Police Report A Team CJS/304 August 27, 2013 Heather Arambarri

Arrest and Incident Report I, Officer Murphy, and my partner, Officer Hendricks were dispatched to the scene of a domestic disturbance outside of Phoenix Nightclub on 305 Axia Parkway at approximately 2:47 am. As we arrived to the scene we noticed a male that appeared to be in his thirties, standing about 61, weighing approximately 275 pounds, physically assault a female, who appeared to be in her early thirties, standing approximately 56, weighing about 150 pounds. As we approached the couple, we could detect the stench of alcohol coming from both parties. As we placed the male subject under arrest, the female began to verbally abuse my partner and I. Officer Hendricks placed the female subject under arrest at that time. After reading each subject their Miranda rights and a thorough search of their person to check for concealed weapons or illegal substances, we placed them in separate squad cars, as they were too inebriated to answer questions regarding what had taken place. Patrons of the nightclub were then summoned for questions. One female patron of the club stated that she witnessed a heated argument between the male and female subject over who would pay the tab that the two had racked up purchasing alcohol at the establishment. She stated that the argument began about 15 minutes prior to the call to the police department was made. The bouncer who worked at the club stated that he witnessed the two exit the club after the male subject reluctantly paid. When outside, the couple continued to argue and it then turned into a physical altercation, and the bouncer used his cell to contact the police department after futile attempts to calm the couple down. The bouncer stated that, after notifying the couple that the police had been called, he then witnessed the male subject strike the female subject repeatedly by the head area, yelling that he would kill her if he went to jail, and blaming her for the events that had taken place within the nightclub.

Narrative Upon finding of the victims automobile, a dark blue 1999 Toyota Rav 4 displaying Wisconsin license plate number SWH582, a search warrant was received for the automobile and also the neighboring locations, as well as Steven A. Averys property. While in the home of Steven A. Avery, police officers found a number of tools used for joining, such as lower leg irons and also handcuffs. There were in addition a few other objects discovered inside the residence which connected Steven A. Avery to the disappearance of the victim, Teresa Marie Halbach. Additionally found, inside the sleeping quarters of Steven A. Avery, was 2 guns, a. 22 caliber semi-automatic rifle along with a. 50 caliber black powder muzzle loader in addition to a key, belonging to the Toyota, next to some sort of bookcase. This particular key had been later verified as belonging to the automobile associated with Teresa Marie Halbach while it had been used to start the automobile (State of Wisconsin, 2006). After searching Mr. Averys home, police officers then went to the garage attached to Mr. Averys home where a .22 long rifle was located on the floor; however, while searching outside of the garage, on Mr. Averys property was a fire pit and a large barrel not to far from the garage. While inspecting the fire pit and large barrel, inside the large barrel which appeared to have been used was the remaining of a cell phone and a digital camera. These discoveries were later determined to be the property of Teresa Halbach. Police officers also found what appeared to bone fragments and teeth inside the fire pit which were collected and sent to forensics for identification. Retired anthropologist Ken Bennett examined and came to the conclusion that the fragments collected belonged to an adult female. After the search of the property and surrounding areas the victims vehicle was taken to a lab for examination. Inside the vehicle blood was discovered and at the rear cargo of the vehicle.

The blood was later matched with the same blood type as Teresa Halbach and had samples that matched Mr. Avery. The blood found in the front inside of the vehicle matched Mr. Avery and the blood discovered in the rear cargo was determined to be Teresa Halbachs blood. The evidence that was collected was from the dates November 5, 2005 to November 15, 2005 and on November 27, 2006 investigator Mark Weigert who worked for Calumet Sheriffs department later interviewed suspect Brendan Dassey. During the interview questions was asked regarding the disappearance of victim Teresa Halbach and during this time is when suspect Dassey confirmed he was responsible for the sexual assault, murder, and cremation of Teresa Halbachs body.

There are several types of communication both verbal and non-verbal throughout the police report: STATE OF WISCONNSIN v. Brendan Dassey. First of all, the obvious is verbal communication between the investigating officers and the suspects. Mr. Fassbender is thorough when it comes to obtaining information from Mr. Dassey. Unfortunately; Mr. Avery was not as co-operative. The verbal communication between Brendan and Teresa appeared to be one sided as Mr. Dassey did not indicate that he spoke to Ms. Halbach, there appeared to be only Teresa begging and pleading with him. Another interesting form of verbal communication was between the two suspects. Steven encouraged Brenden to participate in assaulting Ms. Halbach . Opening up a possible defense for Mr. Dassey, he may be trying to go for a lesser sentence other than the felonies set before him. Without reading an official transcript of the interviews/interrogations, how the participants acted can only be assumed. For instance, a lot of information was obtained through interviewing Brenden. Special agent Fassbender was undoubtedly very strong and confident while conducting Mr. Dasseys interrogation. He probably put Brendan right in his place. Telling him to sit down or even helping him into his seat in the interview room. Agent Fassbender most likely spoke firm and loud and strong to establish dominance. Dassey appeared to have spilled the beans rather freely making one believe something or someone had to influence such candor. Rapport must have been established early in the interview process for Brendan to reveal such a detailed account of the events that lead to Ms. Halbachs demise.

Summary The investigation began the day Karen Halbach notified the authorities of her missing daughter. In cases of this magnitude and severity, communication excellence is what brought the killers to justice. In this particular case, Wisconsin law enforcement officials exceptionally handled communication and potential communication barriers with absolute precision. Starting with the method of which evidence was transported to specific divisions within the department all the way through the interviews and interrogations of the suspects and witnesses. As the overview of the case reads, there was more than enough physical evidence to convict the suspects. In addition to the physical evidence, officers were able to squeeze a confession out of the defendant. It sat in the back of every officers mind that had a part in solving this heinous crime, that so much as a clerical error could probably ruin all possibility of a conviction. This proves the strength and perseverance that is achievable through excellent communication. In summarizing the case from start to finish, the perception of communication is nearly flawless. Therefore, is there room for any improvement to their communication methods? Not according to the information provided. This is a stellar example of communication with interdepartmental divisions and beyond. Although the report depicts genuine accounts and testimony, this report was written from the point of view of Thomas Fassbender. This does not mean that his words were inaccurate, but there should be a level of curiosity that perhaps all accounts did not happen exactly as they were written.