Chain of Custody

Retrieved under Freedom of Information request. Redactions per statute.

Case No. 2026-0447 Investigating Officer: D. Mercer, Senior Forensic Investigator

EXHIBIT 1 Scene summary, initial assessment. Single-occupancy residence, 14 Aldergate Row. Deceased identified as Marcus Holt, 41, homeowner. Wallet recovered from kitchen counter, wedding band inside coin pocket, not worn. Body located supine against the kitchen's north wall, single blunt-force trauma to left temporal region. No secondary wounds observed. Estimated time of death 03:30–05:00, pending pathology confirmation.

EXHIBIT 2 Point of entry. Rear kitchen door, single-glazed panel, forced. Glass fragments recovered externally and internally, distribution consistent with impact from outside. Lock mechanism damaged, consistent with forced entry. Kettle present on worktop, containing cold water. Logged by: D. Mercer.

EXHIBIT 2A Scene conditions and initial forensic attendance. Weather at first attendance recorded as overcast with intermittent light rain following overnight showers, ambient external temperature 6°C, internal 14°C. Property secured by uniformed officers pending forensic examination; electrical supply operational, no indication of fire, flooding or gas leak, kitchen lighting active on arrival. SOCO deployment consisted of photographer, fingerprint officer, trace evidence technician and exhibits officer. Initial scene walk-through completed before systematic evidence recovery commenced; no visible indication of disturbance beyond kitchen and rear utility access, remaining rooms documented before detailed processing.

EXHIBIT 3 Latent print recovery, rear door frame. Partial print, right index finger, recovered from external frame adjacent to forced panel. Submitted for comparison, Exhibit 6.

EXHIBIT 3A Trace recovery, dining area. Single hair, unidentified, recovered beneath dining table during initial sweep. No further examination authorised.

EXHIBIT 4 Footwear impression, exterior flowerbed beneath kitchen window. Single impression, partial, tread pattern consistent with commercial trainer, size range 9–10 UK. Cast taken, submitted for comparison against Exhibit 7.

EXHIBIT 5 Weapon recovery. Fire iron, brass-handled, recovered from kitchen hearth, approximately 2m from body. Blood staining and biological matter consistent with a single contact event. No identifiable prints recovered.

EXHIBIT 6 Print comparison result. Partial print (Exhibit 3) matched to Callum Reyes, 27, address 9 Aldergate Row. Fourteen-point match established.

EXHIBIT 7 Footwear comparison result. Trainers recovered from Reyes residence during consent search, size 9.5 UK, tread pattern consistent with cast (Exhibit 4). Match confirmed.

EXHIBIT 8 Financial records, subpoenaed, joint business account, Holt & Reyes Ventures Ltd. Full ledger review conducted against twenty-four months of statements. Discrepancy established: eleven separate transfers, totalling £38,400, made from company account to a personal account held by C. Reyes, dated between March and January of the current year. None appear in the company's recorded ledger or in quarterly filings submitted to HMRC. Frequency increases over the final four months, monthly to fortnightly. Review of supporting invoices, payroll records and year-end accounts identified no corresponding expenditure, authorised remuneration, or declared liability accounting for the transfers. Final three transfers occurred within eighteen days of death, each exceeding the transfer before it. Ledger annotations for the corresponding reporting periods contain no explanatory entries.

EXHIBIT 8A Correspondence, deceased's home office. Draft email, dated three days prior to death, addressed to C. Reyes, subject line "we need to talk about the accounts," saved, never sent. Draft references "the pattern I found" and requests an in-person meeting "before I involve anyone else." Draft remained open within the user's mail client with no evidence of transmission. Metadata indicates multiple revisions over approximately thirty-two minutes before the final save.

EXHIBIT 8B Voicemail recovery, deceased's mobile handset. Timestamp 21:52, evening prior to death. Caller identified as C. Reyes. Duration fourteen seconds. Transcript: "Marcus, don't do anything stupid before we've spoken. I'll come by tonight." Recording ends before response. Generated automatically by network voicemail service. Caller identification matched registered mobile number for C. Reyes. No subsequent outgoing calls were made from the deceased's handset following receipt of the message. Audio quality consistent with outdoor recording; background traffic audible throughout.

EXHIBIT 9 Witness statement, neighbouring resident, Mrs. E. Whitfield, 12 Aldergate Row. Reports raised voices from deceased's property, approximate time 22:40, lasting "a few minutes, maybe five." One voice identified as male, described as "not Marcus, someone else, younger sounding." States voices were audible due to an apparently open kitchen window. Able to distinguish tone but not individual words. Described exchange as "heated rather than shouting," followed by a single loud impact she initially attributed to a cupboard door. Reports curtains remained drawn throughout and made no attempt to look outside.

Second statement, Mr. T. Whitfield (same address), reports hearing a car door "sometime after eleven, maybe closer to half past," followed by an engine. Could not confirm vehicle. Returned home shortly before 23:00 following evening shift. Confirms hearing a vehicle start but unable to identify make or direction of travel. States street lighting on Aldergate Row was functioning normally. Did not consider the sound unusual owing to regular late-night traffic associated with neighbouring properties. No further observations recorded.

Suspect Callum Reyes arrested 09:20, charged 14:45, case referred for prosecution.

EXHIBIT 10 Blood spatter documentation, kitchen wall, north-facing. Image series DSC_1842–1856 recovered from primary scene camera, unit ref. FC-04. Embedded capture metadata records initial exposure at 05:47:13. Droplet pattern demonstrates medium-velocity impact, directionality establishing point of origin, approximately 1.4m from wall, height consistent with subject standing at time of first strike. Examined by: D. Mercer.

EXHIBIT 11 Equipment log, scene camera unit FC-04. Issued to Investigator D. Mercer, forensic lead, personal assignment per departmental kit register, sole authorised operator for duration of current rotation. No secondary users logged. Camera FC-04 digitally synchronised to central evidence server; capture metadata written server-side, non-editable at device level.

EXHIBIT 12 Pathology report, summary findings. Trajectory analysis establishes blow delivered from directly behind subject, downward angle approximately 15 degrees, consistent with attacker of comparable or greater height. Wound morphology confirms single strike, right-handed delivery. No defensive wounds present. No further examination required. Submitted by: D. Mercer.

EXHIBIT 13 Case status update. Prosecution file submitted 16:02. Plea entered, not guilty, trial date pending. Forensic file closed pending court proceedings. Investigating officer: D. Mercer.

EXHIBIT 14 Scene access and attendance record. Investigator D. Mercer, forensic lead, signed in at cordon 06:14. First responding unit (Const. R. Adeyemi) logged 06:25. SOCO team, full deployment, 06:19 onward. No prior access recorded. No discrepancy noted.