# Amateur Detectives: How Would You Investigate This Crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420 "2012-07-16T17:05:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/1 "2012-07-16T17:05:02Z")
In October 2011, the bodies of three young men were found inside a house in Waltham, MA. All three had been murdered in the same way-their throats were slit-the house was full of blood. The victims were discovered by one’s GF-who came to the house and called 911 (hysterically). The crime scene was investigated by units of the Waltham Police, MA State Police, the DEA, and the FBI. All that appeared in the newspaper accounts, was that all three victims were in the retail illegal drug trade. Since that time…nothing. I’ve asked friend who are local cops-nothing has emerged from the investigation, as yet. So it looks like the police are keeping this one close to the vest, my question: -is there any on-line crime registry that might have info on this? - does the dearth of info mean that the police are stumped? -Finally, do the police look askance at people who show “too much interest” in such a case? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/2 "2012-07-16T17:36:07Z")
I think this is better suited to IMHO than GQ. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/3 "2012-07-16T17:49:47Z")
This was obviously related to the drug business, the victims were found covered in marijuana. The police already have all the evidence and are probably looking for suspects. They’ve questioned everyone in the area, and if there were any snitches out there, they’ve already talked. Waltham deals with a lot of drug crime, and the FBI and DEA have been involved also. So there isn’t anything to find out, and I’d be more worried about the killers looking askance at anyone who showed ‘too much interest’ in the case. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/4 "2012-07-16T19:22:30Z")
All that procedural crap and crime novel stuff is pretty relevant here. Someone who slits 3 throats is probably into this as a hobby; odds are they did not flip a coin and say, “these guys, slit the throat instead of bullet to back of head”. So modus operandi is actually somewhat relevant. Also, drug arguments that get to this level probably means professional crooks. This wasn’t Dave down the street upset over a bag of oregano. To kill 3 guys at once would require at least 2 guys with guns, probably more. My guess is they know (have a very good guess) whodunnit but the physical evidence to drag them into court is lacking. they’re waiting for someone to talk, probably once they nail them for something else and offer each one a deal. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/5 "2012-07-16T19:40:03Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > So it looks like the police are keeping this one close to the vest, my question: > -is there any on-line crime registry that might have info on this? > > - does the dearth of info mean that the police are stumped? > -Finally, do the police look askance at people who show “too much interest” in such a case? No, no, and no. The police won’t tell you anything about the status of their investigation. If you want to get the real scoop, call one of the local reporters who’ve covered it. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/6 "2012-07-16T20:00:04Z")
The fact that the victims had their throats slit and were not just shot seems to indicate that the killer was trying to send a message. Either a boss was sending a message to subordinates to not steal from him, or a gang was sending a message to not come into our territory. The police probably have a very good idea who did it but have not enough evidence to charge anyone. If you are looking into this murder it is probably not the police you have to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/7 "2012-07-17T03:47:23Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > -Finally, do the police look askance at people who show “too much interest” in such a case? Probably. I hope you use an anonymizing proxy server to post here, **ralph124c**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/8 "2012-07-17T04:16:58Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > The fact that the victims had their throats slit and were not just shot seems to indicate that the killer was trying to send a message. Either a boss was sending a message to subordinates to not steal from him, or a gang was sending a message to not come into our territory. The police probably have a very good idea who did it but have not enough evidence to charge anyone. If you are looking into this murder it is probably not the police you have to worry about. This pretty much. Until someone spills or deals to get a reduced sentence on some other crime, without physical evidence there’s not much that can be done. This isn’t TV detective fiction. What incentive would a criminal “in the know” have in talking to Encyclopedia Brown? ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/9 "2012-07-17T04:19:54Z")
I would probably investigate anyone posting around on the Internet, trying to outsmart the police in the investigation. At the very least, if that wasn’t the guy, when the killer goes to kill him, I’ll have one more lead. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amateur-detectives-how-would-you-investigate-this-crime/628420/10 "2012-07-17T08:12:30Z")
I’d investigate anyone commenting on this, how do they know so much?