24 scene, the measures taken by the investigators, and the assigned storage for all the evidence 126 collected. The obligations established by the Minnesota Protocol provide that, when investigating a crime scene, the area around the body must be closed off, and entry into it prohibited, except for the 127 investigator and his team. 106. Based on the information gleaned from the judicial record, the IACHR observes a series of irregularities in the investigation into the disappearance and subsequent death of María Isabel Véliz Franco, salient among them the failure to take immediate steps when she was reported missing [see previous section]; and later, when her body was discovered, errors in the preservation of the crime scene and in the handling and analysis of the evidence collected. 128 107. As was shown in the section on “established facts”, according to the police report the body of María Isabel Véliz Franco was discovered on December 18, 2001. What the case file does not reveal is why the authorities went to the place where her body was found: specifically, how did the police dispatch at the 16th precinct learn that a body had been discovered. 108. As the section on “established facts” indicates, there were a number of irregularities committed in the authorities’ investigation of this case. In effect, the visual inspection report states that 129 the crime scene “had already been contaminated” by the authorities themselves. From the report one can conclude that the inspection was not conducted with the necessary rigor, as important details are missing about how the body was found, the condition of the clothing, and whether there were bloodstains, fibers, threads or other clues. The inspection report does not say whether the site was examined for footprints or any other relevant evidence; nor does it indicate the measures taken by the investigators and the disposition of the evidence collected. The Commission is struck by the fact that the police report documented that a black nylon bag was found near the victim’s 130 head, “which, according to the Deputy Prosecutor on the scene, “had been lying across the face of the deceased.” However, that information did not appear in the report filed by the Deputy Prosecutor. 131 109. The IACHR also observes that the first report prepared by the police stated that the alleged victim was lying face down, and that her face was covered with one green towel and another that 132 was black. However, the photographs taken at the time of the visual inspection and which are part of the case file, show that the body of María Isabel was lying face up. The case file contains no photograph taken at the time the body was discovered, and nothing appears in the record to indicate who moved the body. 110. The IACHR notes that although the cause of death was established, the autopsy report 133 does not indicate the manner, place and time of death. The State acknowledged as much and pointed 126 I/A Court H.R., Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 16, 2009. Series C No. 205, paragraph 301. The Court makes reference to the United Nations Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, U.N. Doc. E/ST/CSDHA/.12 (1991). 127 I/A Court H.R., Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico. Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 16, 2009. Series C No. 205, paragraph 301. 128 Report of Police Officer Jorge Martín Ortiz, Chief of Substation 1651, addressed to the Deputy Prosecutor, Mixco Municipality Public Prosecutor’s Office, provided by the petitioners in a communication dated April 25, 2007. 129 Report from the Visual Inspections Section of the PNC, dated December 18, 2001, issued by Edwin Oslando Jiménez Castillo. 130 Annex 28. Report from the Visual Inspections Section of the PNC, dated December 18, 2001, issued by Edwin Oslando Jiménez Castillo. 131 IACHR, Hearing Minutes No. 5, Case 12.578, María Isabel Véliz Franco, Guatemala, March 20, 2009. 132 Record made by Deputy Prosecutor I, Iliana Elizabeth Girón Delgado, Mixco Municipal Prosecutor’s Office, Unit 5, December 18, 2001, at 2:45 p.m. 133 Annex 8. Autopsy Report No, 2865/2001, dated February 13, 2002, issued by Forensic Physician Rigoberto Pedro Barreno Pech.