Crime Scene Cleanup
Crime scene cleaning begins after police release and covers blood, odor and the affected property.
See crime scene cleanupGet blood, bodily fluids, contaminated materials and odor removed after investigators release a home, rental, business or vehicle in Clark County. The cleanup scope is based on where contamination traveled.
Homicide cleanup is crime scene cleanup focused on the removal of contaminated materials, blood and bodily fluids. The specialized work starts only when investigators are finished and the property has been released.
Law enforcement and the medical examiner or coroner focus on the investigation. They do not clean the property. Once the scene is released, property owners, relatives, landlords or other authorized people arrange the homicide cleaning service.
The cleanup process goes beyond ordinary cleaning services. Cleanup technicians locate contamination in the affected area and surrounding areas, protect unaffected rooms, remove materials that cannot be disinfected and treat cleanable surfaces. The work also includes hazardous waste packaging, waste disposal, odor removal and records for an insurance company when requested.

You are consulted about recoverable personal property after it is isolated and before a removal decision occurs.
Disposal records, scope details, photos and item lists can help when you speak with insurance companies or property owners.
You can ask what will be cleaned, what must be removed, how waste will leave the property and what remains for restoration.
To help preserve your privacy during a painful time, you may ask for unmarked vehicles and restrict access to authorized people.
A homicide cleaning service is needed if a violent death leaves biological material or blood in a vehicle, business, rental or home. Situations that commonly require this work include:
Isolation of the affected area can continue as shared spaces, stores, warehouses or offices undergo contamination checks.
Because blood and tissue may affect ceilings, furniture, walls, hidden joints and carpet, every travel path must be located.
After the family retrieves essential belongings and police release the unit, the landlord or authorized property manager may organize scene cleanup.
An assessment of seats, insulation, trim and carpet identifies what may remain after cleaning and what needs removal.
Respect for the investigation comes first. You should also avoid exposure and retain details that may be useful for a claim. Before cleanup technicians enter, take these steps:
Call (888) 351-0904The available homicide cleanup cost guides list $2,500 to $9,000 for a violent crime scene. They also list $2,000 to $6,000 for a smaller scene and $3,000 to $10,000 for a larger scene. These are published planning ranges, not a quote. The final scope depends on the assessment.
These ranges come from published national cost guides, not from a site visit. You learn what your property will cost after the on-site assessment and before any work begins.
Ask about cost: (888) 351-0904A homeowners, renters or commercial policy may pay for homicide cleanup, but coverage depends on the policy, the loss and the deductible.
Victims of violent crime can ask the Indiana Violent Crime Victim Compensation Program, run by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, about cleanup. The program lists crime scene cleanup as an eligible expense for crimes after July 1, 2022. Insurance is usually checked first.
Once police release the property, explain the event to your insurer. Check if coverage includes restoration, biohazard cleanup and damaged structural materials.
Who organizes and pays for the work may depend on ownership, the lease, applicable local law and insurance terms. Landlords and tenants should contact their insurers.
Find out which waste documents, photographs, item inventories, invoices and scope records the insurance company requires. Make copies of all materials before submission.
Remediation proceeds in a controlled sequence once the scene is released. The path of contamination, the materials that are still safe to save and applicable waste rules guide each step.
The authorized person identifies known affected areas, and technicians inspect nearby surfaces, floor edges, contents and possible travel paths.
The cleanup area is isolated from unaffected rooms. To reduce tracking into other areas, cleanup technicians wear appropriate personal protective equipment and follow work-zone controls.
Collection of visible blood and bodily fluids comes first, using surface-specific methods before the area is carefully cleaned and disinfected.
Carpet, pad, drywall, upholstery or subfloor that cannot be fully disinfected is removed in the smallest practical area.
Cleanable materials undergo detailed scene cleaning before an EPA-registered disinfectant is applied and stays wet throughout the label contact time.
After source removal, filtered air and focused treatments can reduce odor affecting indoor air, materials that remain and adjoining areas.
Applicable rules guide the sealing, labeling and movement of contaminated waste, while available disposal documentation is kept.
The closing assessment examines completed work, returns salvageable personal property according to the agreement and records removed finishes for restoration services.
You can call anytime. A specialist in homicide cleanup takes your call, explains each step and agrees on a start time with you.
Serious health risks may remain in bodily fluids, blood and contaminated material out of sight. Those risks can still be present if the visible spot appears dry or limited.
For family and loved ones, the scene may be very distressing. Professional cleanup allows family members to avoid direct exposure to the affected space and personal property.
Under applicable medical waste requirements, saturated porous items and worn protective equipment may need regulated packaging, disposal and transport.
Seams, wall voids, grout, subfloors and carpet pads may hold fluids. Wiping what you can see leaves contamination within material below the surface or behind it.
Can you clean it yourself? A small amount of fresh blood on a hard, non-porous surface may be cleaned with disposable gloves and an EPA-registered disinfectant used for its full label contact time. Stay out and seek professional cleanup if blood affected drywall, fabric, wood, carpet or any space whose boundaries are uncertain.
Porous material usually comes out after it absorbs blood. Non-porous surfaces can often be kept, provided that every exposed section is accessible and can be disinfected.

The time required for homicide cleaning depends on how large the scene is, how deep contamination went, how many rooms are involved, available access and how much material needs removal. A useful schedule can be discussed following the initial assessment.
| Scene | Typical time on site |
|---|---|
| A small affected area on reachable surfaces | Timeline determined once the scene is released and inspected |
| Porous material removal within one room | May require cleaning plus a separate restoration phase |
| Several rooms or structural contamination | A staged plan and more extensive restoration work are usually necessary |
Source removal comes before other odor work. Adding fragrance cannot resolve odor from fluid absorbed by subfloor, furniture, concealed cavities, drywall or carpet.
After affected material has been removed, HEPA air scrubbers may be used to capture airborne particles. In an occupied setting, hydroxyl treatment may be appropriate if allowed by the equipment instructions. Ozone can only be used under strict controls with the treatment space empty. Cleaning may also include an inspection of adjacent rooms and vents before you move ahead.
The full homicide cleanup guide covers what is cleaned or removed, odor and air quality work, and the rules that apply in Indiana and Clark County.
Read the full homicide cleanup guide
Local population patterns, housing and site access may affect how containment and cleanup are planned.
At 12.6% renter occupancy, most housing is owner occupied, which can reduce the number of parties involved in cleanup authorization.
The local median home dates to 1973, making a room by room material assessment more useful than one cleaning method everywhere.
A 16.3% share living alone still matters because delayed discovery can increase odor movement and the amount of affected material.
Detached and single-family properties account for 82.0% locally, so exterior access and safe waste movement should be planned early.
Your phone conversation can include questions about service in nearby ZIP codes and communities.
Crime scene cleaning begins after police release and covers blood, odor and the affected property.
See crime scene cleanup
Carpet, solid floors, walls and furnishings receive blood cleanup that includes safe disposal.
See blood cleanup
Trauma scene cleanup is needed after violent events, accidents and injuries.
See trauma scene cleanup
Home cleaning following a death includes affected possessions as well as fluid and odor cleanup.
See death cleanup
Suicide cleanup is completed privately and with care, protecting families from seeing the scene.
See suicide cleanup
When a death remains undiscovered for days, cleanup addresses decomposition and controls odors.
See unattended death cleanup
Forensic cleaning addresses investigation residue, fingerprint powder and tissue along with cleaning of blood.
See forensic cleaning
Air scrubbers, hydroxyl and ozone treatment support death odor removal at its source.
See death odor removalA homeowners policy might pay for homicide scene cleanup or death cleanup, but coverage varies according to policy language, exclusions, the event and the deductible. Before work starts, contact the insurance company. Before work starts, find out which documents are required and ask about biohazard cleanup, personal property, restoration and damaged materials.
Yes, separate hazards may exist at the same property. Heavy accumulations may be addressed through hoarding cleanup services once evidence restrictions have ended. A sewage backup may make sewage cleanup necessary, while resulting water damage might also need drying. Every hazard requires its own cleaning process, containment steps and disposal planning.
Unaffected items can remain under protection or be moved away from the contaminated zone to a clean location. Items within the scene are assessed individually. Hard, non-porous belongings may be cleanable. Before deciding, the team should speak with you about papers, photos and keepsakes, while absorbent property may have to be removed.
Different property conditions can be present in each, although both qualify as death cleanup and trauma scene cleanup. A homicide scene remains under law enforcement control until release and may include evidence-processing residue. Because the person was not found immediately, an unattended death commonly brings decomposition and odor concerns across a larger area.
Once release comes from the medical examiner or coroner and law enforcement, cleanup is arranged by an authorized owner, landlord, relative or manager. Homicide cleaners may address hazardous waste removal, odor control, disinfection, blood cleanup and biohazard remediation. Police are responsible for investigating the scene, not performing the cleaning service.
A violent crime scene carries a published homicide cleanup cost range of $2,500 to $9,000. A smaller scene is listed at $2,000 to $6,000, while a larger scene is listed at $3,000 to $10,000. The finished scope depends on police release, disposal needs, contamination depth, room count and scene size.
Respectful, discreet homicide cleanup is available 24 hours a day, and crews arrive in unmarked vehicles.