legal word of the day: MODUS OPERANDI, M.O.

legal word of the day: MODUS OPERANDI, M.O.

ENG:  the particular manner (style) in which crimes are committed by a person or a group

POL: sposób/ styl popełnianiania przestępstw typowy dla konkretnej osoby lub grupy

(1) The Son of Sam Killer in New York stabbed his first murder victim, resulting in a bloody mess and he didn’t like it. So he changed his modus operandi, and his subsequent victims were shot from a distance. Murderers change their modus operandi out of necessity and convenience.

to STAB – ugodzić nożem (to wound with a knife)

SUBSEQUENT – następne (next)

(2) A suspect's modus operandi can assist in their identification, apprehension, or repression, and can also be used to determine links between crimes.

a SUSPECT – osoba podejrzana (a person who is believed to have committed a crime)

APPREHENSION – ujęcie (arrest)

REPRESSION – unieszkodliwienie (keeping from hurting someone else)

(3)-And what is this serial predator’s M.O.?

- Well, that’s the thing – it’s still murky. Each victim died from blunt force trauma.

BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA – uraz spowodowany użyciem tępego narzędzia (injury caused by an object that is not sharp e.g. a baseball bat, a fist)

(4) This is exactly Stucky’s M.O. We should start looking for a container, a take-out container before someone else finds it (…) It’s him, Turner. I know it. And whatever he sliced out of her is going to show up at some outdoor café table.

(5) -The District PD finally called us in on the decapitated Jane Doe cases.

-Does that mean they believe both were killed by the same killer?

-It looks like the same M.O.

PD – Wydział Policji (Police Department)

DECAPITATED – pozbawiony głowy (with no head)

JANE DOE (US) – osoba niezidentyfikowana (an unidentified person)

unidentified man: John Doe, John Roe

unidentified woman: Jane Doe, Jane Roe

unidentified boy: Johnny Doe

unidentified girl: Janie Doe

(5) If it is the same guy, he didn’t use the same M.O. I can’t find anything that’s similar about this bombing and Oklahoma City. The bombs alone were dramatically different.