Crime Scene. Introduction...2. Background Information...2. The Crime Scene...2. Official Police Report...3

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General Biology

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Instructor: Jose Bava, Ph.D

Crime Scene

Introduction ...2

Background Information ...2

The Crime Scene ...2

Official Police Report...3

Forensic Investigation Report ...3

A. Suspects and Crime Scene Information ...3

B. Hair Sample Analysis...4

C. Blood Type Analysis ...4

D. Fiber Analysis ...5

E. Fingerprint Analysis ...5

F. Hand Writing Analysis: ...6

G. Soil Analysis: ...7

H. Evidence Analysis:...8

Simple Questions…. ...9

How the crime was committed ...9

Who committed the crime...9

Reason why the crime was committed...9

Tough questions!...9

Time of the crime...9

Why was the window of the bedroom open? ...9

What indicates that the victim knew the murderer? ...10

What indicates it was not a suicide? ...10

What else could you do to decide which suspect’s blood really corresponds to the crime scene?...10

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Introduction

The following information corresponds to a crime perpetrated in Death Valley, CA. The victim was a young woman, and all the information collected by the police plus the report is shared with you below. Your task for this exercise is to play detective and determine who committed the crime, the motive, and several other things that may be missing in the information provided but you can deduct by analyzing everything you have a t hand. Keep in mind that you are the detective and your report may be used during the trial in order to put a person behind the bars for a very long time, so try to fundament your responses using the logic detectives are supposed to use, do not rely on assumptions!

Background Information

CELENE ANDRADE was a 22-year old female who graduated three months earlier from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in Psychology. She was single, but had been dating her boyfriend, MICHAEL RAPPUHN, off and on for two years. They planned to become engaged as soon as she completed her degree from Berkeley. They had different ideas about the role she would play in their new family. She had been accepted at Stanford Law School, and wished to pursue a career as an attorney. CELENE was preparing to start law school at the end of August. MICHAEL, conservative and jealous, insisted that she forgo a career to start a family.

CELENE’s mother, LOURDES ANDRADE, had recently divorced and was opposed to marriage, she never had a good relationship with her daughter, and they barely had spoken to each other in almost two years.

Following her graduation, CELENE had been living with her mother in Death Valley, while her father, Charles ANDRADE, had move to Atlanta, GA, after the divorce for business reasons. Her mother firmly believed that CELENE should marry her high school sweetheart, TONY SIMUNDSON. TONY was two years older than CELENE. He started attending U.C. Berkeley while CELENE was still in high school, and had since graduated and started medical school at U.C. San Francisco. TONY was also the brother of CELENE’s best friend from high school, HEATHER SIMUNDSON. CELENE and TONY dated during college, but broke up when he confessed he had cheated on her. CELENE started then dating MICHAEL, while TONY never recovered from the break up, being very unstable in both his studies and relationships. HEATHER attended a local college, while living with her parents in Death Valley, but never completed her degree. She and CELENE had not be in contact with each other for several years, but had recently run into each other and agreed to get together before CELENE left for law school.

The Crime Scene

The following picture shows what the police found the morning after the crime was committed. LOURDES ANDRADE’s home is a large, two-story farmhouse with three bedrooms. The yard is very large, and the home is well-screened from the road. One ground-floor entrance is located at the front, as well as the back of the home. The locked, three-car garage held two vehicles: A silver 2003 Acura and a black 2002 Range Rover. Each of the vehicles was registered in California and contained no unusual signs of tampering, blood or other

evidence. There were evident marks of tires different from those of the two vehicles in the drive way, but they belonged to a common type, so the police deduced it would not bring any relevant information for the case.

LOURDES ANDRADE was caring for her elderly parents. She left for their home in San Mateo, CA, early Saturday (August 9) morning and was not scheduled to return to Death Valley until early Monday morning (August 11). CELENE had a brother that was home from college for the summer, he was away with friends on a camping trip to Patrick’s Point, several hours away. There are no others members of the household.

The home’s silent alarm was triggered on Sunday, August 10, at 2 AM, many hours before the body was found. The Area alarm company called the police and Patrolmen Starsky and Hutch caught an intruder as he attempted to flee from the front door. The intruder was identified as KEVIN WALKER. Signs of attempted entry were found in the front door but the doors remained secure. No one answered the door or phone when the police called. The alarm company reset the system from the office and the police did not enter the home.

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Official Police Report

The body, identified as CELENE ANDRADE, was found in CELENE’s second story bedroom at 9 AM on Sunday, August 10th. The victim was dressed in a new cotton bathrobe, later determined to be given to her by her mother the previous morning as a going away present. The victim wore no other clothing or shoes. A 22 caliber Colt revolver was found in the victim’s left hand. Fibers, other than cotton were found on the body and her hand. Two bullets had been fired from the gun. A single bullet was recovered, it had passed through the victim’s skull, entering through the right temple and exiting through the left occipital lobe of the brain case. The second bullet was never recovered. Powder remains were found on the left hand of the victim. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner suggested that the time of death was at least six hours prior to the body being found. HEATHER SIMUNDSON discovered the body when she came to the house to take CELENE out for a going-away brunch prior to CELENE’s departure to law school. A suicide note was found on the dresser of the bedroom. Blood was found on the edge of the suicide note. Foreign hair was found on the body, robe, and suicide note. There was no sign of struggle, the bed was unmade, and one of the two bedroom windows was open, fingerprints were found on the window’s pane of the open window. Soil samples were found close to the victim. The Police inspected the backyard below the open window and concluded that there was no apparent access to the second story bedroom window from the ground floor.

Forensic Investigation Report

A. Suspects and Crime Scene Information

Celene Andrade 22 year old female, 5’6’’,120 lbs, medium build, green eyes, brown-reddish hair, _{clothing: cotton bathrobe} Tony Simundson 24 year old male, 6’1’’, 195 lbs, medium build, blue eyes, dark brown hair, clothing: _{jeans and green polo, shirt, both coarse cotton} Heather Simundson 22 year old female, 5’4’’, 130 lbs, medium build, brown eyes, light brown hair,

clothing: rayon sweater and nylon shorts

Michael Rappuhn 22 year old male, 5’11’’, 180 lbs, medium build, brown eyes, black hair, clothing: _{cotton jeans and nylon red tee-shirt} Lourdes Andrade 47 year old female, 5’2’’, 152 lbs, heavy build, green eyes, brown-reddish hair, _{clothing: linen suit with a silk blouse}

Kevin Walker

35 year old male, 6’2’’, 220 lbs, athletic build, green eyes, blonde hair, clothing: kaki shorts and white tee-shirt; both rayon. In possession of: burglar’s tools, knapsack, and history of robbery and violence.

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B. Hair Sample Analysis

An examination of human hair can occasionally reveal the possible race of the individual from whom it came and the part of the body from which it originated. Human hair can be compared to determine whether or not two samples could have had a common origin. The value of the Laboratory examinations of such specimens will depend upon the amount of hair recovered and the characteristics found in the examinations.

Observe the different hair types and make a sketch of each one, use color pencils if needed.

1) 0.5 pt Which sample matches better with the hair found in the crime scene? Briefly, explain why ...……….………. ……….………. ……....……… ……....………

C. Blood Type Analysis

Your lab instructor will explain how a blood type test is done, what positive and negative result look like. Determine the blood types of all the suspects below.

2) 0.5 pt Which sample/s matches with the blood found in the crime scene? Briefly, explain why

.……….………. .……….………. ……....……… .……….……….

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D. Fiber Analysis

Fiber evidence is considered confirmatory only, which means can be used to corroborate a hypothesis but not as the main evidence. Examination of fibers can normally be conducted to determine the type or color of fiber. Such examinations will sometimes indicate the type of garment or fabric from which they originated. Fibers and threads can also be compared with suspects clothing to determine whether or not they could have come from this clothing.

Observe shape, texture, and diameter. Sketch, use color pencils if needed.

3) 0.5 pt Which sample/s matches better with the fiber evidence found in the crime scene? Briefly, explain why ……… ……....……… ……....……… ……....……… E. Fingerprint Analysis

You have to look for points of commonality or points of identification between the crime scene fingerprints, found on the window’s pane of the open window, and the one you believe better matches with the one found in the crime scene.

The fingerprints characteristics shown above are normally used to compare a latent print to a known print. It is necessary to locate and positively identify 10 characteristics, at identical locations, on two fingerprints to insure match. The more characteristics, beyond 10, the more positive the identification; For simplicity, we will consider only three of them in this exercise.

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Instructor: Jose Bava, Ph.D 4) 0.5 pt Find three points of commonality or points of identification. When you find a point of

identification, label it with the same number in both the crime scene and the suspect fingerprints, so you instructor can understand what you are referring to.

What fingerprints match better with the ones found in the crime scene?...

F. Hand Writing Analysis:

Handwriting and hand-printing analysis is a tool used in many types of investigations. Many examinations involve a comparison of the questioned document, or components of the document, to a set of known

standards. The most common type of examination involves handwriting wherein the examiner tries to address concerns about potential authorship

The suicide note was found in CELENE’s dresser. The note was written on standard white lined paper. The pen used to write the note was not found in the room. No effort was made to find the specific pen, since the ink corresponds to commonly used, inexpensive brand of ball point. CELENE was right handed. The samples of her writing that have been provided were taken from one of the college notebooks. She wrote the sample during the last semester in college.

5) 0.5 pt Collect three points that support a hypothesis as to who wrote the note. When you find a point of identification, label it with the same number in both the crime scene and the suspect handwriting, so you instructor can understand what you are referring to.

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Instructor: Jose Bava, Ph.D NOTE: Observe slanting, loops, whorls, double curves, dotting, and pressure on the writing surface. Select and

individual letter in the sample and compare it to a letter in a similar position in the suicide note.

SUICIDE NOTE:

G. Soil Analysis:

If you are a big fan of the CSI or Forensic Files TV shows, you may have seen the TV scientists analyze soil samples that were found at the scene of a crime. These were soil samples that were perhaps found on the victim's shoes but no where else to be found in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene. They could be soil samples embedded in the tire tread of a car that is suspected to be used in a crime. Soil is not just plain dirt. It is a conglomerate of several things. The first step involved in analyzing soil samples is visually and

microscopically inspecting the soil to make determinations of acidity, consistency, color, and mineral content. 6) 0.5 pt Analyze texture, color, and size of the different soil particles found for each one of the suspects

and compared them with the ones found in the crime scene. Use the space provided in the next page to state these characteristics for further comparison between all the soil types. Make a simple sketch showing what you observed for each one of the samples. For simplicity, consider the following soil classification when doing your forensic soil analysis.

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Instructor: Jose Bava, Ph.D NOTE: When it comes to particle size, you can make your own scale if you wish (1 to 10 for example) for comparison purposes

What soil type matches better with the ones found in the crime scene?... SOIL TYPES:

• • •

• Coarse and Fine Sand: Composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles •

• •

• Clay: Composed primarily of fine-grained minerals •

• •

• Silt: Soil or rock derived granular material of a grain size between sand and clay •

• •

• Humus: Degraded organic material in soil, which causes some soil layers to be dark brown or black

SOIL SIZES: Rank the samples based on their size from 1 (smallest particles) to (5 largest particles)

CRIME SCENE Soil type Texture: ……….. Color: ……….. Particles size: ……….. Celene Soil type Texture: ……….. Color: ……….. Particles size: ……….. Tony Soil type Texture: ……….. Color: ……….. Particles size: ……….. Heather Soil type Texture: ……….. Color: ……….. Particles size: ……….. Michael Soil type Texture: ……….. Color: ……….. Particles size: ……….. Lourdes Soil type Texture: ……….. Color: ……….. Particles size: ……….. Kevin Soil type Texture: ……….. Color: ……….. Particles size: ……….. H. Evidence Analysis:

Once you and your team have analyzed all the possible evidence, you will need to figure out which one of the suspects is most likely the one that committed the crime. Using the information you collected, completed the table below by placing an “X” in the boxes in which the data from the crime scene match that of Celene and/or any of the suspects

Person Type of

Evidence _Celene _Tony _Heather _Michael _Lourdes _Kevin Hair Blood Fiber Fingerprints Handwriting Soil

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Simple Questions….

How the crime was committed

7) 0.5 pt How (Not why!) the crime was committed, the weapon used

...……….………. ……....………. ....……….……… ....……….………

Who committed the crime

8) 0.5 pt The individual you believe committed the crime

....……….………

Reason why the crime was committed

9) 0.5 pt Reasons you believe led to the crime (why the culprit did it). EXPLAIN!

...……….………. ……....………. ...……….……… ...……….………

Tough questions!

Time of the crime

10) 0.5 pt The time the crime was committed. EXPLAIN!!

...……….………. ……....………. ...……..……….……… ...……..……….………

Why was the window of the bedroom open?

11) 0.5 pt Why was the window of the bedroom open?. EXPLAIN!!

...……….……… ……....……… ...……….………

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What indicates that the victim knew the murderer?

12) 1 pt What indicates that CELENE knew the person that committed the crime? EXPLAIN!

...……….………. ……....………. ...……….………

What indicates it was not a suicide?

13) Mention 3 things that powerfully indicate CELENE did not commit suicide. EXPLAIN!

0.5 pt 1...……….………. ……....………. 0.5 pt 2..………..……….……… ……....………. 0.5 pt 3..………..……….……… ……....……….

What else could you do with the blood sample to determine which suspect’s blood really correspond to the crime scene?

0.5 pt ...………..……….……… ……....……….

Best evidences for a real crime scene investigation

14) If you were given the same types of evidences for a different crime scene situation, which 3

evidences would potentially be the best ones to consider in the first place? EXPLAIN why they are, from the perspective of a real murder investigation, the most important ones

0.5 pt 1………Why?……….……….. ……....……… ……....……… 0.5 pt 2.……….. Why?……….……….. ……....……… ……....……… 0.5 pt 3.……….……… Why?……….……… ……....………