sandoval, E. and O’Connor, T. (2014). Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius, 69, shot in the head by masked gunman in Suffolk County. New York Daily News. Accessed March 3, 2014 from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/oheka-castle-owner-shot-head-article- 1.1700144. Van Sant, W., Garcia-Roberts, G., McDermott, M. and Peddie, S. (2014). Gary Melius clashed with businessman, won control of firm. Long Island Newsday, Accessed March 3, 2014 from http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/gary-melius-clashed-with- businessman-won-control-of-firm-1.7236004. Read More