A forensic expert has shared insights into some of the most common errors murderers make after committing a crime.
For those who are avid followers of true crime narratives, the extreme measures some criminals adopt to evade capture may not be surprising.
However, despite how documentaries and TV shows might portray the complexity of crime scene investigation, a knowledgeable professional suggests it can be more straightforward than expected.
Jo Millington, a seasoned crime scene investigator, has 25 years of expertise in forensic science, particularly in blood pattern analysis.
Millington, as noted by Principal Forensic Services (PFS), has played a role in investigating numerous major and critical incidents, including notable cases like the 2005 London 7/7 bombings.
In a discussion with LADbible, Millington shed light on her experiences at crime scenes and the blunders that often lead to a criminal’s capture.
She pointed out that although perpetrators may go to great lengths to eliminate evidence, advancements in technology have simplified the detection process.
“We’ve got technology up the wazoo to detect crime, to understand what people have done [and] to detect trace amounts of evidence,” Millington mentioned in her conversation. She noted that offenders sometimes take drastic measures to dispose of evidence.
Nonetheless, she emphasized that it is ‘impossible’ to completely erase traces after a crime, acknowledging that ‘every contact leaves a trace’.
Contrary to common assumptions about criminal mistakes—such as leaving behind hair strands or footprints—Millington highlighted a more significant oversight.
“They forget that they’re leaving traces of themselves on every surface that they touch,” she stated. Fingerprints remain one of the primary methods for identifying individuals, a fact that continues to perplex many.
Millington recounted a specific case where a suspect was identified due to a message he left, written in the victim’s blood. The perpetrator’s decision to include an exclamation point left behind a crucial fingerprint.
In the interview, Millington also reflected on one of the most disturbing cases she encountered. Known as ‘the brain one,’ she and a colleague investigated a grisly scene in East London.
The suspect, described as a ‘really troubled individual’ with significant mental health issues, committed a heinous act after a day release from a facility, befriending and then killing a man.
He went on to dismember the victim, and in a shocking turn, cooked the man’s brain in a frying pan.
Reflecting on the case, Millington was left nearly speechless: “I mean, what can you say about that? I mean, that’s just absolutely catastrophic.”