Chris Davis, investigative editor for the Sarasota Herald Tribune, discussed the importance of public records in investigative reporting. Chris opened my eyes to a new way of using public records. Before, I always thought of public records as being used to create news stories and digging for dirt on people. After hearing him speak about the many different ways to use public records, I came to realize that my access to them is very important as a future journalist.
He talked about a number of different investigations that involved
the use of public records. One story was about the Walker family who
was murdered in Sarasota during the 50’s. Chris talked about investigative reporters who used the interviews after the murder happened in order to put together a 3-D display of the house on the internet.
“What my reporter and graphic artist did was the took a stack of public records, interviews from a number of people who were interviewed right after the crime occurred, investigative notes from the 50’s, and all kinds of information the police had collected about this murder. And then they pieced it together to come up with what the house looked like, what the crime scene looked like, where the different key elements of the clues and evidence that they were collecting and where it was situated in the house,” explained Davis.
The Herald Tribune used other public records that included information that the police gathered such as what the house looked like and how the crime scene was left. The investigators took information from these public records and then placed the elements of evidence in the house. The animated display of the house takes the viewer through a virtual show of how the house looked after the crime. You can even click on items throughout the house and it gives you a description of the object and how it relates to the crime.
“What my reporter and graphic artist did was the took a stack of public records, interviews from a number of people who were interviewed right after the crime occurred, investigative notes from the 50’s, and all kinds of information the police had collected about this murder. And then they pieced it together to come up with what the house looked like, what the crime scene looked like, where the different key elements of the clues and evidence that they were collecting and where it was situated in the house,” explained Davis.
The Herald Tribune used other public records that included information that the police gathered such as what the house looked like and how the crime scene was left. The investigators took information from these public records and then placed the elements of evidence in the house. The animated display of the house takes the viewer through a virtual show of how the house looked after the crime. You can even click on items throughout the house and it gives you a description of the object and how it relates to the crime.
“What this graphic does is virtually takes you through the house and it essentially pops up where the bodies were found. There was (also) a shoe that was a key piece of evidence, and there were finger prints that were found on the tub,” said Davis.
To understand better, take a tour through the virtual house: http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?CATEGORY=SPECIAL12
Feel free to click on it and experience the work put together by investigators throughout the use of public records and technology. You can also look at past newspaper articles about the case, as well as sound bites and pictures.
"Just days before Christmas in 1959, a Sarasota County family of four walked ino a trap that became one of Sarasota's notorious unsolved crimes. The Herald-Tribune gained unprecedented access to investigators' files, which span four decades. The files tell the story of a murder mystery that changed a community and continues today."
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