The body of a man who was reported missing for three days was found on the shore of a public park in Westchester County, New York, which is adjacent to Long Island Sound. Police forensic experts determined that the body had been in the water for about 72 hours, and that trauma to the man’s head was the cause of death, not drowning. Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of a man in connection to the murder.

The District Attorney handling the matter contended that the victim was murdered at a location some distance from where the body was found, and that after being dumped into the water, the body floated and ended up at the location where it was found. The man accused of the crime contended that he was nowhere near that area where the DA postulated the victim was murdered. And in fact he was close to where the body was actually found, at the time that the DA contends he was at the other location.

The attorney defending the accused called upon the expertise of COMPUWEATHER. The Forensic Meteorologist assigned to the case reviewed the facts and decided to enlist the help of one of our in-house marine meteorologists to assist with this case. Working together it was determined that the body could not have been dropped into the water at the site that the DA contended. Analysis of tidal movement, along with the direction and speed of the wind during the time that the body was in the water, clearly indicated that the body could not have floated from where the DA postulated, to the spot where it was found.

Based on this evidence, charges were dropped against the accused. Over time, another man was brought to trial on the murder and convicted of the crime. Testimony from the trial later confirmed that COMPUWEATHER’s findings were correct and accurate regarding the location where the body was dumped into Long Island Sound.