But for the seasoned crime scene investigators who arrived, the first rule of reconstruction is never to accept the narrative—only the evidence. A proper crime scene reconstruction is a form of reverse engineering. Investigators begin with the final outcome (a body, a gun, a room) and work backward to determine the sequence of events that produced it. In the Plotkin closet, several anomalies stood out as physical impossibilities under the suicide theory.
In 2017, based almost entirely on the reconstructed physical evidence, Michael Plotkin was arrested. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2018. The conviction was a landmark victory not for a new DNA test or a snitch, but for the enduring power of crime scene reconstruction. The Sharon Plotkin case serves as a masterclass in forensic integrity. It reminds investigators that a crime scene is a three-dimensional puzzle of physics, biology, and geometry. The initial "clean" suicide scene was, in fact, a chaotic homicide that had been poorly rearranged.
A suicide leaves the weapon in or near the victim’s hand. But the location of the .38 revolver (on the bedroom floor, outside the closet) was a major red flag. For the suicide theory to hold, Sharon would have had to shoot herself, then—while suffering a catastrophic brain injury—drop the gun in another room.
The medical examiner found no stippling and no muzzle imprint on Sharon’s head. The entry wound was consistent with a shot fired from at least 18 to 24 inches away . This was the first major contradiction: it is physiologically and biomechanically nearly impossible for a person to hold a revolver two feet from their own temple and fire with accuracy. The trajectory, as mapped by investigators, would have required an unnatural, contorted arm angle that left no supporting blood pattern or muscle contraction evidence.