Crime Scene Investigation Unit

### Purpose

Investigating Crime Scenes, performing autopsies, examining bodies for cause of death

### Headquarters

Police Station
Police Station (Spiral)

### Members

Adam Heffner†
Pathologist
Coroner Worker†
Jennings Foster
Chada

### Relationships

Homicide Unit (subdivision)
Internal Affairs Division (subdivision)

## History

### The Jigsaw Case

Sometime later, the homicide unit of the Metropolitan Police Department got involved in the case of a serial killer known as Jigsaw, who forced his victims to fight for their lives in deadly games and cut a jigsaw piece from their skin after their death. After the first victim, a drug addict named Cecil Adams, was found after participating in one of Jigsaw's traps, the unit founded a task force to investigate the case. The task force was led by Detective David Tapp and consisted of him and his partners, Detective Steven Sing, Detective Allison Kerry, Detective Mark Hoffman and Detective Fisk. (*Saw*, *II*, *III*, *IV*)

As the games continued, the police soon found the corpse of Seth Baxter, who had been sliced in half by a giant pendulum blade. Therefore, Detective Fisk informed Hoffman and went to the crime scene along with him. Upon seeing the victim, Hoffman identified him as Seth Baxter, the ex-boyfriend and murderer of his sister, Angelina Acomb. Fisk, who knew the story about the murder of Angelina, was surprised by this but stated that Seth had become what he deserved. Due to Hoffman being potentially biased, the further investigation on Seth's death, which soon became known to the public as the "Pendulum Murder", was taken over by Detective Kerry. However, Hoffman still asked Fisk to keep him informed, to which the latter agreed. Unknown to his colleagues, Hoffman had actually killed Seth to take revenge for his sister and had thereby imitated Jigsaw's modus operandi. (*Saw V*)

Sometime later, the next victim, Paul Leahy, was found in a basement approximately three weeks after his death. He had been forced to crawl through a fenced area filled with razor wire in order to save his life and escape the basement. When Detective Tapp and Detective Sing arrived at the crime scene, they were expected by Kerry, who had already gathered information from the forensics and therefore was able to tell them about Paul's game as well as his fatal injuries and presented them an audio tape, which had been used to give Paul his instructions.

Shortly afterwards, Tapp, Sing and Kerry were also present at the crime scene of Mark Wilson's game, who had died after accidently igniting himself with a candle in an attempt to find an antidote for a slow-acting poison in his blood. At the crime scene, Kerry found a peephole used by Jigsaw to witness his game and remarked that she had seen one of those before at Paul Leahy's crime scene as well. Furthermore, she told them about a penlight found at the place of Mark's death. Tapp ordered her to send it to the laboratory to see if they could find any fingerprints on it. (*Saw*)

### First Suspect

Upon further examination of the penlight, the laboratory was able to find fingerprints on it that belonged to Dr. Lawrence Gordon, a renowned oncologist at the Angel of Mercy Hospital. Tapp and Sing went to Dr. Gordon's office where they asked him about his alibi for the previous night when Mark Wilson had been killed. They took Gordon to the police station where he was further interrogated. After some hesitation, he eventually revealed that he was with his mistress Carla at the time of the murder, which the police quickly found out to be the truth. However, despite this, Detective Sing asked him to stay for a little longer to witness the interrogation of Amanda Young, a new victim of Jigsaw and the first survivor of one of his deadly games. While talking to her, Tapp kept a wary eye on Gordon to see his reaction to her story. After the interrogation, Lawrence was released from custody and brought home by Tapp, who implied that he still wasn't convinced of his innocence. (*Saw*)

### Michael Marks' Death

Due to their invasion of Jigsaw's hideout without a warrant and Sing's subsequent death, Tapp was discharged from the department and suffered a mental breakdown. Therefore, Kerry took over his position as the leading investigator. Several months later, the corpse of Michael Marks was found during an asbestos disposal, after he had been killed by a nail-spiked metal mask closed on his head. When she arrived, she found a message written at the ceiling which said, "Look closer, Detective Matthews", referring to Detective Eric Matthews, her former partner whom she once had an affair with which resulted in him alienating from his son Daniel and his wife who subsequently filed for divorce. The first officer who arrived at the crime scene told her that Michael was one of Eric's informants. However, as he wasn't completely sure about this Kerry decided to call Eric for help. Even though he wasn't happy to see Kerry due to their affair, he agreed to take a look at the corpse and was shocked to see what had happened to him. Despite the mask, Eric was still able to identify Michael due to a tattoo on his leg and confirmed that he was in fact his informant. Furthermore, he discovered that a jigsaw piece had been cut from Michael's skin, leading him to the conclusion that his informant had become another victim of the killer. When he asked Kerry when she wanted to tell him about it, to which she responded that she thought Eric wanted to find it himself. However, as Eric didn't want to have anything to do with the case nor with Kerry, he angrily went away but stopped when Kerry drew his attention to the message written on the ceiling. (*Saw*, *II*)

### Finding Allison Kerry

Four days later, Hoffman accompanied a SWAT team led by Lieutenant Rigg and Officer Lamanna to the location of Kerry's death. They entered the area and found a chain link door. When they discovered a device connected to the door, Hoffman ordered them to send in a tactical robot before entering. Rigg ordered Officer Baker, who had recovered from his injuries suffered at Wilson Steel, to cut a hole in the door and send the robot in. The robot slowly made its way through the lower floor and reached a corpse hanging from the ceiling. When the camera of the robot eventually captured the person's face, Rigg realized it was Kerry. Horrified by the discovery, Rigg broke through the door and ran to her, thinking he could still save her. However, when he finally reached her, he realized that she had been killed by one of Jigsaw's traps. Seconds later, the remaining SWAT officers entered the lower floor of the basement and called for the forensics, who arrived shortly afterwards.

After securing the crime scene, a depressed Rigg sat down and observed the work of the forensic team. He asked his partner, Officer Lamanna, to cut down Kerry's mutilated corpse. Lamanna replied that he couldn't do this, but Rigg repeated his plea, as he wanted to bestow at least some respect to her. He then left Lamanna alone when Hoffman approached him. Initially angry at him, Hoffman reminded Rigg that he should know not to go through an unsecured door but calmed down when Rigg told him that he thought he could have saved Kerry. Depressed by the discovery of their partner, they talked about their work and how they could still go on. Hoffman then noticed a message written on the wall which said, "Cherish your life." Rigg asked him how they could if this was their life, to which Hoffman merely responded that they chose it and told Rigg to go home. (*Saw IV*)

### FBI Assistance

He was then informed by one of his colleagues, that two FBI agents wanted to talk to him. Moments later, he made acquaintance with Special Agent Peter Strahm and Special Agent Lindsey Perez. Shortly before her death, Kerry, who was their contact person in the police department, had supposedly sent them a key and a message which merely said: "Open the door and you will find me." When they asked him about these things, Hoffman pretended to have no useful information for them. After that, he led the agents to the corpse of Detective Kerry. Upon doing so, Detective Fisk, who had arrived at the crime scene as well, informed him about the bullet shell which one of the police photographers had found at the corpse. Therefore, Hoffman ordered him to send it to the lab so it could be examined for fingerprints. When Agent Perez found the open lock of the trap, she quickly came to the conclusion that this wasn't a Jigsaw trap. However, when Hoffman said it was probably a trap by Amanda Young, Agent Strahm negated this as Kerry weighed approximately 130 pounds while Amanda Young weighed only 107 pounds according to her arrest report and therefore couldn't have placed Kerry in the trap on her own, leading to the conclusion that a third yet unknown person assisted her and John Kramer.

Following the discovery of Kerry, Rigg returned to the police station and watched some of the old interrogation recordings of Jill Tuck, as he was sure that she knew something about him and therefore maybe also about the whereabouts of Eric. Shortly afterwards, Hoffman and the agents entered the room. Rigg tried to convince Hoffman to let him continue his work, but Hoffman ordered him to go home once more and take some time off, stating that it was unlikely to find Eric alive after he had been missing for six months. Albeit Rigg initially refused to do so, he ultimately gave in and left the office. When the agents asked him what his problem was, Hoffman replied that everyone connected to Rigg seemed to die, which was the reason for his obsession with finding Eric.

When they were alone, Strahm and Perez discussed the current situation and debated on whether they should tell Hoffman about Detective Kerry's last message, according to which two officers might be in danger. At this moment, Hoffman interrupted them and asked for their progress. On this occasion, Fisk came to him and informed him about the disappearance of a doctor, Lynn Denlon, from the Angel of Mercy Hospital. Upon hearing this, Hoffman told Fisk that he would take care of it. When Perez saw a cuddly toy in his arm, she asked him if it was for a girl or a boy. Hoffman said it was for a girl, leading Perez to the assumption he was married. However, he denied this and left the station to return to John Kramer and Amanda Young's new hideout at the abandoned Gideon Meatpacking Plant at 11235 Blake Drive. (*Saw IV*)

### Daniel Rigg's Trial

Later that day, a fingerprint from Officer Rigg was found on the bullet shell from Kerry's crime scene. When Detective Fisk informed the Strahm and Perez about this, a young cop told him about a reported shooting at 23 Park Place, the location of Rigg's apartment. Therefore, Lamanna took over the lead of the team and they invaded the apartment. When entering the living room, they found the humiliated corpse of Brenda, another Jigsaw victim, while Rigg had disappeared as he was forced to play one of Jigsaw's games on his own. Shortly afterwards, the forensic team arrived along with Strahm and Perez, who began their investigation. Meanwhile, Lamanna and Fisk unsuccessfully tried to contact Rigg's wife, Tracy. When Strahm saw numerous photos on the wall and noticed one of Detective Hoffman, he asked Lamanna for his whereabouts. However, the attempts to call Hoffman remained unsuccessful as well. (*Saw IV*)

Shortly afterwards the SWAT was called to the Alexander Motel. When they arrived there, they went to room 261 on the first floor where they found the dismembered body of the motel's proprietor, Ivan Landsness, whose limbs had been torn apart by another Jigsaw trap. Again, they called for the special agents and the forensic team who appeared only minutes later. While they investigated the crime scene, Lamanna found out that the room had been rented for the last six days by a lawyer named Art Blank, who had been reported missing two weeks earlier. Agent Strahm ordered him to find out his address. Moments later, Lamanna told them that Art owned several properties, the last known address being only to blocks away. Therefore, they went to the address and entered the basement. After securing the area, they found two labelled files left there for the agents, which led them to the conclusion that they were Jigsaw's targets.

The SWAT was called again that night and was sent to the same school, where they had found Troy four days earlier, after someone had activated the fire alarm. When they entered the school, they soon found Morgan and Rex, who had been trapped there and whose bodies had been impaled by numerous metal spikes. While Rex had died from blood loss after Morgan had removed the spikes, his wife was still alive. The officers called for the CSI team and Strahm and Perez again who arrived shortly afterwards. However, moments after her arrival, one of the forensic investigators accidently activated a device which shot a spike in Perez' direction. Peter Strahm managed to pull her away but instead the spike pierced the head of a police photographer, while Lamanna and the other officers watched in horror. (*Saw IV*)

Shortly afterwards, the police were called to the Gideon Meatpacking Plant. As the police was about to enter and secure the building, Hoffman came out through the delivery entrance along with a little girl, Corbett Denlon. Hoffman, who was in fact another accomplice of John Kramer, had merely pretended to be a victim held hostage at the plant. While the paramedics took care of Corbett, Hoffman was greeted by Detective Fisk who asked him about the whereabouts of Daniel Rigg. Hoffman told him that Rigg had died while trying to help and also claimed that there were no other survivors. Therefore, he was unpleasantly surprised when another team of paramedics suddenly came out of the building with Strahm, who lay on a gurney, severely injured but nonetheless alive after he had entered the building and was put in a trap, which he was able to escape from. (*Saw IV*, *V*)

### Message from the Grave

After the Gideon Plant had been secured, all the dead victims as well as the corpses of John and Amanda were taken to the morgue, where Dr. Adam Heffner performed the autopsy on every single one of them. Upon the obduction of John Kramer, he found a wax-coated audio tape in his stomach and therefore ordered his colleague to call for the homicide division. Shortly afterwards, Hoffman arrived at the morgue and ordered the pathologists to cut the tape from the wax. After doing so, they gave the tape to Hoffman. The recording contained a message for him, which warned him that the games had just begun and that he wouldn't get away untested. (*Saw IV*)

### Reopening the Seth Baxter Case

After visiting the hospital, Hoffman was called to the morgue, where Dr. Adam Heffner had found something interesting during the obduction of Eddie. When he arrived, Perez and Erickson were already waiting for him as well. Heffner showed him some photos of the jigsaw pieces cut from the skins of previous victims and told him that they had been cut off with a plain scalpel, while the killer of Eddie had used a knife with a tined blade. Upon comparing this case with other previous cases, the agents had found out that the tined blade had only been used once before, to cut the jigsaw piece from the body of Seth Baxter, the murderer of Hoffman's sister. As a different knife had been used, Perez and Erickson had ordered to further analyze the video tape found at Seth's crime scene, thinking that it might have been recorded by someone else as well.

### Killing Spree

Meanwhile, Dr. Adam Heffner opened the body bag. As he did, Hoffman caught him by surprise and slashed his throat with a knife. After killing him, Hoffman left the bag and noticed that another coroner was about to enter the room. When he opened the door, Hoffman attacked him and stabbed him in the throat as well, before he left the morgue and went to the detention cells located on the basement. On his way, he came across an officer who wanted to enter the evidence room and killed him. After that, he locked the exit door and went on. Shortly afterwards, he reached a big office room where Officer Palmer tried to call Gibson, not knowing that he had been killed by the sentry gun at the junkyard. Therefore, she didn't notice how Hoffman calmly approached her from behind. Before she could react, Hoffman grabbed her from behind. Palmer immediately panicked and tried to fight him off until Hoffman broke her neck, killing her in the process. When she was dead, he went to the heavy metal door leading to the cells and looked through the eyehole. Behind the door was another guard who observed Jill through a one-way-mirror. Therefore, Hoffman dragged Palmer's corpse to the door, placed her body in front of the eyehole and knocked the door to attract the guard. When he saw Palmer through the eyehole, thinking she was still alive, he opened the door. Hoffman embraced his chance and threw the corpse away. When the guard unlocked the door, Hoffman dragged him back into the room and stabbed his throat. Afterwards, he took the dead officer's gun. Now only Officer Rogers stood between him and Jill. As he couldn't see Hoffman through the mirror, the latter aimed at him unnoticed and finally shot him right in the eye.

The corpses of Palmer, Rogers, Gibson, Jill and numerous other police officers murdered by Hoffman, were found shortly afterwards. The events surrounding the massacre at the police station were reported to the public by the news channels the same night. Thereby, everyone with information about the whereabouts of Mark Hoffman was requested to go to the police immediately. (*Saw 3D*)