4 Conclusion of the case
Well done! You have followed a murder investigation to its conclusion and learned how psychology can be applied to many stages of the investigative process. You have learned about the experiences of suspects in the criminal justice system and learned a little about how psychological processes can apply to the experiences of both the investigation team and the suspects.
You may remember that you were asked at the very start of the course to look out for some mistakes in the investigation, and to note them down. There were some mistakes in the investigation as these can, and do, happen, and we wanted to make the case one where a realistic amount of error was included. One of the main mistakes that was made early on in the investigation was made by the junior officers who attended the scene at Leonard’s house. This was the mistake of informing Neale about the injuries to his deceased father.
This is a problem in terms of disclosure, as it should have been information that was withheld in order to be able to test the truthfulness of someone’s account. As you saw in this investigation, DI Bullet became rather obsessed with how Neale could possibly know that information (even though in fact he was told it by the police!).
Another mistake made at the point of the discovery of the body was that the officers at the scene did not check the access points to the property themselves, before breaking the front door down. If they had done so, they would have discovered that the patio doors were open at the back and could have entered the property that way.
You can rest assured that Mick Brough is now serving a 25-year prison service for his part in the murder. DS Sund is currently enjoying a well-earned holiday in Devon, SIO Harris is now heading up a new murder inquiry involving organised crime gangs, and DI Bullet? Well, he is spending a few weeks back at police training school!
Did the case resolve in the way you expected at the start of the course?