How to write a Forensic Case Study: Murder of Junko Furuta

Photo of Junko Furuta 

For one to score high marks in a Forensic Case Study, one must  adhere to the following:

Background of the case: This section contains details about the crime. It includes; the reasons for committing the offense, the conditions which the crime was committed, the circumstances of the crime scene and clear identification of the suspect(s) and the victim(s). One should ensure that the information in this part gives a precise idea of what the case is all about.

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Evidence: This encompasses the piece of evidence found at the crime scene. The evidence should be described in details, that is, ways in which the evidence was collected, processed and preserved.  

Forensic Tests: The tests should be two or more that were used to analyze the evidence. The science or theory of instrumentation used must be described fully.  

Results: This consists of a detailed explanation of the forensic tests and the data interpretation.

Conclusion: This part entails concrete information on how the forensic test results resolve the case or give the further direction for the investigation. For instance, how the results aided in identifying the suspect(s) or the victim(s).

Clarity and organization: The paper should be organized in a manner in which the ideas flow from the background of the case to conclusion and easily understandable. The paper should contain no or not more than two grammatical mistakes. All sources used must be cited according to the formatting style the writer is using.The required paper length, sections, headlines, spacing font and font size should be followed.

Overall impact: The writer should be focussed, confident and carefully crafted the interest of the reader(s).

The forensic case study below is a sample which followed these rules (using MLA format). It is about the abduction of a lady in 1988 by four teenagers.

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The Case Study of “Murder of Junko Furuta”

Background of the case

Physical investigation of the crime scene provided full information behind the whole story and it also uncovered the possibilities of doubts in “Junko Furuta” murder. Studies show that on 25^th November 1988, Junko Furuta left school for home. However, she did not make it back.  A group of four of young teenagers kidnapped her. Furuta was in her third year in high school at Misato Saitama Prefecture at the time of the abduction. The abductors kept her captive for forty-four days in the house owned by the parents of one of the young teenagers known as Kamasiku, who was 17 years old. This house was located in Tokyo, Ayase district of Adachi. It was reported that the abductors were strangers to Furuta, and the kidnappers abducted her because they wish to do so, but there was nothing the young men were after. For the criminals to prevent the manhunt, they forced Furuta to call her parents informing them that she had run away from home, and she was with a friend but not in danger. Komasiku coerced Junko to behave as the girlfriend of one of his friends when Kamasiku’s parents were around, however, when he discovered that his parents were not concerned, he stopped that. Forensic laboratory analyses of samples taken from the murder scene gave concrete evidence of the Furuta’s murderers.

Evidence                                                                        

At the crime scenes,  the following were physically examined; cup smelling urine, injuries on Furuta's body parts, fireworks, cigarette lighters, light bulb, blood-stained rope, blood oozing from mouth and nose, Dumbbells, Barbell, flammable liquids. Besides, the blood stained bottles, golf club, bamboo sticks, iron rods, burn eyelids, blood stained sewing needles, stabbed marks on the chest, missing left nipple, blood stained in the private part, lighter fluid and blood stained pliers were physically observed. The photographs of various parts of Furuta’s mutilated body were also taken. Evidence was also supported by the confessions by the kidnappers from day one up to the last day. The abductors’ confessions described what they did to Junko, and these confessions include:

 First day:  25^th November 1988

They abducted Faruta as she was coming from school.  She was held captive in the house of Kamasiku’s parents and was intimated to pretend as the girlfriend of one of the young teenagers. Furuta was forced to call her mother alerting her that she was not in danger but with a friend. The kidnappers stated that they forced her to masturbate and raped her repeatedly amounting to 400 times. Kamasiku and his friends fed her cockroaches and denied her food. They made her strip naked before them, burnt her with cigarette lighters, and inserted foreign objects in anus/vagina, set off fireworks on her mouth, private part and ears. 

11^th day: 1^st December 1988

Abductors held her face against a concrete surface and stepped on it. They tied her hands to the ceiling and used her body as a punching bag until blood begun oozing from her mouth. The kidnappers further filled her nose with blood until she was unable to breathe, and dropped a dumbbell on her stomach. On this day Furuta tried to escape. However, she was not lucky; she was caught and her arms burnt by the cigarette lighter. Kamasiku and his colleagues added that they inserted bottle in her private part and anus, and poured flammable liquid on her legs and feet and lit a fire on them. 

20^th day: 10^th December 1988

The abductors confessed that they inserted the fireworks in Furuta’s anus and lit it. They beat her with a bamboo stick, golf club, and iron rods repeatedly. The teenager men said that they cracked her nails and smashed her hands by weights. They also introduced cigarette in her private part and coerced her to drink her urine. They later kicked her out of the house and made her slept in the balcony. Kamasiku’s team placed the grilled chicken skewers in her private part and anus.  This time again, Junko reached the phone for help but caught before she commenced calling. They punished her by burning her legs with candle flames, placing her feet in the lighter liquid and later burned them (Universal Book Traders par. 3).

30^th day:  20^th December 1988

On this day, these young teenagers stabbed Furuta with sewing needle severally on the chest. They removed her left nipple using pliers and put the hot light bulb in her private part. 

40^th day:  1^st January 1989

Kimasaku and colleagues stated that Furuta begged them to kill her, and this time they said Junko could not move from the ground, and her body was severely mutilated.

44^th day (last day):  4^th January 1989

The abductors beat Furuta's mutilated body using a barbell, placed candle flame on her nose and eyes. They continued their torture by pouring lighter liquid on Junko’s legs, arms, and stomach, and then lit them. The kidnappers indicated that Furuta died later on that day. 

5^th January 1989

On this day, the killers confessed that they hid Furuta's body in a fifty-five-gallon drum and then filled it with concrete and finally dumped the gallon drum on a reclaimed tract of land Koto, Tokyo.

Forensic tests

Numerous cells in the body consist of diploid cells containing identical DNA. However, DNA is missing in red blood cells and haploid gametes. Various evidence is employed in forensic science for DNA analysis, for instance, saliva, blood, semen, skin, urine, but some are paramount than others. DNA is a deoxyribonucleic acid, which is arranged in a double helix. DNA molecules contain a deoxyribose sugar, four nitrogenous bases, and a triphosphate. It is the chemical molecule that contains genetic information and organisms’ instructions. The genome of human composed of over three billion base pairs' information arranged in twenty-three chromosomes. Parts of DNA that encode and control the synthesis of protein is known as a gene. A good number of human genomes consist of extragenic DNA that does not have gene sequence; however, 50% of the extragenic DNA constitutes repetitive DNA, which is useful for the DNA analysis. Repetitive DNA is further classified into two groups; that is, interspersed repeats and tandem. The DNA prolific techniques are based on the tandem DNA repeat and the variation between them. Different individuals have unique DNA because of polymorphism, and this makes it possible to single out one person from others (Forensic Library par. 8). In this examination, the necessary evidence was gathered for laboratory investigation. This evidence encompasses blood stained sewing needle, blood stained pliers; blood stained on the suspects' clothes, and blood-stained rope. Blood smeared on the floor of the crime, controlled concrete where the body was found. 

All these were tested to determine the origin of the blood on the scene. Gel diffusion was used to reveal the blood source. Tests on gel diffusion instrument were achieved by placing the sample of interest in one well and on other well placing purified antibodies, and the set up was left to develop for forty-eight fours. On the other hands, the semen tests were carried out using acid phosphatase test on victim vaginal stains. The container which was smelling urine was also subjected to acid phosphatase test. The vaginal stains and the bottle smelling urine were later subjected to microscopic detection using UV-spectroscopy. The antisera needed for blood examination was provided by relevant serologist governmental organizations. Grouping of the blood was performed by the gel diffusion method as stated in the laboratory manual of forensic serology.

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Results and analysis

From the laboratory analysis, the semen and urine tests in the vaginal stains and the containers were positive. The blood of human was found in all the evidence under investigation and as stated in Table a. 

 The objective of forensic scientists is to investigate the kind of the death, whether it is unnatural or natural. Forensic is also tasked with the verification of the suspects’ confessions. During the investigation, the precision of the evidence collected was adhered to, to ensure the manipulation of the information was avoided.  The physical observations on the crime scene and confessions by the suspects described how the crime occurred from the first day until the day Furuta died. According to the objects found in the offense scene and the photographs taken from the Furuta's mutilated body indicated the relation between the objects found of the offense scene and the scars on the Junko’s body. For instance, the stabbed scars observed on the Junko’s chest showed that needle was used to stab her.  The presence of pliers on the scene indicated it was used to pull something, and according to the abductors they used it to remove Junko’s left nipple.

The burns discovered on the body showed that the victim was subjected to several injuries using the candle flames, cigarette lighter, and some burns indicating they were facilitated using liquid fuels.  The scars on the body indicated that the victim was repeatedly beaten using blunt objects, and this was confirmed by the presence of objects such as golf club, iron rod, and barbell and bamboo stick. According to the DNA analysis, the blood stains on the scene of the crime and the suspects' clothes were of human, and it was blood group type ‘AB’. The blood group ‘AB’ was originated from Junko’s body, as this was confirmed by the blood test performed on Junko’s father (Forensic Magazine par. 3). The semen analysis on the vaginal showed the presence of semen in the vagina, and also injuries in Furuta’s private part supported the rape case.  The injuries on Junko’s anus were an indication that the abductors were inserting different of objects through her anus. From these findings it was therefore, clear that Furuta was brutally tortured and left to die by Kamasiku and his colleagues. 

Resolution of the case

 The  confessions made by the suspects and the presence of the blood group ‘AB’  which was identified as Furuta’s blood group connected the crime with the four suspects(Kamasiku and three young teenagers).  The suspects should be charged accordingly.  The conclusion of this study concur with the findings of the previous research, for example, researchers show that the young boys were sentenced to incarceration ranging from four to seven years because they were still juveniles at the time of the crime. 

 Work cited

Forensic Magazine. Case Study: The Theft and Murder Unravelled by Forensic Investigation. (2011). Retrieved 21 June from http://www.forensicmag.com/article/2011/06/case-study-theft-and-murder-unraveled-forensic-investigation

Universal Books Traders. Junko Furuta-Raped, Tortured and Burnt Alive. (2012). Retired 21 June from http://lawyersupdate.co.in/lu/9/748.asp

The Forensic Library. DNA Analysis. (2016) Retrieved 21 June from http://aboutforensics.co.uk/bodily-fluids-analysis/