Who knows for sure where the phrase the smoking gun might have originated. It could have been first said in Europe not long after the firearm was invented or it might have been coined in the old west of America. Wherever it was first came up with, it is used as a way to specify a certain piece of evidence in a crime that clearly implicates someone or something.
Sometimes the phrase the smoking gun can literally mean a gun was found freshly fired and other times it can refer to some other element in a criminal case that the proof that someone did something. There usually always has to be a smoking gun so to speak in almost any criminal case to ensure a guilty verdict unless circumstantial evidence is great enough to get the job done. It used to be a lot easier for criminals to avoid leaving behind a smoking gun piece of evidence, but those days are long gone.
With the forensic technologies that are available and used today at a crime scene, the chances of a person getting away with rape, murder, and almost any other crime is almost impossible. The smallest bit of fiber, hair, or bodily fluid of any kind can be found and used to convict someone. Many criminals in this day and age who thought that they could not have possibly left behind a smoking gun are often surprised when they are put in hand cuffs and led away to jail.
In the past one, other than being seen committing a crime, the best way to prove someone guilty of that crime was if they left behind finger prints some where at the crime scene. Now criminals realize they have to be even more careful. Rapists and murders have been known to completely shave their body from head to toe to ensure they do not leave behind and hair that can be traced back to them. If a criminal leaves behind any blood of their own, gets a the blood of the victim on their clothes, leaves semen in a rape victim, if the victim scratches the criminal and gets their skin under their fingernails, or even saliva on a cigarette butt, it can spell disaster for them.
It makes you wonder if in the future it will be possible for anyone to get away with anything. With the forensic evidence that can be gathered and surveillance going on everywhere, it just might become impossible. This is good for those who wish to be greatly protected, but not so good for those who wish to get away with something they should not.
The Smoking Gun
Everything was hot in Kern County that July 4th, with the exception of the decedent's body, which, despite his having apparently committed suicide only half an hour earlier, was cold to the touch. The investigating police officer found nothing strange about this, having arrived very rapidly at the decedent's residence in response to a 911 call by his wife.
Officers spoke briefly with various other neighbors, with the exception of the male next-door neighbor who was parts unknown for the several days that officers tried to contact him.
Prior to the suicide, the deceased had been involved in an insurance claim. After the suicide, the man's wife filed a bad faith suit against the insurance company, claiming that they were too slow in paying the claim and that that was what drove the deceased to suicide. Stein Investigation was hired to investigate the case by the insurance carrier defending against the bad faith lawsuit.
A review of the police report and coroner's report indicated that the decedent had apparently shot himself in the chest with a rifle. Death was instantaneous. Photos depicted blood splash marks on both forearms.
Further investigation disclosed that the decedent, several weeks earlier, had checked into an area motel and apparently threatened suicide. Investigation disclosed that the manager of the motel was present for a distraught conversation which took place between the future decedent and his wife.
Further inquiries and contact with neighbors and associates disclosed that the decedent, in fact, was planning to leave his wife for a younger woman who was then pregnant with his child. This raised suspicions of possible foul play.
The Stein investigator caused considerable distress in a Big 5 Sporting Goods store when he asked to see a comparable rifle. After ensuring that a rifle was empty of any cartridge, the investigator proceeded to hold it to his chest in an effort to ascertain where the blood would have splashed, had he in fact shot himself with the rifle in a suicide attempt. The staff in the store, not used to such activity, were considerably upset by this.
The investigator also examined the actual rifle involved in the death.
We found out that the husband, the decedent, was both a pool player and a fairly heavy drinker. On one occasion, the husband, when his wife attempted to have him return home from a night engaged in drinking and pool playing, beat her up rather severely, causing facial scarring. She was heard at that time to tell him that if he ever did that again, she would kill him.
More detailed examination of the crime scene photographs of the decedent showed that the blood spattering on the arms did not appear to be consistent with that of an individual holding a rifle to his own chest, but rather showed that the arms had been in a defensive position at the time of the shooting.
All in all, our investigative results were likely to contribute to a very lively courtroom drama.
At this point in the investigation, the investigator came up with a bright idea. A small amount of research discovered that the decedent had not actually divorced his previous wife, rendering his current "wife" without any standing to file the bad faith suit. Since we were doing our investigation for the insurance company that had been sued, we closed the file. But not surprisingly, the District Attorney did not.
Both Rachel Yoshida & Mitch Hermann are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Rachel Yoshida has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home, Finances and Education. Rachel Yoshida is a writer of many topics, visit some of her sites, like and. Rachel Yoshida's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.
Mitch Hermann has sinced written about articles on various topics from Legal Matters, Politics. Mitch Hermann is Director of Stein Investigation Agency (), founded in 1946 and with investigators in 45 cities in 15 states.. Mitch Hermann's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.