Forensic Science: The Woodchipper Murder - Term Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages Police and jurors would take several months to bring Crafts to justice but the forensic evidence and the testimony from officers and one eyewitness all pointed to Crafts as the murderer; the forensic evidence would finally convict him.
Mark Gado, a reporter for True TV, sets the stage for what happened. In the very early morning of November 20, 1986, Joseph Hines, a utility worker for Newtown Connecticut was working along the intersection of South Flat Hill Road where he saw a U-Haul van with a woodchipper attached to it. The lights were on in the vehicle and the woodchipper looked like it had been used a lot. A man came out of the truck and motioned for Hines to go around him, which he did. As Hines plowed the same road, going in the opposite direction, he saw the truck in the same spot. This time, the back of the truck was opened and wood chips were scattered around the back of the truck and along the side of the road. Hines thought this scene was strange, but at the time, he did not see a need to report what he saw to the police (Gado 1).
Helle Lorck Nielson grew up in Denmark as an only child. She was described as vibrant and outgoing and she enjoyed going to school. She went to college in England and took work in France as an au pair. She is also described as a beautiful woman. In France, Helle became a flight attendant, a job that she would do for many years. Helle later became a flight attendant for Pan Am Airways and went to Miami for training. On May 24, 1969, Helle was waiting for her flight and met Richard Crafts (Gado 2). Helle eventually told her friends that if something happened to her, they should not think that it was an accident.
Richard Crafts was a 31-year-old male who was also an airline pilot. He is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall with dark brown hair and an unkempt style. He only dated stewardesses who he charmed with embellished tales of his life as an alleged CIA pilot.  ...Download file to see next pagesRead More