Las Vegas, Nevada:   The Los Angeles Police Department will host the 2010 Annual Conference of California Homicide Investigators Association (CHIA) in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 2-5, 2010, at the Palms Casino Resort.

The 2010 CHIA Conference, as is typical for professional association conferences, will provide those associated with homicide investigations, continuing education, training and networking opportunities.

A unique aspect of the conference will be a first-ever "Behind-The-Scenes" look at some of the most notable homicides and critical incidents that occurred in Los Angeles over the past 100 years.  The 8,000 square foot Key West Ballroom inside the Palms Casino Resort will be transformed into a multimedia museum of photographs, video displays and actual evidence, some of which has never been seen in or outside of a courtroom.

The Los Angeles Police Historical Society is partnering with LAPD homicide detectives to provide a unique and exciting look into L.A.'s gritty past.  The Historical Society will be displaying vintage vehicles, memorabilia, photographs, documents and crime scene artifacts.  All expenses associated with the exhibit are being paid for by private donors.

Among the most notable items of interest will be evidence and records associated with the deaths of Marilyn Monroe and Senator Robert Kennedy, and the 1963 murder of LAPD officers in the famous "Onion Field" case.  Also featured will be evidence, pictures and video from cases such as the murders involving Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, the Black Dahlia and the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) shootout.  A bullet-riddled police car and suspect getaway vehicle from the nation's most notorious bank-robbery-and-shootout in North Hollywood will also be center stage. 

Los Angeles Police Department Homicide Detective Dennis Kilcoyne said, "Homicide investigators very rarely invite people under the crime scene tape and into the murder scene; this may be as close as some will ever get."  He added, "Every detective knows that evidence from a murder scene speaks for the victims.  Seeing an actual gun or blood stained suit or bullet hole will tell a story that no book can match.  Every display will be interesting, educational and displayed in a respectful manner consistent with the professionalism of the LAPD."

The cases to be highlighted and the evidence that will be displayed has been released and approved of by supervising judges in courts of competent jurisdiction and by the respective custodians of evidence, including the Office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney. 

It is believed that some, if not all, of the items to be viewed may someday be part of a governmental archive or museum.  However, this will be the first time the public will have an opportunity to cross the crime scene tape and see it as a homicide detective would.  Admission to the event will be limited to CHIA members on Tuesday March 2, 2010, and then open free of charge to the general public on March 3 and March 4, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.                    

The California Homicide Investigators Association is the largest association in the United States that is devoted solely to the education and training of law enforcement professionals who respond to and investigate the crime of homicide.

For more information, contact LAPD Media Relations Section at 213-486-5910, or Larry Fink, Palms Casino Resort Director of Public Relations at 702-942-6843.