Security cameras can be very beneficial in many ways, they can even help to catch a murderer. This story illustrates that even crimes of random violence don't escape the ever watchful eye of surveillance cameras. When no one is around, they gather information that can really make the difference in solving a case.
It was early morning in May 2005 when a female X-ray technician was on the to work in a Philadelphia hospital. She go off at her usually bus stop, but minutes later she was found dead in the street by a passing motorist. When the police showed up there were no witnesses or evidence to be found, until one of the detectives on the scene looked up to see if she jumped from a near by building and saw instead that the building had surveillance cameras mounted around it's exterior.
Using the footage from the security cameras the police were able to begin putting together what happened. One camera showed the victim exiting the bus with a man also exiting the bus and following a few steps behind her. Another camera caught them as they turn a corner, the man still a few steps behind the X-ray technician. The man, who was still unnoticed by the victim, suddenly raised his arm and shot the woman in the back of the head.
Through the use of cameras from that surveillance system and cameras from other systems the detectives were able to track his movements for more then half a mile. The trail eventually led to a positive ID of the gunman and the police were finally able to find something in common between the victim and gunman, they both worked at the same hospital. When the gunman was confronted with video footage, he confessed to not only this shooting but four others in the previous seven years.
Prosecutors said that without the help of the security camera systems, all five of these shootings would have probably gone unsolved and who knows how many more victims there might have been. With the help of the video evidence they were able gather, this murderer was successfully convicted and he received three life sentences in prison.
Source: ezinearticles.com