Though the chalk outline around a body has become a symbol of murder investigations, the outline itself was never particularly useful to investigators. These chalk outlines were created by police officers or crime scene investigators, just before the body was taken away, taking care not to touch the body and skipping such details as finger placement or draping clothing.  Because of their lack of detail, their usefulness was limited. In fact, they were mostly created for the benefit of crime scene photographers as the image of a chalk outline made for a striking front-page story.