 Mystery: May 06, 2020 Issue [#10160] |
This week: I saw the whole thing Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week : "Journalism allows its readers to witness history; fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it."
~John Hersey |
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Imagine you come home and surprise a burglar in the process of robbing your house. He rushes out the door, knocking you down in the process, and speeds away in a waiting car. Luckily, you're not hurt, but when the police arrive, how much will you remember about the thief? Will you be able to tell them how tall he was, the color of his eyes and hair, or what he was wearing? If he spoke, could you describe his voice? What was the license number of his car? If you didn't get the license number, did you observe the make, model, or the color?
Eyewitness recollections of a crime are often incorrect. Witnessing a crime is quite traumatic, which might interfere with the witness's recall of the event. If a person is holding you at gunpoint, for example, all your attention might be focused on the gun rather than his face. Witnesses might see the suspect or his vehicle for only a few seconds as he is running away.
The classic detective story "Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe illustrates an example of the problems of relying on witness testimony. In this story, two woman are found brutally murdered in a house in Paris. Several witnesses overhear what may have been an argument between two suspects. While all witnesses agree that one of the voices was male and spoke French, they disagree on the language and even the gender of the second speaker. In fact, all witnesses claim to have heard a language that they themselves did not speak or understand. For any of you who have never read the story, I won't tell you what language the second voice actually spoke, but I will say all witnesses were wrong! 
There are also reasons why a witness might deliberately give an incorrect account of events. Maybe the criminal threatened the witness or their family with retaliation if they implicated him. If the suspect is a family member or friend, the witness may be trying to protect them. Maybe the person claiming to be a witness actually committed the crime and is trying to implicate someone else.
Remember that appearance isn’t the only thing that a witness might remember to help identify a suspect. Maybe the witness in your story did not see the criminal, but might remember the sound of their voice, the scent of aftershave or perfume, or the scratchy feeling of clothing.
Something to try: Write a mystery story where the detectives know witnesses are not telling the truth. |
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