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Fauquier detective puts new skills to the test in murder case
He was getting ready to go on vacation.On Friday June 27, Fauquier County Detective Mark Jones graduated from an intensive, nine-week crime scene investigation course offered by the Virginia Forensic Science Academy in Richmond.
Two days later, he responded to what turned out to be a murder scene on Free State Road in Marshall.
The man who was found dead as a result of multiple, unspecified wounds June 29 was Du Chil Park. Park, who was 56, was a Buddhist monk.
Jones said he hadn't officially returned to work when he was summoned to the scene.
"I had planned to go on vacation with my family," Jones said. "I got the call at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, and we got the scene to the point where I could [still] go away."
The experience was almost surreal, according to Jones.
"It was strange that I'd just been through all this training, and then this happened," he said.
The learning curve...
Jones and his twin brother Mike, who is a forensic tech with the Virginia State Police, were among 12 students from law enforcement agencies throughout the state to attend the free course.
Students learned about every aspect of crime scene investigation from photography to forensic entomology, Jones said. Other topics included fingerprint recovery and blood pattern analysis.
Learning about advancements in technology pertaining to forensic biology and DNA was also "pretty remarkable," Jones said.
But some aspects of the training — such as using an animal carcass to study decomposition rates — were admittedly unpleasant.
"You know you are there for a job, and you are just so focused on what you are doing that you forget about the smell and everything else," Jones said.
The training was also intense. "For the last two weeks, we did nothing but crime scene scenarios," Jones explained. "Either you were a part of it or you were critiquing [your classmates]."
In order to graduate, the students had to pass both the crime scene "practicals" and a written exam consisting of 150 questions and an essay.
But Jones said all the hard work is definitely worthwhile.
"I found I became a much better photographer and [overall] I learned more patience. You learn how to get a game plan together and go in the direction [the evidence] is taking you."
The detective added that the academy provides a "tremendous resource statewide."
Specifically, he noted that a number of people who had been through the academy responded to the Virginia Tech shootings.
Jones, who is only the second person from the Sheriff's Office to receive the training, said he hopes more of his colleagues will get to go to the academy.
"I think we should have at least two or three people [trained] as designated crime scene investigators," he said.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com
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