Murder Mystery #1
Police were called to 7657 Olympus Court on the night of September 28th, 2007.
Neighbors reported hearing an argument followed by a gunshot. When police arrived they found
the house secure and music coming from the back of the house. As police walked from room to
room trying to find an occupant or the source of the music, they became confused by the
realization that the house was empty. Two police officers, partners for the last eight years,
Martin and Andrews, entered the kitchen where they found a pot of water boiling on the stove
top and uncooked spaghetti laying on the counter. The butcher block was full of chopped
vegetables such as lettuce, tomato, onions, mushrooms, garlic and parsley. There were two wine
glasses on the island, both of the glasses appeared to have been used, (with small amounts of red
wine left) one possibly by a woman, as Andrews detects pink lipstick on the edge of the wine
glass closest to the stove. They continue to assess the crime scene; they notice a large area of
blood spatter on the back side of the wall near the refrigerator. The blood spatter has fragments
of what appears to be human tissue. On the floor near the refrigerator, they see a pool of blood,
and what appears to be a large smear of blood where someone may have dragged a body. The
kitchen was separated into two areas, a cooking area and an eating area. These areas were
separated by a breakfast bar. In the middle of the eating area was a small table with four chairs,
the table was set for two and candles were unlit in the middle of the table. The smears of blood
lead pass the breakfast bar beside the table in the eating area to the back door which is slightly
ajar. Upon closer inspection, the area of the wall with the blood spatter appears to have a lodged
bullet.
After securing the crime scene and turning off the stove and music, police call in the CSI
team to collect evidence. A group of CSI technicians show up. They first talk to Andrews and
Martin. After discussing the case with the officers, they walk around the house to determine
possible areas to process and to determine the theory of the crime. They first examine the
kitchen, they where they identify the wine glasses, blood spatter, and smeared blood on the floor,
back door, and bullet in the wall. The technicians then begin to look at the less obvious parts of
the house. They leave the kitchen and walk through a small hall to the living room.
The living room is small and cozy. Immediately the technicians notice the front door, it
looks like Officers Martin and Andrews are stationed at the front door controlling who and who
does not get into the house. Just to the right of the door there is a table. It appears to be in order,
the technicians note that a purse and keys are laying neatly near the edge of the table closest to
the door, one of the technicians makes a note that they will need to inventory and determine the
owner of the purse and keys. Again continuing clockwise the brown leather sofa near that sits in
front of the picture window is well organized and has two red pillows. Continuing to pan right, a
desk that is angled in the corner of the room seems disordered and the technicians note that area
for further examination later. Finishing their clockwise pan of the room, the technicians notice a
couple of chairs on each side of a bookcase that has several picture frames and books.
Seeing no immediate areas of interest, they head to their left down a hall to the back of
the house. They note that there are two bedrooms and one bathroom. The first room located on
the right is a bedroom that is sparsely decorated and has a fine film of dust. A single bed with an
end table and lamp—the technicians note nothing out of order and leave to examine the second
room. The second bedroom is very different, with it’s red walls and bright yellow bedding, the
king bed is slightly crumpled on the right side but the colors seem to show off the personality of
its occupants. A large green emerald dragonfly is hung above the bed almost in flight. Two
black end tables flank the bed and each telling a story. On the left end table, there is a pair of
glasses, a lighter, a book titled “The Sound and the Fury” and a bottle of saline solution (nasal
spray?). The end table on the right has a prescription bottle of Prozac; a copy of yesterday’s
newspaper—the classifieds and living section of the paper appears to be missing. There is also a
bottle of perfume that appears to be broken, but there is no fluid evident and a slight scent
appears to fill the room. Overall, the room was messy; the hamper was overflowing with laundry
and sheets. The closet appears to be in disarray with items thrown on the floor from the upper
shelves, empty hangers and clothes are on the floor of the closet. Both dressers, which are on
each side of the closet, have drawers open and items strung about. The CSI note that they want
to get more information on the prescription, inspect the laundry basket, and dust for fingerprints.
The last room in the house to examine is the bathroom, which is located just around the
bend in the hall and the last door. The shower looks like it has been recently used with moisture
on the mirrors and walls. There were no towels hanging up, but the laundry basket was full and
there was a razor and shaving cream on the edge of the sink. The CSI’s note that they would like
to look through the garbage, hamper and test the shower for trace evidence. Heading back to the
kitchen, the CSI technicians begin to photograph the crime scene. They seem particularly
interested in photographing the back door, blood spatter, and blood smears. They then,
systematically go through the house taking pictures of the relevant areas and begin sketching the
crime scene. Finally they begin to process the evidence.
There were 6 rooms in the home:
(1) Bathroom
(2) Bedroom (Guest)
(3) Bedroom (Master)
(4) Living Room
(5) Kitchen (Cooking Area)
(6) Kitchen (Dining Area)
Evidence #
1
Room
Kitchen
2
Kitchen
3
Kitchen
4
Kitchen
5
Kitchen
6
Living
Room
7
Living
Room
Living
Room
Living
room
Master
Bedroom
Master
Bedroom
Master
Bedroom
Table near front
door
Desk in corner
of room.
Front Door
Master
Bedroom
Master
Bedroom
Master
Bedroom
Bathroom
Bathroom
Master
Bedroom
Left side of bed,
end table
Right side of
bed, end table
Hamper
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Area
Island (Cooking
Area)
Island (Cooking
Area)
Back Door
(Dining Area)
Wall near
refrigerator
Wall near
refrigerator
Table near front
door
Blood Spatter
Test
Lip Prints, Fingerprints, test
wine for trace evidence
Fingerprints, test wine for
trace evidence
Fingerprints (visible
fingerprint in blood)
DNA, Blood Type
Slug
Ballistics
Purse: Wallet—Belongs to the
home owner Meg Nelson, Cell
Phone (phone is charged—no
calls since 3:00 9/28—from
mother 503-555-1212, Lipstick
(Pink), Sunglasses
Keys
Test color of lipstick from
sample off wineglass.
Chromatography.
Small 8x10 Metal case lined in
memory foam.
Door handle
Fingerprints
Right side of bed
Hairs
Right side of
bed, end table
Hamper
Prozac
Compare to hairs in the hair
brushes in the bathroom.
Fingerprints
Trace Evidence: Pills
Trace purchase back with
receipt.
Hamper
Sink
Dresser
Item
Wine Glass #1
Wine Glass #2
Door Handle
Ripped Receipt: GI Joes Date
9/20/07 for $525.00 (cannot
determine the item purchased)
Saline Solution
Fingerprints
Fingerprints
Trace Evidence
Perfume
Fingerprints, Trace Evidence
Sheets
Bodily Fluids/DNA
Washcloth (blood)
Shaving Equipment
Card to Harrison a woman with
lip prints signing the card XOXO
DNA
DNA/Fingerprints
Lip Prints
The CSI team wraps up their investigation and they take back their evidence to the lab where they will begin
running tests. As of now, Police cannot locate the home owners now identified as Meg and Harrison Nelson. Meg
is 28 and an architect, Harrison is a successful stock broker, also 28, the couple has no children. Police have put out
an APB for their whereabouts, foul play is suspected.
Luckily the police have some basic information on both homeowners that can be used for forensic comparison.
(1) Fingerprints (AFIS) (see attached)
(2) Blood Types (Medical Records) Meg Type A
Harrison Type B
(3) Possible Lip Print from Meg Nelson (from a card found in Harrison’s Dresser)
(4) Hair from brushes/combs from Master Bath
After looking at the lab results:
(1) What do you think is the theory of the crime? Use the evidence gained through analysis. Some of the reasoning
for your theory will be based on evidence gained through forensic science and some will be gained from
observations. Be able to support your theory by stating when you are making a deductive or inductive claim.
(2) Then through your interpretation of the crime given, draw a sketch of the crime scene. Include all rooms and try
to place the furniture and layout of the house.
Evidence #
1
Room
Kitchen
Area
Island (Cooking
Area)
Item
Wine Glass #1
Test Results
Lip Print:
Fingerprint:
2
3
Kitchen
Kitchen
Island (Cooking
Area)
Back Door
(Dining Area)
Wine Glass #2
Wine: Tested positive for
Valium
Fingerprint:
Door Handle
Wine: Tested positive for
Vallium
Visible Fingerprint:
4
Kitchen
Wall near
refrigerator
Blood Spatter
5
Kitchen
Slug
6
Living
Room
Wall near
refrigerator
Table near front
door
7
Living
Room
Table near front
door
Keys
Fingerprints Lifted:
8
Living
Room
Living
room
Master
Bedroom
Master
Bedroom
Desk in corner
of room.
Front Door
Small 8x10 Metal case lined in
memory foam.
Door handle
No fingerprints were found.
Right side of bed
Hairs
Right side of
bed, end table
Prozac
12
Master
Bedroom
Hamper
Ripped Receipt: GI Joes Date
9/20/07 for $525.00 (cannot
determine the item purchased)
13
Master
Bedroom
Master
Bedroom
Left side of bed,
end table
Right side of
bed, end table
Saline Solution
Hamper
Sheets
16
Master
Bedroom
Bathroom
Hamper
Washcloth (blood)
17
Bathroom
Sink
Shaving Equipment
9
10
11
14
15
Purse: Wallet—Belongs to the
home owner Meg Nelson, Cell
Phone (phone is charged—no
calls since 3:00 9/28—from
mother 503-555-1212, Lipstick
(Pink), Sunglasses
Perfume
2 Blood Types A and B
DNA Matched Meg Nelson
Unknown DNA Sample
Bullet from a .45 Caliber Hand
Gun
Chromatography Results:
Fingerprints—none
recoverable
Consistent with Meg Nelson’s
Hair
Fingeprints: None were found
Trace Evidence: Were
determined not to be prozac.
Trace purchase back with
receipt. Three purchases were
traced to that date and that
amount in all of the GI Joes
Stores in the area:
Kayak, Gun, Depth Finder
Trace Evidence: Consistent
with Saline Solution
Fingerprints, Trace Evidence
Appears to be Estee Lauder
“Pleasures” Perfume.
Unknown DNA Sample found
DNA appears to be that of
Harrison Nelson
Wasn’t able to obtain any
information.
18
Master
Bedroom
Dresser
Card to Harrison a woman with
lip prints signing the card XOXO
Lip Prints: