Mop-up Duty: An entrepreneur wants N.O. to pay him to clean crime scenes, but a medical expert sees no need

by Richard A. Webster
Dolan Media Newswires

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Tommy Boudreaux knelt over a dark stain on the sidewalk in front of a boarded-up house in Treme.

The ash gray splotch looked like a burn mark or a patch of embedded dirt. He took out a clear plastic bottle filled with hydrogen peroxide and pulled the trigger.

"Watch this," he said.

When the liquid hit the pavement, it sizzled and expanded into a frothing mass of white foam.

"This is where she died," Boudreaux said.

He pointed the bottle at a blackened section of soil in a barren flowerbed. Bubbles erupted out of the dirt.

"That's where she bled out."

He repeated the process on a series of streaks running down the porch stairs and again on a muddy clump of grass covered with flies.

"This is all blood," Boudreaux said. "It's been a week since the murders and there's still blood everywhere."

Boudreaux owns Clean Scene Services, a New Orleans-based company that specializes in cleaning and restoring homes after violent crimes. The house at 819 N. Robertson St. where he sprayed hydrogen peroxide to reveal the presence of blood was the scene of a triple homicide March 31.

Alfred Andrews, 78, reportedly killed his 31-year-old girlfriend, Jennifer Muse, her 25-year-old sister, Monica Muse, and her 50-year-old mother, Wanda Wagner Simpson, before shooting himself in the face with a shotgun. Andrews remains in critical condition.

Boudreaux, who charges between $1,700 and $2,700 per crime scene, said he approached Andrews' family after seeing reports of the slaughter on the news. The family, however, does not have homeowner's insurance, and without insurance, which is how the majority of families pay for his services, there is nothing Boudreaux can do for them.

But the city can do something, Boudreaux said. It can hire his company as the official vendor for cleaning public sidewalks at crime scenes.

"I came out here two days after the shooting and there was a small child running through the blood with socks on."

Boudreaux pointed to a purple action figure lying next to one of the bloodstains.

"A child could come by, pick that up and put it in his mouth. It's a public safety hazard and the city needs to take this seriously," he said.

City officials did not return requests for comment.

"People say that my service exploits the crime rate, but that's not what I'm doing," said Boudreaux. "I'm trying to make sure when a crime is committed that at least we're following through with the proper cleanup."

Boudreaux and other crime scene-cleaning companies may not be exploiting the crime rate, but they are exploiting people's fear of disease, said Dr. Julio Figueroa, associate professor of clinical medicine at Louisiana State University School of Medicine.

The only diseases that pose a risk at crime scenes are blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis strands B and C, which wouldn't survive outside the body for more than a day or two, Figueroa said. And even then, a person would have to have a fresh cut and be exposed to a substantial amount of the blood to be infected.

"You'd have to have the stars align just perfectly with the right set of conditions in order to have transmission. Even in a hospital where there is a higher risk of exposure, transmissions are uncommon," Figueroa said.

Jimmy "Lucky" Osborne has lived on the second floor of 819 N. Robertson St. for more than 20 years. He was good friends with Andrews and spent a day cleaning the apartment after the shootings.

It was a macabre scene, Osborne said. The floors were buried in an inch of blood, brain matter was splattered on the furniture and pieces of bone, including a section of Andrews' jaw, were scattered throughout the room.

"It took me a whole day to clean the place," Osborne said.

But Boudreaux contends no amount of ammonia and bleach can properly clean such a grisly scene. Without the assistance of professionals, public contamination is inevitable, he said.

While he was cleaning the apartment, Osborne moved some of Andrews' furniture to the sidewalk, including his blood-soaked couch. It was gone when Osborne stepped back outside.

"Somebody took it," Boudreaux said. "Can you believe it? Now that couch is in someone's home."

And that's the problem, said Boudreaux, who worked as a surgical nurse for 10 years before starting his company. The city does not assume responsibility for the clean up of crime scenes, leaving it to members of the community who typically use hoses to wash whatever flowed out of the victim's body off of the streets and into drainage ditches or nearby lawns where children play.

Rags and towels used to soak up blood are thrown into trash bins, exposing the community to disease, Boudreaux said.

But Figueroa isn't buying it. Given the city's budget problems, he said taxpayer money would be better spent elsewhere.

The average person with no medical or biohazard background is capable of cleaning a crime scene as long as they are educated on the risks and take the proper precautions like wearing gloves and protection for their mouth, nose and eyes, Figueroa said.

"Is it absolutely necessary to hire a professional company? Probably not as long as you have the least bit of common sense," he said.

"But as with the person taking a couch full of blood off the sidewalk, you can't always count on people acting in the most sensible way."

Fund helps murdered victims' families.

When Joseph Ross returned home from work, he never expected to find his entire family dead.

Joseph Ross says, "My kids was dead on top of each other in the bathroom."

The quadruple murder shocked the community.

New Orleans City Council Woman, Cynthia Hedge-Morrell says "I don't know what you can say about anyone that would kill a small child, I think there's just a special place in hell for somebody like that."

New Orleans Police Detective, Zenia Smith says "It's very sad it's heart-wrenching, it's very sad."

Ross doesn't know how he will pay to bury his family.

Smith says "No he doesn't have anything."

Aunt, Dwanda Holmes says "Anybody, whatever you can do I appreciate it."

NOPD Detectives Latina Jolivett and Zenia Smith were assigned to help the family through the Crime Victim's Reparation Program.

Holmes says "All I want is closure, I have to go pick out four caskets, not one, but four.

The detectives help victim's families deal with the financial aftermath of a crime.

The program is funded through the state.

Detective Smith says "For homicides it will go to funeral and burial expenses, but it will also go to crime scene cleanup, loss wages. You can also be compensated for medical expenses if you were a victim of a shooting and you have a plethora of hospital bills."

Cynthia Hedge-Morrell replies "In a way I want people to know that it's there so they can use it but I also want to hope that we can get the violence under control so we don't have to use it."

But the detectives also help those left behind cope with the emotional pain.

Ross cries out "They took my babies, they took my babies, they took them away."

Detective Jolivett responds "It's very tough, it's tough for any family, it's tough to sit down with the family members days after something like this has happened."

Now a family prepares to bury all four victims on Good Friday.

The state may initially give an emergency award to victim's of up to 5-hundred dollars.
Typically to cover the cost of funerals they will award up to 45-hundred dollars.
A funeral donation fund has been set up at First Bank and Trust.
You can contribute at any branch.

Why you need crime scene cleanup services

By Alex Thomson

Crime scene cleanup or trauma scene cleanup after the death of someone either violently or naturally is by and large the responsibility of the victim’s family. Even till few years ago, there were a handful of cleaning companies that specialized in trauma cleaning service. But today this niche service has emerged as a lucrative business and there are many companies who provide this service.

Trauma cleaning service requires special experience, skills, equipment and expertise to deal with different types of bio-hazardous waste and dispose them efficiently with the minimum possible emotional stress to the victim’s family.

The most traumatic form of death is violent death and leaves the victim’s family feeling both victimized and traumatized. Coming to terms with the unnatural death of a loved one is in itself an uphill task for the bereaved family, and to top it they have to deal with other practical matters like making funeral arrangements, dealing with insurance issues, contacting surviving family and friends and locating wills. Furthermore, in case of violent crimes the police and the media are also involved. This can really overwhelm any family. Here is where trauma cleaning service comes to your rescue. They lighten one of the heaviest burdens, that is of dealing with the horrid murder cleanup. They will take care of the crime scene cleanup, ensuring that the scene is restored to its pre-incidental state as far as possible and in the most quick and efficient manner thus allowing you to deal with other important matters. Most service providers work discreetly and protect the confidentiality of the sufferer and family.

Most of the times, the crime scenes are so ghastly that they can induce additional emotional trauma in victim’s friends and family. By hiring professionals for cleanup, you can reduce this emotional stress. Immediately after death the nature begins its process of breaking down the body. Unattended death scene and dead bodies can be dangerous as it gives rise to blood borne pathogens, mold spores and bacteria. You may try to clean the area by yourself but the exposure may result in flu-like diseases or direct attack on the respiratory system. So it is advisable to leave this job to professionals who specialize in bio fluid and blood remediation.

The total cost involving a trauma scene cleanup will depend on a number of factors. One of the most major factors is that how many technicians will be needed for the job, how long will the job take and the quantity of hazardous material that needs to be treated and disposed of. It can range anywhere in the range of $100 to $1000 per hour. Some people might call this business as capitalizing on death but it is still essential and indispensable in case of a death.

Crime Scene Cleanup: What It Involves

A crime scene cleanup service is not without its complications. Crime scene cleaning encompasses restoring the crime scene to its original state. When a crime is usually discovered, crime scene cleaners are not called until after officers of the law, like the crime scene investigators, have done their jobs first and have given the go ahead for the cleaners to come in. If you intend to hire a crime scene cleanup company, you must make sure that they are well equipped and fit right to get the job done. A crime scene presents challenging conditions.

The Use Of Protective Gears:
Crime scenes can very well involve the use of hazardous or deadly substances. For safety reasons then, it has become imperative that crime scene cleaners use protective clothing, in addition to protective tools and gadgets. You must see to it that they have all the necessary protective gears and gadgets. The protective clothing can consist of disposable gloves and suits. A disposable gear is preferred nowadays since it offers the best protection against contamination. You use it one time and get rid of it. That way, the dangers of contamination is virtually brought down to zero percent. Protective clothing extends to respirators and the use of heavy-duty industrial or chemical-spill protective boots.

Among the gadgets that a crime scene cleaning company must have are special brushes, special sprayers, and wet vacuum. These special tools ensure added protection against getting into contact with the hazard could very well be present in the crime scene. There is large, special equipment such as a mounted steam injection tool that is designed to sanitize dried up biohazard materials such as scattered flesh and brain. You would also need to check if they have the specialized tank for chemical treatments and industrial strength waste containers to collect biohazard waste.

Of course, any crime scene clean up must have the usual cleaning supplies common to all cleaning service companies. There are the buckets, mops, brushes and spray bottles. For cleaning products, you should check if they use industrial cleaning products. A crime scene cleaning company must have these on their lists:

1 - Disinfectants including hydrogen peroxide and bleaches - The kinds that the hospitals used are commonly acceptable.

2 - Enzyme solvers for cleaning blood stains. It also kills viruses and bacteria.

3 - Odor removers such as foggers, ozone machines, and deodorizers

4 - Handy tools for breaking and extending such as saws, sledgehammers, and ladders

Established crime scene operators also equip themselves with cameras and take pictures of the crime scene before commencing work which. The pictures taken may prove useful for legal matters and insurance purposes. You never know which.

Needless to say, a specially fitted form of transportation and proper waste disposal is also needed. These requirements are specific. As you can imagine, crime scene cleaning is in a different category on its own. A home cleaning or janitorial service company may not be able to cope up with the demands of a crime scene. A crime scene cleanup service requires many special gears and tools that a home cleaning or a janitorial service company does not usually have or does not require. Crime scene cleaning if not done correctly can expose the public to untold hazards.

What Else To Look For In A Crime Scene Cleanup Company
You may also want to hire a company that has established itself. An experienced company with a strong reputation is always a plus but it could be expensive too. You will do well to balance your needs with what is your budget. There are several companies that offer specific prices such as for death scene clean up categories and suicide clean up categories. Most companies own a website and have round the clock customer service as receptionists.

When looking for a suitable crime scene cleaning service, among the first things you need to do is to scout for price quotes. Crime scene cleanup services usually provide quote after they have examined the crime scene and then they give you a definite quote. Factors that are usually considered include the number of personnel that will be needed to get the job done. It also includes the amount of time that might be needed. The nature and amount of the waste materials that need to be disposed will also be factored in. You can be sure that the more sophisticated equipments needed the more expensive it will get.

Crime Scene Cleanup And Your Insurance
For homeowners, the best approach is always to make sure that crime scene cleanup services clauses and provisions are written down on the contracts or policies. The inclusion of crime cleanup services clauses is very common and has become standard clause in most homeowner’s policy. Make sure that you are covered for this unforeseen event. Make sure that your policy directs the crime scene cleaning company to transact directly with the homeowner insurance company. A crime scene cleaning service is usually a standard clause in many homeowners’ insurance clause. These companies often do the paperwork in behalf of clients.

If for some reason you do not have such coverage by any policies relating to crime scene cleanup on your home, there are ways to keep your expenses controlled.

Finding the right company can be very taxing, especially that you have to deal with the emotional stress stemming from the crime itself, especially with a crime scene involving death.

There are many crime scene cleanup companies in operation nowadays. There are reliable professionals that you can hire and prices are relatively competitive. As of recently, crime-scene cleanup services can cost up to $600 for an hour of their service. A homicide case alone involving a single room and a huge amount of blood can cost about $1,000 to $3,000.

In recent years, crime scene cleaning has come to be known as, "Crime and Trauma Scene Decontamination or CTS. Basically, CTS is a special form of crime scene cleaning focusing on decontamination of the crime scene from hazardous substances such as those resulting from violent crimes or those involving chemical contaminations such as methamphetamine labs or anthrax production. This type of service is particularly common when violent crimes are committed in a home. It is rare that the residents move out of the home after it has become a scene of a crime. Most often, the residents just opt to have it cleaned up. That is why, it is very important to hire the best crime scene cleaning company out there. The place needs to be totally free from contamination of any kind. You have to make sure that the company is able to remove all traces of the violent crime that took place. This includes cleaning biohazards that are sometimes invisible to the untrained eye.

Legally speaking, federal laws state that all bodily fluids are deemed biohazards and you should make sure that the cleanup service company you hire understands this and includes it in the cleanup. These things appear as blood or tissue splattered on a crime scene. You must be able to hire a company that is equipped with special knowledge to safely handle biohazard materials. The company must have the knowledge what to search for in any give biohazard crime scene. For instance, the company should be able to tell clues such that if there is a bloodstain the size of a thumbnail on a carpet, you can bet that there is about a huge bloodstain underneath. Federal and State laws have their own laws in terms of transport and disposal of biohazard waste. Make sure that the company you hire has all the permits necessary.

It will also be a huge plus if you could hire people who not only has the special trainings but also who have the nature to be sympathetic. If you are close to the victim and have the cleaning done at the behest of the victim’s relatives, it would matter that the cleaners tread the site with some level of respect. It is a common site that family members and loved ones are often there at scene. In general, when looking for a suitable crime scene cleaners, you would take into considerations the kind of situation that the crimes scene presents and the demands that it require. Crime scene cleaning companies handle a wide variety of crime scenes and prices may vary from one to the other crime scene and one to the other company.

Each type of scene requires its own particular demands not only to make the crime scene look clean and neat on the surface but to make it germ free, and clean inside and to make it free from all deadly and infectious substances. The cleanup cost for biohazards may vary depending on degree of the bio hazard(s) on the scene. There may even be a category that changes the cleanup pricing which usually involves decomposing bodies and carcasses. Likewise, a cleanup of chemical hazards vary, depending on the amount of chemical hazards as well as the grades i.e. how hazardous the substance is in terms of human contact. Prices are also determined by the number of hours and personnel that it would to get the crime scene cleaned. In addition, the "gross factor" from crime scene involving death and gore needs to be taken under consideration regarding the chemicals that will be used as opposed to those crimes' that do not have gore involved.