This study is devoted to the "crime scene" as a valuable source of information about the method of committing a crime, motives and characteristics of the criminal who committed the murder. Based on domestic and foreign literature, the author has attempted to present various concepts of perception of the crime scene in the process of compiling a psychological portrait of the criminal, as well as to point out the key elements of the behavior of the criminal who committed the murder, which can be interpreted at the crime scene. The paper also examines the main hypotheses concerning the compilation of criminal portraits of unknown criminals who committed murders. Special attention is paid to the division into organized and unorganized criminals, as well as the ability to draw conclusions about the psychophysical characteristics of murderers. This is a universal approach to the problem, which can be useful, among other things, for specialists in the field of law.