A drop of blood

“Darn, homeless people just drop their crap in our way.” Gregg Braden scurried past when an odor hit. Looking closely, Gregg realized it looked like a body. A quick 911 call and police presence confirmed a 5’ 6”, dark-skinned blonde, about 30 years old, DOA, under the pedestrian bridge. The credentials from her purse identified Stephanie Mace. Crime scene evidence suggested she was killed elsewhere and dumped under the bridge.

Only a single drop of blood lay next to her. The autopsy showed a defensive cut on her hand. Toxicology showed meth and indicated death by strangulation—no fingerprints on the body or the crime scene. As the person who found Stephanie, Gregg was initially a prime suspect. His alibi was air-tight, and he had no motive or opportunity. When the police are in a jam with no clues, they call in their ace, Jackson O’Sullivan.

Stephanie and her elder sister, Whitney Mace, inherited their house from their parents. Whitney had reported Stephanie as missing a few days before. From his notes, Detective O’Sullivan noted that Whitney had fought with Stephanie on Saturday, but they resolved their issues before both left for work. That night, Stephanie was not home when Whitney returned from work. She went on to sleep; confident Stephanie would return home late. After a few days, work called and fired Stephanie for her no-show. Alex MacDonald, Stephanie’s sometime boyfriend, had not seen or heard from Stephanie since Tuesday. Worried, Whitney searched Stephanie’s usual hangouts. Nobody had seen her. She filed the missing person’s report that Tuesday.

With permission, Detective O’Sullivan searched the house and found a note scrawled sloppily and signed by Stephanie. “I don’t think I can live here with you anymore. I don’t feel like I am your sister. I am leaving, don’t look for me. Goodbye.” Detective O’Sullivan was suspicious and asked Whitney for something else Stephanie had written. The neatly written grocery list on the refrigerator showed the note was no match. Spacing, slant, the pressure of the lead, loops, dotted is, and crossed ts. Nothing matched.

There was a birthday card from Alex, and the sloppy handwriting was almost an exact match to the note left in the drawer and allegedly signed by Stephanie. It was not much evidence but enough to convince a judge to issue a search warrant. Alex’s house was clean. He complained loudly about Stephanie’s sister. Detective O’Sullivan just ignored him and thoroughly went through the house. Stephanie’s fingerprints were all over the place, but Alex reminded them they were dating. No blood or other signs of a struggle were evident. In the garage near the car was a broken window. A small piece of glass lay on the ground. A single drop of blood was on the shard. Bagged and tagged for analysis later. Inside the car, Stephanie’s bracelet and jacket were in the back seat. The car had been vacuumed and washed recently, but there was a single drop of blood in the back seat. The vehicle was impounded and thoroughly analyzed in the forensic lab.

DNA evidence from the blood on the broken glass and Alex’s backseat identified with Stephanie’s DNA marker convicted Alex. The jury took just 30 minutes to deliberate. Guilty as charged with second-degree murder.

The motive was simple. Alex was cheating on Stephanie for the second time, and she had threatened to kill him if he had ever cheated again. So, he took a preemptive strike. Alex thought it would rain and wash away any evidence on the body. He drugged her, but she resisted and broke the window in the brawl. Alex slashed at her throat with the broken glass, but her hand stopped the thrust. So, he overpowered her and strangled her. Tossed her in the back seat, Alex dragged her to the pedestrian bridge, where she lay for days before Gregg found her. He ran by her house and dropped the note to make it appear she ran away or killed herself. Detective O’Sullivan sighed as the file closed. Humans indeed can be evil, he thought to himself.