Following an interview with P2, who was already in custody on unrelated charges (ref. Case # 002167-14G-2003),
R/Is made arrangements to transport P2 to Reagle Farm Road in east Yoknapatawpha
County, where P2 had indicated he could identify the location where he had
unearthed a human hand on 7/14/03. R/Is contacted CSU and requested CSU meet
them at the scene for excavation and possible recovery of a body. R/Is and
P2 arrived at Reagle Farm Road at 10:00 a.m. Environmental conditions at
scene upon arrival were as follows: Weather: Sunny; Ambient Temperature:
approximately 80° F / 27° C; Relative Humidity: approximately 88
percent.
P2 directed R/Is to a location on Reagle Farm Road approximately
1000 off
County Road 418. After exiting the vehicle, P2 specified a location approximately
8 feet east of the edge of Reagle Farm Road, adjacent to the cotton field,
as the site where he had previously found the human hand.
CSU arrived on the scene at approximately 10:20 a.m. R/Is identified the area to be excavated. CSU cordoned off the area and documented it. Excavation began at approximately 11:00 a.m. Excavation was suspended temporarily at 12:00 p.m. No evidence had been discovered at that time. R/Is contacted Dispatch and requested an officer be dispatched to their location. Officer Steve Harding (Unit #224) arrived at 12:18 p.m. R/O Harding remained at the scene to secure the location.
Excavation resumed at approximately 1:30 p.m. CSU uncovered
what appeared to be a human hand at approximately 2:30 p.m. At approximately
3:30 p.m. the body of an adult white male with brown hair was fully revealed.
The head was to the north and the feet to the south. The body was clothed
in a yellow, collared, short-sleeve knit shirt, blue denim jeans, and white athletic
shoes. The left arm was resting on top of the torso. The right arm was resting
on top of the torso and left arm. The right hand was missing. Adjacent to
the left hip was a flask-sized bottle labeled "Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey." Adjacent to the left ear was a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Scene processing was suspended while the Coroner's Office was notified and dispatched to the scene.
Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson arrived at the scene at approximately 4:10 p.m. and joined R/Is at the body's location. Inspector Johnson pronounced the body at 4:12 p.m. by visual observation of the state of decomposition. Inspector Johnson speculated the deceased had been dead somewhere between three and 10 days, but withheld an official estimate pending an autopsy, noting that the burial, weather conditions and other factors made a determination at the scene difficult. Inspector Johnson said the cause of death appeared to have been multiple gunshot wounds, two to the chest and one to the groin area, but indicated that further details would be available in the official autopsy report. Inspector Johnson also noted it appeared the deceased's right hand was amputated with a moderately sharp blade, but withheld an official statement pending further examination. After Inspector Johnson completed her initial inspection of the body, she stayed with the CSU team to ensure integrity of the body, while the team took photographs of the scene and performed preliminary analyses, until the body could be removed from the scene without destroying other evidence.
Deceased was removed from its original location to the Coroner's vehicle at approximately 6:45 p.m. At that time, a wallet was recovered from the deceased's right rear pants pocket. The wallet contained a driver's license and credit cards issued to Andrew Fine of 596 Hathorn Road, Oxford. Deceased was tentatively identified as Andrew Fine, pending official confirmation by the Coroner. Body of the deceased remanded into the custody of Coroner's Inspector Luwinda Johnson. Deceased was removed from scene at 7:02 p.m. and transported to the coroner's office for autopsy. A preliminary autopsy report is expected within fourteen days of this report.
R/Is left the scene at 7:15 p.m. Before leaving, R/Is instructed CSU to seal the scene upon completion or end of day suspension of processing. CSU to notify R/Is of progress. R/Is transported P2 back to the Yoknapatawpha County Detention Center.
Evidence remanded into the custody of Forensics Officer T. R. Douglas for transport to the state crime lab for routine analysis. CSU is expected to submit an inventory of items taken into evidence within fourteen days of this report, with detailed report(s) of their findings to follow at a later date.
