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Family members of a murdered Brockton man made a gruesome discovery last week when they found what the police couldn't.

BROCKTON The hardest thing Joseph Shaws family has gone through was losing their son, brother, uncle and friend. Then, hearing the details of his death in court caused many of them to have to leave and added to their fresh pain.

But what they found later that day inside his apartment made their hearts break even more.

Joseph Shaw, 44, was found stabbed more than 30 times and wrapped in a blanket inside a closet at his home, 42 Green St., on July 21. His girlfriend, 33-year-old Kathryn Podgurski led police to the body and told them he had been there for about a week. She claimed Shaw was killed in a different location during an armed home invasion and that she helped move the body there, but didnt call police because the supposed suspects would have killed her.

Podgurski was first charged as an accessory after murder, but was later charged with killing Shaw during her arraignment in Brockton District Court. During that court appearance, family members burst into tears as Assistant District Attorney Richard Linehan said investigators found Shaw had been partially dismembered.

The body was also found to be missing the lower left portion of the leg and the right arm below the elbow, Linehan said. It should be noted that the severed limbs have still not been recovered.

That was until later that day, when Shaws family went to his Green Street apartment last Monday afternoon to retrieve some of his belongings. Family members noticed a backpack with blood on it. When they opened it, they discovered Shaws missing limbs inside.

The Plymouth County district attorneys office confirmed that family found what appears to be the missing limb portions, but havent discussed how investigators missed the bag.

David Procopio, a spokesman for state police, the agency responsible for investigating homicides in the city, also confirmed the discovery.

I can confirm that members of Mr. Shaws family did locate partial remains in his apartment, he said.

But he said the department plans to wait until after the trial to decide whether to perform an internal review into how the mishap occurred.

The Massachusetts State Police currently are focused on the ongoing investigation and prosecution of his homicide, he said. As such, there is no departmental review underway at this time of the victims familys discovery.

But two former law enforcement officials told The Enterprise that the discovery of Shaws remains by his family, rather than police, is cause for concern.

Thats bad police work, its real unfortunate, said Joseph Giacalone, a retired New York City Police Department detective sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The supervisor, whoever he or she is, should be removed from that unit. How do you miss a backpack? You cant afford to have sloppy police work in the crime scene unit.

In its Crime Scene Investigation guide, the National Forensic Science Technology Center describes methods for crime scene searches and says, The thorough search of a crime scene helps ensure that all relevant evidence will be recognized, documented and collected. It calls the handling of physical evidence one of the most important factors of the investigation.

Mitch Librett, a criminal justice professor at Bridgewater State University and former New York police officer, called it extremely unusual for investigators to miss such a large piece of evidence. But he said he doesnt consider it an O.J. Simpson glove moment in the case.

There could be a perfectly logical explanation for it, we just dont know all the facts, he said. But if in fact they conducted a thorough search of the apartment and didnt discover these body parts, its going to open the door for other questions.

The officials both said it will bring on additional questioning when the case goes to trial, particularly for the state and Brockton police investigators who examined the scene.

Its not going to affect the outcome of the case, but its going to take them a longer time to get there, Giacalone said. There will be a lot of drilling on stand, embarrassment a lot of things that could have been avoided. They had one chance to do the crime scene right, this isnt the playground.

And they also both said it will open the door for the defense attorney to question the thoroughness of the investigation. Podgurski is represented by attorney David Sorrenti, who recently represented a city man ultimately found not guilty in a homicide trial.

Maybe the other body parts werent there when they searched the place, Librett said. God only knows at this point whether or not this is something the police missed or whether its something that was deposited there following the police releasing the apartment as a crime scene. Thats something the defense attorney will explore.

More:
How will family's discovery of remains affect Brockton murder case? - Enterprise News

Stone Memorial High School's Criminal Justice team recently competed in the SkillsUSA National Competition in June. The competition was held in Louisville, KY. This is the first time competitors in crime scene investigation from Cumberland County have advanced to the national level of SkillsUSA. The students that competed were Brooke Ritzman, Autumn Begley and Kimberly Fisher. The team represented the state of Tennessee in the Crime Scene Investigation competition. SMHS placed 11th out of 35 teams from all over the United States.

Another notable accomplishment was Tyler Davis, a senior at SMHS, placing fourth in the SkillsUSA State Competition in the Criminal Justice division for the second year in a row.

These accomplishments couldnt have been obtained without support and training provided by Cumberland County Sheriffs Office, Crossville Police Department, Crossville Cumberland County Crimestoppers, City of Crossville and several other valued supporters. The Stone Memorial High School Criminal Justice Department advisors Kylee Johnson and Ivan Hawn would like to say thank you to all for supporting the students.

Read more here:
SMHS Criminal Justice team competes in national competition ... - Crossville Chronicle

Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley police officers will be out in force in their respective cities Tuesday evening, but it wont be for crimefighting in the traditional sense.

Each department will join National Night Out festivities with events to educate the public about crime prevention and provide a behind-the-scenes look at how police departments operate.

National Night Out is observed annually around the country to help police build positive relationships with residents.

Newport Beach police will hold a safety fair with free food, displays from the crime scene investigation, SWAT, K-9, animal control, horseback and community emergency response units, among others. There also will be games, face painting and a bounce house. The fair will be from 4 to 7 p.m. at Bonita Canyon Sports Park, 1990 Ford Road.

Costa Mesa police will present a National Night Out fair from 5 to 8 p.m. in the parking lot of the Target shopping center at 3303 Harbor Blvd. It will include food, prizes and police and fire department displays.

In Huntington Beach, an event from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Target shopping center at 9882 Adams Ave. will present police motorcycles, a police dog and SWAT and firefighting displays.

Fountain Valley will showcase K-9, SWAT, bike patrol and fire operations beginning at 6 p.m. at the city recreation center, 16400 Brookhurst St. The first 500 guests will get a free hot dog and chips. A showing of the animated film The Little Mermaid will begin at dusk, and there will be a raffle and costume contest.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

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Local police to present National Night Out fairs Tuesday - Los Angeles Times

The United States Embassy sponsored six Filipino maritime law enforcement experts to attend a curriculum development workshop on underwater crime scene investigation training in San Diego, California, from July 17 to 20.

The workshop is part of a larger P25 million US government initiative to strengthen underwater crime scene investigation training programs for Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies, through partnership with the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department and the US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL).

Filipino experts from the Philippine Coast Guard, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, met with US counterparts, including representatives from the Port of San Diego Harbor Police dive team, US Embassy Manila INL, and INLs Office of Criminal Justice Assistance and Partnership, to develop a special diver training course for underwater search, crime scene, and disaster investigations.

The course aims to equip Philippine divers from all three participating agencies with a variety of skills, including detecting illegal drugs smuggled on the hull of vessels or dumped overboard for later retrieval. Once finalized, the course will be incorporated into the training academies of the three participating Philippine agencies.

Through the US Embassys INL programs, the Philippine government builds more effective law enforcement institutions and justice systems by drawing on American expertise in combating crime, corruption, and narcotics trafficking.

The US Department of State has more than 110 partners across the United States to facilitate training and exchanges with foreign countries, including with federal law enforcement agencies; state and local police and corrections departments; local and state courts; district attorneys offices and public defenders; port authorities; and professional associations, academic institutions, and civil society organizations.

See the rest here:
US provides training for underwater crime scene investigation in PH - The Manila Times

WEST HAVEN >> Crammed into a University of New Haven-owned residence at 196 Rockdale Road, 36 high school students from across the country put their newly learned forensic skills to the test, trying to figure out what happened at various mock crime scenes.

Crime Scene Investigation Academy is a week-long program that gives high school students the chance to gain hands-on experience in the field of criminal justice and forensic science. The campers spent four days learning about fingerprinting, blood spatter analysis, and crime scene investigation as a whole, and Friday they got a chance to apply the skills.

We kind of walk them through the whole process of what it takes to process a crime scene. Both from the legal standpoint and the practical, and then we culminate it ... with this big [practicum], said Peter Massey, director of CSI Academy.

The capstone experience is extremely involved as the students not only had to document and photograph the crime scene, but they also needed to get search warrants, send evidence to the lab for testing and canvass the neighborhood for potential witnesses.

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Ellen Lassig, 17, of East Hanover, New Jersey, said she has been to other forensic-oriented camps, but they were larger and not as detailed and experienced. She said everyone participating at UNH gets the opportunity to do something.

Massey said there is no real answer to these scenes and that it is more a matter of process. He said what they are really looking for is ... can [the students] utilize the skill sets theyve gained during the week in this final product ... and present it in a public forum?

Bianca Randazzo, 16, of Norwalk, said while she learned how to determine the cause and manner of death as well as how to act at a crime scene, she also learned the how difficult the entire process can be.

You just think, Oh thats so easy, but then you come here and you have to figure out a whole scenario and you have no information. You just try to figure out by what you have, she said.

Massey said while forensic science and crime scene investigation may seem glamorous on television shows, the work can be pretty toiling in the real world, citing the long hours and unpredictable weather as examples.

The idea is to give the students a real-life look at how this works. They all watch the shows on television, and theyre learning its not like it is on television, Co-Director Daniel Maxwell added.

Some of the campers have graduated high school and going to college while others still are in high school. Maxwell said most of the students want to pursue careers in law enforcement, forensic psychology or forensic anthropology, and CSI Academy allows them to gain hands-on experience to see whether this is what they really want to do.

I didnt have opportunities like this in high school, but I think its a really good way for them to experience stuff like this, added Jennifer Busk, 23, a graduate student at UNH studying forensic science. I took a class that we do exactly stuff like this at UNH, but doing it as a high schooler gives you the opportunity to say, Hey, is this really what I want to do? and maybe even spark that interest and excite them.

Aaron Ostroff, 17, of South Brunswick, New Jersey, said his forensic science class last year was not as in-depth as CSI Academy. He said this camp offers him the opportunity to work on a real case as opposed to fake and silly cases he did in school.

This is the whole deal. This is not a summer camp; this is reality here, Maxwell said.

Link:
CSI West Haven: Students attend forensic science camp at ... - New Haven Register