Return to Training ScheduleLead Homicide Investigators
| Host: | Bloomfield Township Police Department |
| Location: | Dave Payne Public Works Building - Lower Level Police Training Room 1153 Exeter Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 |
| Dates: | February 2, 2026 - February 6, 2026 |
| Times: | 8:00am - 4:00pm |
| Fee: | $795.00 |
| SWORN LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS ONLY | |
Modeled from the highly successful WZ Seminar on DOA: Death Investigations, the Lead Homicide Investigators course adds important instructional modules in crime scene analysis, interview and interrogation, application of 4th & 5th amendments, false confessions, and courtroom testimony.
The course features interactive lectures and discussions of actual case histories, videos, and laws specific to homicide investigations. This comprehensive seminar provides instruction in conducting investigations and prosecuting death cases from the start of the investigation through evidence collection, suspect interviews, press conferences, trial testimony, and ultimately conviction. It is purposely designed to provide expert “in-the-field” instruction from the initial crime scene to a successful verdict.
Using actual investigations, this program uses a diverse combination of homicide case studies to provide strategic tactics to establish guilt and prosecute the offenders. Participants work through cases from the moment of arrival until their conclusion. This program provides the structure and methods to successfully close cases.
SEMINAR TOPICS INCLUDE:
· Multiple Methods of Interviewing
· Manage & Evaluate the Crime Scene
· Development of COLD CASE Leads
· Miranda + Electronic Readings
· 4th Amendment–Search & Seizure
· 5th Amendment–Evidence, GSR
· Effective Courtroom Testimony
· Death Notifications
· Investigative Tactics
· Criminal Interview & Interrogation
· Handling the News Media
· TASK FORCE Operations
· Report Writing
· False Confessions
Keith Zupec, CFI
Keith Zupec, CFI brings over 25 years of law enforcement experience to the seminars he conducts for Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. (WZ). Keith served as a law enforcement professional with the Waukegan (Illinois) Police Department as their Chief, Acting Chief of Investigations, patrol officer, detective, sergeant of detectives, and commander. Keith also served as second in command of the department’s SWAT Team for 10 years.
During his 18 years assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division, Keith conducted thousands of interviews and interrogations in over 200 death and homicide investigations. All the homicides he handled as a detective or that he supervised have been successfully concluded either through arrests or by outstanding arrest warrants. Due to his years of experience, particularly in interviewing and interrogation, Keith’s main concentration within law enforcement is investigations.
Keith has a Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University. He attended Northwestern University Center for Public Safety, School of Police Staff and Command, as a graduate with honors in the 319th class. Keith is also a Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI). A CFI demonstrates an understanding of the legal aspects of interviewing and proficiency in interview preparation, behavioral analysis, accusatory and non-accusatory interviewing, documentation, and presentation of findings. As an instructor, Keith has presented to thousands of law enforcement officers throughout the country over the past 10 years in the areas of interviewing and interrogating, along with homicide investigations.
Keith is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force, Lake County Chiefs of Police Association, International Homicide Investigators Association, Illinois Homicide Investigators Association, and the International Association of Interviewers. He has also received numerous state and local awards for his law enforcement service.
Bryan Barlow, CFI
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Bryan Barlow, CFI®, joined the Chicago Police Department (CPD) in 2002 and was promoted to Detective in 2008, where he conducted a wide variety of investigations around the city. In 2015, Bryan became a training coordinator and instructor for the CPD's Bureau of Detectives, where he researched, wrote curriculum, and delivered training to new officers, newly promoted detectives, and in-service department members on investigatory topics such as Investigative and Trauma-Informed Interviewing, Investigative Methodologies and Law. After retiring from the CPD in 2023, Bryan began conducting seminars as an instructor with Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. (WZ), focusing on Evidence-Based Interviewing Techniques, Homicide Investigations, Trauma-Informed Interviewing, and Law.
Bryan holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Loyola University Chicago, a Master of Jurisprudence degree with a concentration in Criminal Law from DePaul University, and is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Bryan presented "When 'Just the Facts' Doesn't Work – Trauma-Informed Interviewing" at Elite Training Days 2021. Trying to gather information from traumatized individuals can be difficult. Interviewing victims of street crime, workplace violence, someone who has been involved in a major accident or suffered a severe personal loss can often be frustrating, especially when the regular information-gathering: asking the who, what, when, where, and why, doesn't allow us to put together a complete picture. This difficulty stems from the effect traumas have on the brain of a trauma survivor. His presentation discussed how trauma affects an individual's brain and effective strategies for interviewing trauma survivors in a victim-centered, trauma-informed manner to obtain the best information available to aid in the conduct of investigations.
Host: Bloomfield Township Police Department
Location: Dave Payne Public Works Building - Lower Level Police Training Room 1153 Exeter Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 Get Directions
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