STEP1: FORMULATE an open QUESTION (Usually, but not restricted to, 'who/what/where/when/why/how/how much' type questions. The question is not one which can be answered with a 'yes/no' reply. Also avoid leading questions that contain a possible explanation within the question)
STEP2: GATHER all the SOURCES available (objects, statements, photos, etc) & include references with comments on authenticity
STEP 3: EXTRACT all the FACTS from each source (1 source may yield multiple facts) by carefully analysing their details (Sometimes what can NOT be found in the source is just as important as what is found)
STEP 4: INFER every possibile EXPLANATION from all the available facts (this is where a wide knowledge-base and experience are required, coupled with the skill of linking them to the facts)
STEP 5: ELIMINATE the impossible EXPLANATIONS from the pool of possibilities (by critically questioning & then disproving as many explanations as possible using sound, logical arguments supported with authentic evidence)
RESULT: What you are left with, regardless of how absurd it may seem, is most probably the TRUTH
SOURCE E: Gulf News.com (18:44, 25/Jan/2015 reporter Nada al Taher)
Abu Dhabi: A 54-year-old British woman died on Sunday morning after the car she was driving fell from the sixth floor of a multi-storey parking structure in the capital’s Khalifa Energy Complex.
The victim had reportedly accelerated by mistake instead of hitting the brakes, causing her to fly over the metal fence on the parking ledge and consequently fall to the ground in her BMW X-5.
Upon arriving at the scene, Gulf News found what appeared to be a shard of glass from a broken tail-light. The broken fence was also visible from the ground.
The area where the vehicle fell was cordoned off by the security in the afternoon. Passers-by who had heard about the incident were also trying to get a look at the exact spot. Meanwhile, residents shared pictures released by the Security Media of the mangled car on social networks.
The Energy Complex on Khalifa Street in the capital houses about eight oil and gas companies.
SOURCE F:Colonel Saeed Al Daheri, Director of Al Madinah police station at the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters (quoted by Gulf News)
“Police patrols, ambulances, and specialised police teams rushed to the scene and quickly addressed the situation. According to the reports, the woman was reversing the car when it fell out of the parking lot, killing the lady driver on the wheel,”
“It appears that the woman did not break the fence but instead flew over it due to the speed of her vehicle. The police operations room received a call around 8am, after which four police vehicles and an ambulance and a Civil Defence truck were dispatched to the location,” “The scene was cleared in less than 30 minutes. The victim suffered major injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital. Investigations are still ongoing to find out the exact cause of the accident,”
SOURCE G: Witness statement: a Bangladeshi executive employee at the complex( quoted by Gulf News)
the woman worked in an oil and gas company and the vehicle fell within the complex’s premises.
“Police responded immediately and the scene was cleared in about 20 minutes or so. According to what we heard, she was taken to Khalifa Hospital at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) where she was pronounced dead,”
SOURCES
SOURCE A: compilation of CCTV footage during Murder (1 December 2014) from Sun Tower, Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE (released by Ministry of Defence, UAE - authentic)
SOURCE B: Photo of Murder Weapon - knife (contains official UAE Ministry of Defence logo - authentic)
SOURCE C: Photos of Murder Location - female toilets, Ground Floor, Boutique Mall, Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE (contains official UAE Ministry of Defence logo - authentic)
SOURCE D: Photos of Murder Location - female toilets, Ground Floor,
Boutique Mall, Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE (contains official UAE
Ministry of Defence logo - authentic)
SOURCE E: Photo of
Murder Victim: Ibolya Ryan, a
47-year-old divorced mother of three (left) and Murder Suspect (right) (contains official UAE Ministry of Defence logo - authentic)
SOURCE F: Eye-witness statement(Vithi Cuc, a Vietnamese
restaurant employee, quoted by The National daily Newspaper)
was in a toilet cubicle when she heard banging sounds
from the disabled toilet cubicle next door...heard two women arguing in
the toilet and one threatening: "Sit down or I'll kill you". I heard one
of them try to call out for help. By this time there were three of us
outside the toilet and one of us ran to get security. 'When the female guard arrived they told us to leave the bathroom. I was so scared and frightened for her.'
SOURCE G: Police statement (Colonel Rashid Bourscheid, head of Abu Dhabi's police criminal investigations
department, quoted by The National daily Newspaper) "The victim was stabbed with a sharp object following an argument in the
ladies toilets...brawl...The injured woman was immediately rushed to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City where she succumbed to the wounds she sustained in the attack,"
SOURCE H: Personal Statement by Victim: Ibolya Ryan (from Footprints Recruitment Agency) Hello my name is Ibolya Ryan. I am
Hungarian, and I was born and raised in Romania. I was trained as a
teacher both in the USA and Europe, and I have worked in four different
countries for the last 15 years. I enjoy learning about other cultures,
and as a person I enjoy being with others and tend to be an organizer
of those around me. Also I have high interest in other languages; one
of my goals while here in the UAE is to gain some proficiency in Arabic.
I live in Abu Dhabi with my 10-year-old twin boys and I
teach in a big KG school, 35 minutes away from downtown Abu Dhabi. We
are one of the NSM (New School Model) schools and we follow the
co-teaching model between the Arabic and English teachers.
SOURCE I: Statement by Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, director general of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (quoted by The National daily Newspaper) Mrs Ryan had worked as a kindergarten teacher at Al Oula School, Al Shawamikh area, Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi, UAE since last year SOURCE J: Unnamed witness (quoted by The National daily Newspaper) said he saw a woman bleeding on the floor outside the entrance to Waitrose SOURCE K: witness Bernadette Ruizo, (manager of La Brioche restaurant near the scene of the murder) "I heard she was stabbed five or six times"
FACTS
EVENTS
LEADING UP TO MURDER
The murderer communicates with
witness E (male security guard) before entering (Source A)
The murderer walks into the
building at approximately 13:10, Monday 1st December 2014 (during a
national holiday in the UAE) (Source A)
The murderer pushes the button for
the lift and waits for it alone (Source A)
The murderer takes the lift up to
the ground floor of the mall (Source A)
The murderer looks for a security
guard and approaches witness F (male phillipino security guard)
standing opposite the lifts (Source A)
The murderer communicates with
witness F for 3-5 seconds (Source A)
The murderer walks calmly toward
the toilets (Source A)
The murderer notices and briefly
stops at a newspaper stand outside the toilet area to take a newspaper
(Source A)
EVENTS DURING MURDER
The victim's name was Ibolya Ryan
(Source H)
The victim was Hungarian (Source
H)
The victim was born in
Romania(Source H)
The victim had 2 sons; twins,
10-years old (Source H)
The victim has taught in Europe
& USA prior (Source H)
The victim taught kindergarden
(KG)(Source H)
The victim taught at Al Oula
School (Abu Dhabi, UAE) for 1 year (Source I)
The victim had Arabic and English
co-workers(Source H)
At the time of the incident the
victim was inside a female-only environment (Source G)
At the time of the incident the
victim was inside a toilet (Source C,D)
At the time of the incident the
victim had a red bag (Source C)
At the time of the incident the
victim was inside a cubicle for disabled persons (Source F)
At the time of the incident
witness A (female employee) was in the cubicle next door to the victim (Source
F)
The murderer and the victim
communicated (argued) (Source F, G)
The victim could not speak Arabic
fluently (Source H)
The murderer said "Sit down
or I'll kill you" (Source F)
At the time of the incident either
the victim or murderer called out for help (Source F)
At the time of the incident there
was banging noises from the victim's cubicle (Source F)
The murderer physically struggled
with the victim (Source H)
The murderer stabbed 5 or 6 times
(Source K)
Blood dripped from the top half of
the cubicle door (Source C)
At the time of the incident
witness A, B and C were outside of the cubicles but inside the toilet
(they told us to leave the bathroom) (Source F) - suggesting witness B and
C were also female
At the time of the incident either
witness B or C left the toilet to get security (Source F)
At the time of the incident
witness D (female security officer) arrived with at least one other
witness (they) (Source F)
At the time of the incident,
witness A and the remaining witness (B or C) left the toilet (Source F)
At the time of the incident, no
other witnesses came out from the toilets or were reported by the other
witnesses (Source F)
EVENTS DIRECTLY AFTER
MURDER
The murder weapon was left in the
doorway of the toilet (Source B)
The murderer walks quickly toward
the lifts (Source A)
Witness G (arab lady wearing hijab
and white jacket) runs out from the toilet area just ahead of the murderer
(Source A)
The lift doors open at 14:44:30
(Source A)
The he murderer gets into the lift
alone at 14:44:32 (Source A)
The murderer exits the lift on the
underground car park level at 14:45:07 (35 seconds) (Source A)
The murderer walks swiftly and
speedily into the carpark toward the left where she came in from (Source
A)
The victim did not die at the
scene (Source G)
At the time of the incident there
was a lot of blood droplets on the floor (Source D)
The victim left a trail of blood
in the toilet (Source C, D, J)
Footprints (approx. length of 1
floor tile, not high-heels) can be seen in the blood (Source C)
The blood trail is inside one
cubicle only and continues further into the toilet and to the exit of the
toilet (Source C)
The victim eventually left the
toilet (Source J)
The victim died later at Shaikh
Khalifa Hospital (Source G)
DESCRIPTION OF MURDERER
Gender is Female
The murderer's height is slightly
shorter than that of witness E
The murderer's voice and the
victim's voice was not easily distinguishable by witness A (female)
(Source F)
Witness F leans in to listen to
murderer and quickly pulls away and points toward toilets (Source A)
The murderer walks side-to-side
with a slight sway (Source A)
Murderer
did not want to get caught
Murderer flees the scene (Source A)
The murderer is dressed in black,
islamic religious woman's clothing (burqa - common in the UAE) which
covers the face (Source A)
The murderer wears black gloves
(uncommon in the UAE) (Source A)
The murderer's burqa is unstyled,
fully black with little distinguishing features (not too common in the
UAE) (Source A)
Premeditated
/ Planned Attack
The murderer comes from the left of the underground car park (Source A)
The murder weapon was brought in
with the murderer and not found or bought in the waitrose supermarket
nearby (Source A)
The murderer enters the toilets at
13:13 and exits at 14:44 (1hour 21mins) (Source A)
Murder was not the primary
Motive (i.e. scare victim into giving something)
The murderer wanted the victim to
sit down (Source F)
The murderer struggled with the
victim before stabbing her (Source G)
The murderer used a large knife
(blade length is just under the length of 1 floor tile) (Source G,
B)
No evidence to suggest sexual
abuse or rape
The murderer did not ensure the victim was dead before leaving (Source G)
Not a professional killer
The murderer stabbed 5 or 6 times
(Source K)
The murderer does not wait for the
lift calmly but instead moves impatiently (Source A)
The murderer did not poison the
victim (Source G)
The murderer stabbed and did not
slice, slash, etc (Source G)
Possible Accomplices
Witness G presses the lift for the
murderer at 14:44:22 (Source A)
Witness G communicates with the
murderer from 14:44:25 until 14:44:30 (5 seconds) (Source A)
Witness G waves to Witness H (slim
lady wearing stylish hijab and black dress) at 14:44:26 (Source A)
Witness H approaches with her arm
outstretched to Witness G from the far right where she was waiting (Source
A)
Witness G runs to Witness H and
away from the murderer very quickly at 14:44:30 (the second the lift doors
open) (Source A)
Witness H walks away but then
returns toward the toilet area pointing at 14:44:37 (Source A)
Anomalies
The murderer's face veil is different to those worn by the local women of UAE
The murderer spoke in English (Source F)
The murder weapon has no blood on its blade side (Source B)