A murder book is a file on an open murder investigation in the US, containing information such as crime scene photographs, witness statements, and forensic reports. It documents every step of the investigation and is passed on to prosecutors as evidence. If a suspect is not found, the case becomes a cold case file.
Murder book is a colloquial term used in the United States to describe the file on an open murder investigation. During a homicide or suspected homicide investigation, law enforcement collects information related to solving the case. That information, including crime scene photographs, notes or observations from responding officers and detectives, forensic reports, and suspect details, is compiled into a single file, otherwise known as a homicide book. Other information pertinent to the criminal investigation may also be found in the file, such as witness statements and copies of any executed search warrants.
When referring to a homicide book, detectives typically mean a single case file, although the term can refer to multiple files depending on the context in which the term is used. When dealing with multiple homicides, such as in the case of serial killings, multiple homicide files or homicide books are maintained individually for each crime. Although separate files are maintained, the term homicide book can become a collective term for all individual files on cases suspected of having one or more common perpetrators.
The purpose of a homicide book is to create a paper trail of documents about a particular homicide investigation. In short, a homicide book documents every step of the investigative process in a particular homicide case. The file begins when a homicide is reported and ends when a suspect is arrested and charged with the homicide. All documentation, including references to physical evidence, is noted in the file. During the investigation, law enforcement continues to add additions to the file, as well as use the contents of the file to help the investigation progress to completion.
At the end of an investigation, when a suspect is arraigned and charged with the murder, the homicide book and its contents are passed on to prosecutors as part of the body of evidence. Crime scene photographs and forensic test results may then appear in court as part of the prosecutor’s presentation to the judge or jury. Similarly, witness statements taken at the time of the investigation and included in the case file provide information for the prosecutor to develop a witness list for court testimony. Other documentation and information contained in the crime book may also be included as evidence, depending on the source and validity of these documents.
In the event that a suspect is not found or enough evidence is gathered to substantiate the charges, the case remains open. The homicide book on such a case remains with law enforcement agencies. After a certain period of time, the unsolved cases become cold in terms of clues, and the corresponding information collected becomes a cold case file. Cold case files are simply murder books about cases that haven’t seen new development in a year or more.
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