Awards

The California Homicide Investigators Association
congratulates the following 2008 Award Recipients

Homicide Investigator of the Year
Detective Bryan McMahon & Detective Patrick O’Dowd
Long Beach Police Department

Homicide Support Person of the Year
Dr. Lynne D. Herold, Ph.D
Senior Criminalist, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept.

The CHIA Board of Directors realized that homicide investigators were rarely rewarded for the long hours and determination it took to successfully investigate a complicated murder case, so CHIA developed the Investigator of the Year and Support Worker of the Year Awards. The Investigator of the Year Award is given to the investigator or pair of investigators who have performed exceptionally well on a homicide investigation during the year previous to the annual conference or whose case was adjudicated during the year previous to the conference. The Support Worker of the Year is awarded to the person whose technical, scientific or evidentiary support was extraordinary and vital to a case being solved. Nominations for awards may be submitted to any CHIA Board member. The Board of Directors will review all timely submissions before an honoree is selected.

The winners of the 2008 Homicide Investigator of the Year were Detective Bryan McMahon and Detective Patrick O’Dowd from the Long Beach Police Department. These investigators led what became a two-year-long, multi-jurisdictional investigation into the March 28, 2006, murder of Maria Rosa, an off-duty Los Angeles County deputy sheriff. The diligence and hard work of Detectives McMahon and O’Dowd resulted in one of the suspects being convicted of the murder of Deputy Rosa in December of 2007, and the second suspect is scheduled for trial in March of 2008.

The winner of the Homicide Support Person of the Year was Dr. Lynne D. Herold, Ph.D., senior criminalist, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In 2001, Dr. Herold was assigned to the murder of Lana Clarkson, whose accused killer was Phil Spector. The result was a mistrial, but jurors who were interviewed stated that her testimony was so well presented that they completely discounted the testimony of defense experts. Her examination of the physical evidence in the case was technical, detailed and exhaustive, and her five days of testimony on live television was a textbook illustration of effective courtroom preparation and presentation.

The 2009 award winners will be announced at the 2010 conference