https://www.mediafire.com/file/m13b6h54jm08pkb/CJ+342_Chapter+7+2.pdf/file
The Stephanie Crowe Murder Investigation
The case of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe illustrates how interviews and interrogations can result in the incorrect implication of the suspect. In 1998, noise from Stephanie’s alarm clock radio caused her grandmother, Judith Kennedy, to go to Stephanie’s room, where she found Stephanie soaked in blood from having been stabbed. Police learned that six hours before Stephanie’s body was discovered, witnesses saw Richard Raymond Tuite, a 28-year-old transient, standing in the Crowes’ driveway looking up at their house. The police questioned him about the murder and then turned their focus toward the family.
After Stephanie’s body was discovered, the police separately interviewed each member of the entire Crowe family. They specifically focused their attention on Stephanie’s 14-year-old brother, Michael, who was questioned for 27 hours over a three-day period. They also extensively interviewed two of his closest friends. By the time the interrogations ended, the police had obtained a confession from Michael and one of his friends and enough incriminating evidence from the third boy to file murder charges against them all. Although the boys allegedly confessed, there was a great deal of doubt concerning the accuracy of their statements and the method used to obtain those confessions. The police allegedly used lies, false promises, isolation from parents and attorneys, and even threats of adult prison and predatory older incarcerated individuals as persuasive techniques to get a confession. False confession expert Richard Leo analyzed the recorded interrogations and came to the conclusion that the interrogations were textbook examples of how not to question suspects. Leo reported that the techniques used reflected a form of psychological torture that was coercive enough that the boys would have confessed to anything to make it stop. Charges against Michael Crowe were subsequently dropped. Six years later, Richard Tuite was charged with the murder of Stephanie when three drops of blood were found on his shirt.
Not only does this case illustrate the importance of conducting a proper and professional interrogation, but it also shows how when a suspect is incorrectly identified, the real perpetrator goes free. It is no small miracle that Tuite did not claim another victim after being released from his initial detention with police.
Using the information provided about the Stephanie Crowe investigation and previous class materials (i.e., PowerPoints, videos, book, etc.) from Chapter 7, answer in paragraph format the following questions to the best of your ability:
- From a proactive investigative standpoint, in what ways can crimes such as this be prevented? Consider investigative efforts by patrol officers and investigators.
- Discuss the ways in which interrogators can formulate questions that are improper, leading, and likely to elicit incriminating answers from the suspect.
