237. Regarding the autopsies performed on the bodies of the deceased victims, they have the same general characteristics in all the cases, and there is merely a report of the results of the autopsy that only indicates the wounds found and the cause of death. In this regard, expert witness Baraybar indicated, inter alia, the following common elements in relation to the autopsies performed in the cases under analysis: (a) no mention of photographs being taken of the victim; (b) no mention of the time of death, the body temperature or the rigidity of the body; (c) no mention of the individuals performing the autopsy; (d) no photographs were attached that could support the conclusions of the report, and no mention was made of the methods used to determine the biological profile of the victim, and (e) no mention was made of whether x-rays were taken of the body or the teeth, or where the bullets recovered from within the victims were located. 238. The said shortcomings and omissions in obtaining evidence reveal the State’s lack of due diligence in recovering and preserving probative material. In several cases, this resulted in the loss of important evidence, and the difficulty to determine the truth about what happened and to identify and, as appropriate, punish the perpetrators. 239. Furthermore, the Court notes that the Prosecutor ordered the archiving of the cases of Luis Alberto Barrios and of Rigoberto Barrios (supra paras. 223 and 228) even though he did not have all the probative elements, and other important procedures to obtain evidence had not been implemented. Thus, Venezuela did not indicate that any of the police agents who were allegedly involved were questioned, and there is no evidence of this, or that any line of investigation was initiated that would connect these acts with those suffered previously by the victims, which had been attributed to police agents. In the Court’s opinion, the Prosecutor should have exhausted all possible lines of investigation in which police agents had been indicated. Contrary to what the Prosecutor indicated in his respective requests to archive the cases, in the investigation of these deaths, the investigator should have ruled out whether or not the preceding acts, irrespective of their legal definition, were related to the said deaths. Consequently, the Court finds that all possible lines of investigation were not exhausted before the archive of the cases was ordered. 240. The Court will now analyze individually the eight domestic procedures with regard to the facts of the instant case in relation to due diligence and, when appropriate, the reasonable time. E. Specific considerations of the Court regarding the investigations 1. Investigation of the death of Benito Antonio Barrios 241. This Court has already referred to a series of shortcomings and omissions in the investigation of the facts (supra paras. 234, 236 and 237), the failure to take statements from the next of kin and witnesses promptly, or photographs of the site. In addition, there is no evidence in the case file that any attempt was made to carry out a reconstruction of the facts until more than eight years after the death occurred (supra para. 194), or that expert appraisals were carried out to determine whether shots had really been fired against the police that could justify an equivalent response on their part. The results of the forensic examination of the cartridges found on the site indicated that they had been shot with one of the two rifles implicated in the incident. However, there is no evidence that the authorities made any further inquiries to clarify the discrepancies between the different versions of what happened. 82