138. The IACHR reiterates that States are obliged to act with all diligence from the first stages of the proceedings.234 This is because the first formalities in an investigation are key components “for an appropriate development of the judicial investigation, especially in face of a fact that has cost a person’s life.”235 As the Court has established, a lack of diligence in the early stages may lead to the loss of essential evidence, as the passage of time reduces the possibilities of casting light on the incident and determining responsibilities.236 139. Thus, the duty of diligence covers acts in the investigation prior to judicial proceedings, since an efficient and effective trial cannot be conducted if the investigation phase fails to meet the requirements described in the previous paragraphs.237 The Court has ruled that “all these requirements, together with criteria of independence and impartiality, also extend to the non-judicial bodies responsible for the investigation prior to the judicial proceedings.”238 140. In light of the foregoing, the Commission will proceed to analyze whether the Honduran State pursued diligent investigations in order to identify the persons responsible for the facts by gathering the evidence necessary to trace out lines of investigation that were coherent with that evidence. 141. As has been the practice of the Commission 239 and of the Court,240 in cases involving violent deaths, the “Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions”241 is a useful tool for assessing the formalities pursued by authorities in investigations, particularly in the early stages. That usefulness is because the instrument sets out the minimum, most basic formalities that must be carried out “to discover the truth about the events leading to the suspicious death of a victim.”242 Thus, the Manual establishes that state authorities conducting an investigation must, inter alia: (a) identify the victim; (b) recover and preserve evidentiary material related to the death; (c) identify possible witnesses and obtain statements from them concerning the death; (d) determine the cause, manner, location and time of death, as well as any pattern or practice that may have brought about the death; and (e) distinguish between natural death, accidental death, suicide, and homicide. In addition, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate the crime scene and competent professionals employing the most appropriate procedures must perform autopsies and carefully practice analyses of human remains. 243 234 I/A Court H. R., Case of Zambrano Vélez et al. v. Ecuador, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of July 4, 2007, Series C No. 166, para. 121. 235 I/A Court H. R., Case of Myrna Mack Chang v. Guatemala, Judgment of November 25, 2003, Series C No. 101, para. 167. IACHR, Report No. 37/00, Case 11.481, Merits, Msgr. Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (El Salvador), April 13, 2000, para. 85. 236 I/A Court H. R., Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru, Preliminary Objection, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of September 22, 2009, Series C No. 202, para. 135; and Case of Heliodoro Portugal v. Panama, Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of August 12, 2008, Series C No. 186, para. 150. 237 See: IACHR, Report No. 10/95, Case 10.580, Admissibility and Merits, Manuel Stalin Bolaños (Ecuador), September 12, 1995. 238 I/A Court H. R., Case of Cantoral Huamaní and García Santa Cruz v. Peru, Judgment of July 10, 2007, Series C No. 167, para. 133. See: IACHR, Report No. 48/97, Case 11.411, Merits, Severiano and Hermelindo Santiz Gómez “Ejido Morelia” (Mexico), February 18, 1998; Report No. 34/00, Case 11.291, Carandirú (Brazil), April 13, 2000; and Report No. 1/98, Case 11.543, Rolando Hernández Hernández (Mexico), May 5, 1998. 239 240 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, para. 301; and Case of the Miguel Castro Castro Prison v. Peru, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment of November 25, 2006, Series C No. 160, para. 383. 241 Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1991, document ST/CSDHA/12. 242 Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1991, document ST/CSDHA/12, para. 9. 243 I/A Court H. R., Case of Servellón García et al. v. Honduras, Judgment of September 21, 2006, Series C No. 152, para. 120. 28