Introduction:
Dr. Swanson was found in his office at Central Michigan University deceased
with multiple stab wounds and a laceration on his hand, indicating he struggled with and
was killed by a knife-wielding assailant. Skin cells, presumably from the assailant, were
found under the victim’s fingernails and on the doorknob. The 19 students in Honors
Biology 101 were marked as suspects because of the harshness of Swanson’s grading
system, the students’ natural honors desperation for a respectable GPA and to be
permitted to advance in their academic tracks, and their forced exposure to Swanson’s
musical selections and slides of strangely shaped animal phalli. The objective of my
study was to find the suspect whose DNA matches the DNA found under the victim’s
fingernails and on the doorknob.
Discussion:
The incident cannot easily be attributed to a joint intentional assault, however,
because Talsma lacked any motive to do so. He was managing an A in the class, had no
future aspirations in Biology or Medical School, and only added a new level of
awkwardness to Dr. Swanson’s penis lecture. Waters also would have no reason to be
present to help and therefore risk being incriminated as well because of Talsma’s
uncontestable physical prowess. What most likely happened was as follows: Talsma and
Waters were attempting to seek Swanson’s help with the difficult course material but
happened to show up to Swanson’s office while he had stepped out to play with his
primate skull replicas. Being then, alone, in an enclosed room, Waters was naturally
overcome with passion for Talsma’s interest in biology, dedication to academics, and
studly physique. She probably, at that point, lost control and pushed Talsma onto
Swanson’s desk and attempted to take advantage of him. While Talsma tried to refuse,
insisting it was wrong, she most likely then reached into his pocket for the Swiss army
knife on his keychain and insisted he make sweet love to her before she needed to
convince him further in less than pleasant ways. Being chivalrously opposed to entering
physical combat with a female, Talsma would have naturally complied, and after
copulating for an extended time, Waters likely began making unbearably loud, ecstatic
fornication shouts, at which point Swanson would have heard the ear piercing noises and
come running to investigate who was disturbing his otherwise fantastically exciting
speculation of the homo Sapien lineage. When he found the two on his desk, he likely
became hysterical, insisting that they were going to break (or otherwise render unsightly)
his treasured Günter Wächtershäuser action figure purchased for $6,000 on eBay, at
which point he rushed over to push the two off. Waters, furious about being interrupted,
likely responded by attacking Swanson uncontrollably. Swanson would have first tried to
run, but was first cut off by Waters who cornered him and shut the door, getting her skin
cells on the knob. Because the blade of the knife was only 2 inches long, Swanson would
have naturally attempted to grab the knife away, but was regardless unsuccessful,
managing only to claw her arm, which at that point would have been covered with a thick
sheet of Talsma’s skin cells, getting a mixed sample of the Talsma’s and Waters’ cells
trapped under his nails. Not wanting to be forced to betray his morals further, Talsma
would have run to the door, swinging it open by the knob and racing out to call for help,
thereby covering the knob with his skin cells as well. The samples collected from either
Swanson’s fingernails or the doorknob, thus, contained a thorough mix of both Talsma’s
and Waters’ DNA.
Introduction
After the results of a grade-altering exam, students of Dr. Bradley Swanson’s
General Honors Biology class came to class in an outrage. Complaints were heard all
around as students murmured their disbelief at their grades on the exam, which would
now fail them, condemning them to another semester of the class! Through each
student’s head ran ideas of how to get out of repeating the semester to earn their credits.
However, one student had an idea far beyond the rest of the class, more dangerous, more
fatal, more deadly, literally. This student had a plot to threaten Dr. Swanson into curving
the class’s grades, and was willing to take action if he didn’t agree. This student would
need an accomplice, though. So, the plotting began.
Dr. Swanson was found in his office on the morning of Friday, October 21, 2005.
He was found face down next to his desk, cold, with blood all around. Skin cells were
found under his broken fingernails, indicating a struggle with the murder(s). The blood
that stained the floor and multiple belongings throughout the room was a product of
multiple stab wounds, including one across his hand. Blood was found on the doorknob
on the inside of the office, far enough away that it would not be probable for the victim to
have reached it. Across the top of a stack of graded tests from the victim’s Honors
Biology class was a note, smeared with bloody fingerprints. The note read:
“Half an hour, half an hour,
Half an hour left for you,
You are now in the valley of Death
By way of the Bio Honored
Don’t you know the 101 H-ers
Will do anything for the grade!
You are now in the valley of Death
By way of the Bio Honored
Don’t you know the 101 H-ers
Would kill a man for their grade
Not tho’ the professor knew
He had now blunder’d:
Now he won’t make a reply
Now he cannot reason why
For them it is do or he’ll die
You are now in the valley of Death
By way of the Bio Honored.”
Discussion
After convicting Talsma and Waters in the homicide of Dr. Bradley Swanson, I
was able to get two confessions to the crime. Talsma, upset by his grade, as was the rest
of the class, decided to show Dr. Swanson he was a man. Nick was upset with a recent
comment by Dr. Swanson about the size of his manhood. The combination of this
comment and his recent test score pushed Talsma to the limit, creating the longing to
prove he was a “bigger” man than Swanson gave credit for. The plan originally entailed
slipping a reconstructed poem written by Waters about Swanson’s death into his office.
The pair also plotted to give him a bit of a scare by threatening him face to face with
Talsma’s newly purchased Martha Stewart butcher knife. Talsma reported buying the
knife on clearance at K-Mart due to Stewart’s recent brush with trouble. Waters was
along for the visit to appear as the helpless decoy in need of major biology assistance.
Talsma was to appear to be the escort of young, defenseless Waters. When they got into
the office the plan was to slip the poem onto the desk and if need be, threaten Swanson to
get the curve on the exam the class needed to pass. Needless to say, the plan went awry
when Swanson tried his Kung Fu on the pair, making it evident he hadn’t practiced in
many years. In this struggle, he had his hand sliced against the knife, held by Talsma, as
the pair was trying to calm him. As his hand was sliced, Swanson screamed in agony and
pain and Talsma couldn’t think of any other way to quiet him and protect his identity than
to kill him. So, Swanson was found the next day with multiple stab wounds and a
laceration to the hand. The blood on the door was from Waters’ hand from turning the
knob. The blood on Water’s hand came from trying to calm Swanson down. The pair
will be convicted in several months. Until then, they are being held in a correction
facility.
Introduction:
Dr. Swanson, well-known honors Biology professor at Central Michigan
University was found murdered in his office at approximately 10 p.m. October 31st. The
crime scene was abundant with clues to aid the detectives in finding the murder(s). His
body was found by a fellow professor who immediately called authorities after his
discovery. Dr. Swanson had been murdered only a couple hours prior to being found. It
was obvious to all that there was struggle, from the blood coating the doorknob along
with the broken fingernails and skin under the fingernails. A knife or multiple knives
were found to be the murder weapons. The biggest obstacle was to analyze any DNA
found at the scene and find the murderer(s). Authorities went straight to Dr. Swanson’s
honors Biology class and began asking questions. It was well known around the campus
that his honors students were not very fond of him; he had always been so hard on them
and their grades were suffering. These were intelligent students, the majority of which
were planning on attending medical school. It is these students that should be watched
closely, for with the mix of brains, anger and frustration, they could do anything if
pushed to the edge. DNA samples were taken from each student in the class and
analyzed using gel electrophoresis and then compared to DNA found at the crime scene.
Every student in his honors Biology class had just about all they could take of Dr.
Swanson and his tough grading and challenging assignments. All 19 students were
possible suspects in his murder.
Discussion:
With all evidence pointing to Talsma and Waters the only thing left was to
question the two on the murder of their professor. Two intelligent students with bright
futures ahead knew the jig was up. They had thought of every alibi they could but with
their DNA matching the DNA at the crime scene there was not much they could do.
When authorities came to question the students the emotions came flooding out. They
had never thought that they could kill someone, but it had been a long week of late nights
doing homework and the day after the murder there was a scheduled honors biology
exam. A group of students from the class had assembled a study group to prepare for the
exam. After a couple of hours of studying they shared mutual dislikes about Dr.
Swanson, getting worse as the night went on. At approximately 8 p.m. the students went
their separate ways to finish their own homework for the night, but Talsma and Jenny
stayed together. They continued the conversation of how ridiculous Dr. Swanson is with
his assignments and his grading; Waters conveyed her fear of not getting into medical
school because of this one biology class. In this time of shared anger and aggravation
Talsma and Waters had the crazy idea of going to their professor’s office to “ask a last
minute question.” They did not have much of a plan as they made their way to Brooks
190, just that they would not let Dr. Swanson be their reason for failure and ruin their
college careers. It was a little after 8 p.m. as they were walking down the hall and
Talsma noticed an open door; he slipped in and managed to get 2 new scalpels. Both
angry students were now armed and dangerous. They entered Dr. Swanson’s office
appearing as innocent as could be; these were his honors students, good people. The two
pretended to have a question and came around his desk so that they were standing one on
each side of him. As he looked down at the book they stabbed him simultaneously in the
neck with the scalpels. Seeing as this did not immediately kill him one went to guard the
door while the other attempted to slit his throat. The scene was so messy because of this
struggle, expected from two new murderers. In the end, however, Talsma and Waters
succeeded in what they had sought out to do; they were honors students, they always get
things done and done completely.
The guilt had gotten to the two, who for two weeks had to live with what they did
until the authorities took them away. Their peers knew something was odd about the way
that had been acting after Dr. Swanson’s murder. No one knew that students would
actually do something as drastic as murder. Nick and Jenny, are currently being held in a
penitentiary far outside of Michigan, their punishments are still being determined. As for
the other honors students of BIO 101H they weren’t all that surprised about the murder
when it came down to it. Dr. Swanson had expected too much from them too early. The
majority of these students were just beginning their first semester of their first year in
college. This class was taught at a much higher level than any other BIO 101 class.
These high achieving honors students just could not handle not doing well in a class and
actually getting poor grades. The only difference was that Nick Talsma and Jenny
Waters actually did something about it. Not every college student can say that they
murdered their professor.
Introduction:
On the date of November 4, 2005 Professor Bradley Swanson was found
murdered in his office. The apparent cause of death was loss of blood from multiple stab
wounds. Around the scene of the crime there were books everywhere, papers ripped to
shreds, and chairs and desks turned over. On one of the walls there was a message
written that stated “that will teach you”. Lacerations were found on the victim’s hands
and skin samples were found underneath the finger nails indicating a fight. Blood was
found on the doorknob of the office 20 feet away from the body revealing the murderer
may have left the office through the door not the window. The immediate suspects were
the students in the victim’s Introduction to Biology honors course, and samples of their
DNA were taken into a crime to see if any matched the sample found under the victim’s
fingernails.
Discussion:
The data suggests that both Nick Talsma and Jenny Waters are the possible
murderers. Talsma matched all of the Loci of the suspect except X-17108 revealing that
a greater amount of his blood was found. Waters did match locus X-7108 and this is
probably because her blood was mixed in with Talsma and she also matched Locus 2-163
along with Talsma. The two suspects were taken in for further questioning and during a
polygraph test Jenny stayed strong in her stance of being innocent. Nick Talsma
however, was for once wearing appropriate clothing for the weather and cracked under
the intense heat from the light shining on him and the heat of the small room. He
admitted to Jenny and himself having been a part of the murder of Dr. Bradley Swanson,
but also revealed that this took the work of more than just two minds. It seems the entire
class decided it was Dr. Sawson’s turn to learn a lesson. As Talsma states, Rudi
Heumann was the one who kept Dr. Swanson busy after class that day with a question
that stumped Dr. Swanson himself. Once he left, Marla Tibble and Jessica Julius were
talking within earshot of Dr. Swanson about their guy troubles and proceeded to bring
him into the conversation, questioning him about the minds of guys in order to give
everyone time to get stationed. After that Laura English, Ashley Kidd, and Whitney
Karriger were waiting in the park and when they saw him they ran to him to ask him
questions on the lab assignment given 2 weeks ago, but of course no one had started it
yet. They asked him if they could go to his office and talk about it, but little did Dr.
Swanson know, that in an earlier office visit that day, Mackenzie had stolen his keys.
Nick states that was how Jenny and he got into the office, and when Dr. Swanson arrived
he realized he didn’t have his keys and decided to go back to the classroom to look for
them. While this was going on Mackenzie put the keys in his classroom and the rest of
the students were pretending to hold their own study session. When Dr. Swanson arrived
he found the keys waiting for him as well as the rest of his students. He was happy that
his students finally took his studying advise and walked happily back to his office. Once
he entered the main room of his office all of his students met outside the door, slammed it
shut and stationed themselves as lookouts. This is when Waters and Talsma attacked and
after the struggle Dr. Swanson laid unconscious on the floor and each of the students
came in and each took a turn in stabbing their professor. However, even with this
confession the students were not charged, as they were said to be extremely stressed with
all the assignments and studying and that they did not know what they were doing.
Everyone lived happily every after except of course Dr. Swanson, who did not live at all.
Introduction
It was getting to be that time of the semester when everyone starts to get stressed
out about their classes. It was almost time for another exam and all of the students in Dr.
Swanson’s class were very nervous. Not only was there an exam coming up, there was
also a book critique, lab reports, and diary of the improbable journals that were due. The
students in the class had tried to be patient and wait things out. This did not last,
however, one student decided to take matters into his own hands and do something to Dr.
Swanson. Late one night, Dr. Swanson was found dead in his office. There was blood
everyone and no one knew quite how to react. The students did not know if they should
rejoice or be sad. News about the incident traveled fast, and the investigation needed to
begin right away. Dr. Swanson had put up a fight, so there was skin under his
fingernails. This turned out to be a costly mistake for the killer.
Discussion
The results of the DNA fingerprinting show that the murderer was Nick Talsma.
The PCR results show that it was someone who had the Y DNA fingerprint, there were
only three males involved in the case so this narrowed it down significantly. By looking
at all five categories of the suspect and comparing them to all 19 suspects it became
obvious that the only one that matched all five was Nick Talsma. The main motive of
this homicide was Nick needing to receive a good grade in introduction to biology with
Dr. Swanson. Nick is in the honors program at Central Michigan University and he
needed to receive at least a C in the class to earn honors credit and he will also lose his
scholarship. He did not want either of these things to happen. Nick is a student who sits
in the front row, yet often his mind is off somewhere else. He is always the last to know
that there is a test the next class. He also never knows when the lab reports are due. All
of these things led to Nick not having a very good grade in the class. He had been
contemplating what he could do about his situation for a long time. He thought about
getting serious about the class and spending two hours a night studying, reading the
textbook and getting caught up of his labs and other assignments. After considering that
for awhile, he decided there was a much easier solution, he would do something to Dr.
Swanson so that there wouldn’t be so many assignments due. He figured if he put him in
the hospital for a few days that there would be at least one less exam and maybe less lab
reports due. He also knew that was a book critique due the next week, and he had not
even started reading the book. On Thursday evenings he knew that Dr. Swanson would
be at the biology seminar from 4:00 to 5:00. Dr. Swanson returned to his office at 5:15.
Nick was already hiding out around the corner. He had his biology textbook with him so
that he did not appear suspicious. Finally at 6:15 everyone seems to have left the
building. Dr. Swanson was still in his office grading reports on his computer, his back
was to the door and he was listening to a CD of his wife singing in Italian. The door was
open a crack so Nick stuck in without being heard. He had a knife with him and planned
to stab Dr. Swanson in the leg. He stood up and Dr. Swanson saw his shadow and turned
around. He saw Nick with his knife in the air and went to grab his arm. He did not get a
good grip, he only scratched him. This was how Nick’s skin got under Dr. Swanson’s
fingernails. Dr. Swanson was standing up now and was putting up a fight trying to get
the knife out of Nick’s hand. Dr. Swanson lunged at Nick and he ducked out of the way
and Nick was able to stab him in the thigh. After doing this Nick stashed the knife in a
trashcan by the north entrance of Brooks Hall. Nick felt that he had done what he went
there to do and that he had injured Dr. Swanson. He did not know however that he had
stabbed his artery and that he would bleed to death before a custodian found him at 11:00
that night. Nick got a lot more than he bargained for in his simple pursuit of getting out
of doing homework.
Introduction
The news that a professor was found murdered in his office spread across Central
Michigan’s frozen campus like wildfire. CMU Life was full to bursting with articles
scrutinizing every angle of the occurrence, commentary speculating the suspects, and
tribute articles dedicated to the heaven-bound professor. The halls of Brooks were tense
and grave. Every passerby avoided the piece of hallway decorated with yellow tape, as it
was a reminder of the evil that surfaced on the otherwise peaceful campus.
Detectives and homicide investigators were sighted entering and leaving the
unfortunate professor’s office at random intervals. Bagged-and-tagged evidence was
transported to my lab for DNA testing. The professor, Dr. Brad Swanson, was found in
his office, dead, as a result of four strategically placed stab wounds. Signs of a struggle
were obvious. His desk chair was on its side, a bookshelf had toppled, spilling advanced
textbooks all over the carpeted floor, and several hominid skulls were strewn about the
office. His hand was cut, skin cells were found under his broken fingernails, and there
was a splotch of blood found on the inside doorknob of the office.
The major suspects were Dr. Swanson’s 17 Honors Biology students. Because of
his ridiculously harsh grading, many of the students were doing poorly and were unable
to keep up with the rigorous assignment schedule due to emotional scarring.
After examining the DNA test results, I found that two of my fellow classmates
participated in the murder escapades. I believe that Jennifer Waters and Nicolas Talsma
joined together to murder Dr. Swanson.
Discussion
After questioning both Nick Talsma and Jenny Waters extensively, both
confessed to the crime. Detectives also asked both students why they did what they did.
Jenny said that she was hoodwinked by a juicy bribe issued from Nick. He offered her a
‘Diary of the Improbable’ article, as she needed only 10 more points to receive an ‘A’. In
return, Jenny would use the skills she picked up from one of the unauthorized burglary
seminars she attended to unlock the door to Dr. Swanson’s office. She claims from that
point on, she was an innocent bystander. This is a recreation of her account:
Nick’s plan was to sneak into Dr. Swanson’s office, but to his unfortunate
surprise, Dr. Swanson was still sitting at his computer. Agitating Nick further, Dr.
Swanson smiled and declared that he had just finished reading the White Blood Cell Lab
Reports. He especially liked Nick’s. Dr. Swanson voiced that he sent Nick’s report to
every science professor on campus because it was so hilarious. Jenny didn’t know what
they were talking about, but it obviously upset Nick. Nick picked up the first thing he
saw, a dissecting scalpel, and lunged in his anger. A vicious fight followed, resulting in
Nick stabbing Dr. Swanson multiple times. Jenny ran to check Dr. Swanson’s pulse, but
tripped over a prehistoric skull, leaving traces of her DNA behind. As she felt for a
pulse, she unknowingly got blood on her hand. Both turned quickly to leave. Jenny
opened the door, placing a splash of blood on the doorknob and Nick followed. They
vowed never to speak of the incident again.
Jenny swore that she had no idea why Nick wanted to get into Dr. Swanson’s
office, and Nick’s questioning was not as successful. Although he confessed to the
murder, also mentioning that Jenny only helped him unlock the door and did not
participate in the killing, he would not avow his reasons for being in the office.
Only I hold the key to that truth. I know that Nick was struggling with the
colossal Bio Lab Reports due every one to two weeks. If he received a less than perfect
grade on the recent White Blood Cell Lab, he would fail the class. Failing Biology would
not only condemn him from the Honors program, but would ruin any hopes of going to a
well-established medical school. He knew that he would receive a relatively low score
because of a proofreading mishap. Nick always had trouble remembering to double
space after every period. He placed a reminder at the top of his report resembling the
following:
REMEMBER: TWO SPACES AFTER EVERY PERIOD!!!!
Not only did he forget to place two spaces after every period, he left the blatant
declaration at the top, reminding Dr. Swanson to take away points for his stupidity.
As a last request, Nick and Jenny would like to have Dr. Swanson’s face
superimposed on a new bookmark. If their request is permitted, they will be open to any
punishment, although Nick prefers jail time over the chair.
Introduction
It was a Friday at 11:50 a.m. in room 169 of Brooks Hall, one of the science halls at
Central Michigan University. Students began filing into the room still shivering from the
blustering weather conditions outside the building. Many had just finished the arduous
walk from north campus while others came from other classes. As it neared 12:00, the
students began to wonder what had happened to their teacher, Dr. Swanson. He usually
came early and turned on music and displayed a quote on the board. At 1:05 the final
red-nosed honors biology student came bustling into class only to find it in a state of
pandemonium. Dr. Swanson was absent and the students were loudly discussing his
whereabouts. A group of students decided to check his office, Brooks 190. They reached
his office and found that the door was slightly ajar but the light was off. Cautiously they
crept closer and peered through the crack but could see nothing in the murky darkness.
They eased open the door and to their surprise, it would not open further than a foot or
two. The smallest student squeezed inside and flicked on the lights. “Dr. Swanson, did
you forget about the lab today!” she called. No answer. As she turned back to her
classmates, something caught her eye. It was a hand coming from behind Dr. Swanson’s
desk. She walked closer and screamed in horror. There was the beloved Dr. Swanson in
a heap on the floor with a widening pool of blood underneath. The girl leaped to his aide
but could find no pulse. She fled from the room and called the police.
The police arrived at the scene and started their investigation. The case was instantly
ruled a homicide but the detectives could not think of a reason for the killing. Dr.
Swanson’s body was behind his desk, 20 feet from the door and it appeared that he had
been beaten with a hard object and then stabbed repeatedly. They soon found the
possible murder weapons which lay nearby, a hominid skull and a small but lethallooking knife. They found pieces of the suspect’s skin underneath the victim’s
fingernails, a classic defense tactic. Blood was also found on the doorknob. They
collected the DNA for further testing. Meanwhile in the laboratory other police officers
were questioning the students. None of the class was absent. After some questioning, the
officers realized that these students might have had a motive in killing their professor.
The professor was a notoriously tough (but fair) grader and many students were receiving
poor grades in his class. Also, his exams and lab assignments left some students reeling.
Besides, school violence is not uncommon in this day and age. One of the students told
the officer that they could find the culprit before the police if given a DNA sample of the
suspect. The students were given a small sample of the suspect’s DNA and proceeded to
take samples from each student, under the watchful eyes of the police. They compared
these by first using a Polymerase Chain Reaction or PCR.
Discussion
One student brought her findings to the police and Nick Talsma was confronted in class.
When told that the probability of a false DNA match between him and the killer was
nearly 0%, Nick came clean. He gave police the following account:
“Well, I am a computer science major, so I decided to try to hack into the computer
mainframe to change my grades. I have 6 classes this semester and my course load is
pretty crazy so my grades are not the best. I couldn’t hack into the computer system so I
decided to break into my Bio teacher’s office and change my grades that way. I wasn’t
going to hurt anyone, I swear. I knew that Dr. Swanson would be leaving for the lab
class at 12 and I thought I could slip into his office and come to lab late, which isn’t a
rare occurrence for me. Then as I was changing my grade, Dr. Swanson walked into his
office and confronted me. Caught red-handed so to speak, I panicked and attacked him
with the nearest object, one of those dang hominid skulls from the second lab. I then
used some of my fencing skills with a knife that I keep with me always and got a little
carried away. I didn’t mean to kill him!”
As Nick was taken away in handcuffs he pleaded for mercy from his peers. They just
looked away in mute horror. Nick was taken to the nearest jail to await his trial for
murder. He was charged as guilty but in an event of cruel irony, he was not sentenced to
prison, but he was sentenced to retake BIO 101H again and again until he got an A. He
also had to participate in 200 volunteer hours of biology field work. If you listen closely
as you walk down the hallowed halls of Brooks, you can still hear his cries of agony
resounding from within.
Introduction:
With finals approaching, the atmosphere within the BIO 101H classroom was
tense. Many of the students were nervous about their grades and appeared edgy. Some
students, however, were more than nervous and edgy; they wished to seek revenge on a
certain teacher who had developed a nasty habit of not returning lab reports and other
materials in a time efficient matter. These students entered the Brooks science building
between the hours of 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on November 16, 2005. The professor was
sitting at his desk, critiquing one of the assailant’s “Diary of the Improbable”, when he
was attacked. One student provided a distraction, posing a question about respiration,
while the other student proceeded to surround the professor. With much effort, they
managed to tie the professor up and, judging by the markings on the body, cut him
several times with a sharp knife before severing his jugular. The students then fled the
building. The professor was found an hour later by a janitor who had been making his
last round. The professor was declared DOA at the hospital. Samples of DNA were
taken from underneath his fingernails where skin tissue from the assailants was present
and from the doorknob in his office, where blood other than the professor’s was found.
The DNA was then analyzed to determine who the possible murderers were based on the
DNA strands produced by the PCR reaction.
Discussion:
Based on data, Talsma is the most likely suspect, or the suspect who performed
most of the physical attacking. Waters’ DNA also was similar to the loci found at the
crime scene, though some of her DNA may have been tampered with as the loci that did
not match appeared to be missing, as shown in Table 1. The investigators decided that
the evidence was not conclusive enough to hold up in court, and the students were
released.
After the study had been concluded, however, it was discovered that the
professor’s body was missing. It is rumored that the professor faked his own death and
has now relocated to a warm tropical island with his wife. Supposedly, the students knew
about the professor’s plans, but kept silent because the professor left a notice in his will
that he wanted all his students to receive A’s for the course and left them astounding
recommendation letters for medical school. The students were able to waive the final
exam because of their numerous and unwarranted court appearances. All of the students
received A’s, which was appropriate, as they had all learned quite a bit from the
professor’s course. As for the professor, he has reputedly been seen, quite tan, relaxing
on the shores of a tropical paradise. 
Introduction
On the evening of November 4, 2005, Dr. Brad Swanson was murdered inside his
genetics laboratory. Upon arrival, police found nothing more than Dr. Swanson’s body
surrounded by a puddle of his own blood. On further inspection, police also discovered a
small puddle of water in the area where Dr. Swanson had been conducting his research
along with a variety of vials and test tubes filled with various chemicals and mixtures.
With no suspect or evidence, crime scene investigators were called in to search for more
subtle clues. They found several hairs wrapped around Dr. Swanson’s hands, as well as a
collection of skin under his finger nails.
Discussion
After narrowing down the suspects, Nick was called in for questioning. He
quickly folded under the pressure and the bribe of a very large carrot. Nick admitted to
sneaking in to Dr. Swanson’s lab after everyone had gone home on Friday evening.
Earlier in the day, he had visited Dr. Swanson’s office to discuss an assignment about a
book due two weeks from the date of the murder. Nick had yet to purchase the book,
despite knowing about the assignment from the beginning of the semester. He was, to
say the least, a little panicked. Dr. Swanson, however, showed no sympathy and told
Nick that book critique was to be handed in as scheduled. Nick left Dr. Swanson’s office
frustrated and angry.
Later that evening, armed with only an icicle and gloves, Nick snuck into Dr.
Swanson’s lab. Dr. Swanson did not hear Nick enter, as he was distracted by 80 decibels
of Gordon Lightfoot blaring from his outrageously overpriced iBook. Nick quickly crept
up behind Dr. Swanson and stabbed him twice through the back piercing a lung and his
heart. In a frenzy, Nick tossed icicle onto the counter where Dr. Swanson’s supplies lay
and fled from the scene. The murder took place in a matter of minutes.
Nick’s trial is scheduled for December 20, where he will plead guilty to murder.
His expected sentence is only 10 to 30 years in maximum security prison, as the judge
was a former student of Dr. Swanson’s BIO 101H course and was impressed with the
ingenuity of the murder weapon.
Introduction:
Dr Swanson was found murdered in his office from multiple stab wounds 2 days
before Thanksgiving break. He was on his way back to his office after a review session
that had been provided for his honors biology class from 6-8 that night. Police suspect
that he was followed back from the review session to his office, where he was brutally
murdered. There were indications that he put up a struggle before his death, skin cells
were found beneath his fingernails, and some of his fingernails were broken as well.
There was also a laceration on his hand, which indicates that he most likely attempted to
grab the knife from his assassin. The only suspects in this case are students from his
Bio101H class.
Discussion:
When Talsma and Waters were questioned as to why they murdered their biology
teacher, the following story was given. All of the students from the honors biology
course were feeling overwhelmed before Thanksgiving break. Their kind-hearted teacher
had decided to challenge his students, and loaded them with obscene amounts of work
due before and shortly after the break. He assigned a book critique and two diaries of the
improbable to be due the day before break began. He also assigned them a lab report due
the Monday after break and scheduled a test for the following Thursday. All this had to
be done on top of studying for final exams. The students, who were all fed up, decided to
meet the day before the review session Dr. Swanson had provided to discuss what should
be done. The students made a unanimous decision; Dr. Swanson had to go. The students
all placed their names into a hat, and two names were chosen. These students were
Talsma and Waters. Thrilled at having the opportunity to seek revenge on their teacher,
both students agreed to kill Dr. Swanson.
Talsma and Waters then got together the next morning and drove out to Water’s
uncle’s house. Water’s uncle was an avid hunter and had plenty of sharp, available
knifes lying around, as it was hunting season. They stole a knife from the uncle’s house
and drove back to Mount Pleasant, where they arrived at around 5. They decided it
would be best to wait until after the review session to minimize suspicion from Dr.
Swanson’s colleges, and in hopes that by 8, Brooks hall would be empty. They attended
the review session, as did the entire class, and no suspicion arose from Dr. Swanson.
After the review, they followed Dr. Swanson back to his office and attacked him. Waters
grabbed and held Dr. Swanson back, while Talsma came at him with the knife. Five
stabs to the heart and Dr. Swanson was dead.
Both students have been found guilty of murder in the first degree and are being
sentenced to a lifetime in jail. The other students are on trial for conspiracy, with intent
to murder. Their verdict is yet to be determined.
Introduction:
The date was Tuesday November 22nd of the year 2005 at approximately ten
minutes to 2:00pm-the end of biology class. “Your test” Dr. Swanson said, “will be on
Wednesday and your lab reports, do not forget, are due Monday by five pm.” This
statement greatly increased the tension in the classroom. At this time school had been in
session for close to three months straight. It is possible for a professor to push a class full
of honors students a little farther than a normal group, but this group was different. For
too long they had sacrificed sleep for homework, for too long they had spent time in
study groups instead of with their friends, and for too long, their minds had been
constantly racing, anticipating their next project. This was the last class before
Thanksgiving break for most of them. Here was the opportunity for (dare I say it) a true
break. Many were greatly disappointed to find that their break was going to consist of
more lab write-ups and studying for a test. Most honors students would accept this as a
part of life. Unfortunately for Dr. Swanson, this group did not. Too bad he was not able
to learn from his mistake. The next day around 10:00am he was found dead in his office
by one of his graduate students. The student reported a gruesome sight. Blood covered
the floor and Dr. Swanson’s desk. It was caked in his hair and his rugs, causing them to
crunch under footsteps. The knife was still deeply embedded in his body. Later the
investigators reported that there was something being held to his body by the knife. It
was an envelope. Upon further inspection, the blood-soaked enveloped was opened and a
note was pulled out reading “survival of the slackers”. The envelope was sealed which
meant that the seal could contain the DNA of the culprit. It was sent to the lab for
analysis immediately.
Discussion:
The note in the envelope that read “survival of the slackers” provided a hint that
pointed to who’s DNA I needed to analyze. Dr. Swanson’s BIO 101H class was the only
class in which he assigned homework over Thanksgiving break. Also, this was his only
class that was newly familiar with the concept of “survival of the fittest” and not familiar
enough with DNA fingerprinting. Too bad Nick didn’t read the lab. I collected DNA
from everyone in Dr. Swanson’s BIO 101H class. A piece of Dr. Swanson’s hair was
sent to the lab with the envelope tab. I needed his DNA to be able to differentiate from
other DNA that might be found in his office (the suspect’s). In comparing the DNA
found in the crime scene I considered close similarities in the genotypes of certain
locuses. I looked mostly at which genotype shared the most similarities with the
genotype of the suspect. Nick Talsma’s genotype had the most similarities. There was
one locus that did not have matching genotypes. This was the x locus. I did not consider
this result because of the possibility of errors. Even when I neglected this result, Nick
Talsma’s genotype still had more similarities to the suspects than any other genotype in
the class. His sentencing will take place in a week.
Introduction:
Physical characteristics such as eye and hair color are the result of specific DNA
sequences in the chromosomes of an individual. Isolating these sequences can be rather
time consuming and expensive, and it is for this reason that a process called Polymerase
Chain Reaction is more commonly used, which distinctly characterizes the DNA of
different individuals to provide what are known as genetic “fingerprints”. In the absence
of a witness, DNA fingerprints are often used to identify the culprits in criminal cases.
As a forensic scientist, it is my job to provide the DNA evidence used to bring about
indictments in these cases.
The night of November the 3rd brought my most recent case when a former
university professor of mine was found murdered in his office, his body riddled with stab
wounds. Lacerations on the hands of the victim along with broken fingernails suggested
that a struggle had taken place. Skin cells were found under the victim’s fingernails
indicating that the assailant may have been scratched during the struggle, and blood was
found on a doorknob some 20 feet from the fallen victim. I knew the professor to be a
tough grader, a less than desirable trait for those going on to medical school or who need
the class to graduate, which led me to suspect the murderer to be among his pupils.
Further investigation confirmed that the 19 students in his class were not doing very well.
Collecting samples of DNA from each of the students would allow me to determine
which, if any, was responsible for the crime.
Discussion:
From the PCR results I am able to definitively conclude that Nick Talsma and
Jenny Waters were in the office when the professor was killed. It is possible that Ben
Kraft was also present, although the prevalence of DNA matching Mr. Talsma’s would
suggest that the DNA found at the crime scene was his own, and not that of Mr. Kraft.
How this evidence is interpreted however, and what will become of the students will be
determined not by myself, but by a jury of their peers.
Introduction:
Early one Tuesday morning, 2 students walked across campus from the dorms to
see their biology professor. When they arrived the professor, Dr. Swanson, told them to
come in and then asked how he could help them. The students started by asking if there
was a way to get some extra credit in the class. Dr. Swanson explained that the only
ways in which it was possible to receive extra credit were listed in the syllabus on the
website and that he would not be offering any other form of extra credit. He also
explained that he had told the class this on the very first day. The students, becoming
outraged, started to yell at the professor. Because it was only 7 o’clock in the morning,
no one in the Brooks Hall heard the commotion. Loud crashes and screams came from
the office and a few minutes later, the student quickly left the office. When another
student came to talk to the professor later that day, they found him lying dead on his
office floor. They quickly alerted the police and an investigation began immediately.
Discussion:
After analyzing each DNA sample and comparing it to the DNA found on the
professor and on the doorknob of the office I found that Nick Talsma and Jenny Waters
were the murderers. They were the students that walked across campus early that
Tuesday morning to talk to Dr. Swanson but instead became outraged and killed him.
Like all of the students in the class, Nick and Jenny needed a good grade because they
needed the class to graduate. When the class was giving Jenny and Nick trouble, and Dr.
Swanson refused to give another option for extra credit, they, like most students would,
got a little upset. However, instead of talking through their problem calmly, they let
anger overtake them and he pulled out a knife and started to stab Dr. Swanson. They,
however, did not take care in cleaning up the mess and in the process left behind
evidence in the form of DNA. Since Nick and Jenny were the only 2 students that, with
their DNA combined, matched the DNA left behind at the crime scene, they had to be the
students that committed the crime. Because of their actions, both of them should have to
write lab reports for all students in Dr. Swanson’s biology class that take another biology
class next semester. They should also probably be sent to prison for their actions,
however, writing lab reports for 17 people next semester may be enough punishment.
Introduction
Dr. Bradley Swanson was murdered on November 18, 2005. He was found dead
in his office with multiple stab wounds. There appears to have been a struggle between
Dr. Swanson and his killer. Skin cells were found under the professor’s nails that suggest
he may have scratched his assailant.
There are a total of 19 suspects involved in this case. Each of them are students
enrolled in his Biology 101H class. The students in his class did not seem to be doing as
well as they had hoped. Most of them needed excellent grades because some students
hoped to continue on to some form of medical school. The day Dr. Swanson was
murdered, each of the 19 suspects had been seen on campus.
It is my job, therefore, to determine who killed Dr. Swanson. I have collected
DNA from each of the 19 suspects involved in the case, including myself because I am
also a suspect in the case. The skin cells found underneath Dr. Swanson’s fingernails
have also been recovered and will be used in establishing who killed him. I will be using
a polymerase chain reaction that will identify which of the 19 suspects killed Dr.
Swanson.
Discussion:
The suspect who committed the crime of murdering Dr. Bradley Swanson was
Nick Talsma. His DNA matched the closest to that of the unknown suspect’s DNA that
was found underneath Dr. Swanson’s fingernails. Jenny Waters’ DNA was also very
close to that of unknown suspect’s DNA. Therefore, the crime was evidently committed
by both Jenny Waters and Nick Talsma.
The crime could not have been committed by just Jenny Waters. Her DNA does
not possess the Y chromosome that was evident in the unknown suspect’s DNA. That is
why Nick had Jenny do the stabbing, but with his knife. He was very upset the day Dr.
Swanson made the comment during the Microscopy lab about the latex gloves. Dr.
Swanson said that the extra small would not fit on his hands, but perhaps another area of
his body that required latex. That was what pushed Nick to hire Jenny to murder Dr.
Swanson. Nick knew that if the murder weapon was found, it wouldn’t contain any of his
DNA, but that of Jenny’s because her DNA possessed an XX chromosome instead of an
XY. However, he was very wrong in suspecting this.
Nick knew that Jenny would do the job. Jenny had been getting very poor grades
on her labs and also had done poorly on the last test. She needed this grade and she
needed it to be a good grade because she had plans of continuing onto med school
eventually. Jenny would sacrifice anything for a good grade. She wouldn’t kill Dr.
Swanson just because of revenge, but because of her undying love for Nick Talsma. The
rest of the class had failed to see that over the past couple of months, Jenny and Nick had
been falling in love, secretly, with one another.
Nick was furious at Dr. Swanson for humiliating him in front of the class. He had
never been humiliated before and he wanted revenge. Nick was angry because he knew
Dr. Swanson’s comment was true. He feared that he knew the truth about being a poor
lover in bed because perhaps Jenny had been telling rumors about him, and it had
somehow gotten back to Dr. Swanson. This made Nick even angry, but not just at Dr.
Swanson, but at Jenny too. That is why he asked her to kill Dr. Swanson.
Nick and Jenny were immediately arrested once the results came in and were
questioned. That was when Jenny learned of Nick’s alternative motive for wanting her to
kill Dr. Swanson. Nick knew that she would kill Dr. Swanson for him and take the rap,
but what she didn’t know was that he wanted her to take the rap. Jenny then attempted to
kill Nick with the same knife she used to kill Dr. Swanson. So not only did I have the
DNA evidence to convict both Jenny and Nick, but I also had the murder weapon, and
both of their confessions. Jenny and Nick are looking at a life time in prison, apart from
one another.
Introduction:
It was a dark and stormy night. Dr. Brad Swanson, the honors Biology 101
instructor, was in his office uncharacteristically late grading the lab reports from that
week. He had procrastinated grading them until his students finally got onto him about
getting their grades back. Because of his lack of self motivation and laziness (although
more than likely for a good reason), he was now sitting alone in the empty, dark Brooks
Hall.
All of a sudden there was a knock at the door. Dr. Swanson jumped a bit, not
expecting any visitors. One of his BIO 101H students walked in through the door and sat
down in front of the desk. Having just finished that student’s lab report, Dr. Swanson
handed the graded paper back. The student looked at the grade and, frustrated, got up
and left the office, slamming the door. Stunned, Dr. Swanson sat back, regained his
composure, and went back to grading.
The lights flickered with a bolt of lightning, and then went out completely. Good
thing his wife had given him candles recently meant to mask the smells of formaldehyde
permeating the building. As he fumbled for a match, he heard a click and looked up. At
that moment the sky brightened with a flash of lightning and Dr. Swanson saw the lit face
of the murderer walking slowly across the room. Another bolt and he saw the metallic
flash of a large, sharp scalpel arcing towards him. He raised his hand to halt the attack
but the scalpel only sliced deep into his palm. Hurt but angry, Dr. Swanson flew at the
assailant tackling the student to the ground throwing punches wherever they would land,
giving him a bloody lip and nose. However, this did not stop the murderer. He raised the
scalpel and plunged it into the professor repeatedly. Mortally wounded, Dr. Swanson
gave up the fight. The student stood, wiped his bleeding nose with his hand and walked
to the door. He looked one last time at the dying instructor and closed the door softly.
Unable to call for help because of the power outage, the professor lay still on the
ground until the wounds overcame him and he slipped away.
When classes started the next day, an unsuspecting faculty member walked by the
office and noticed the door was closed, unusual for Dr. Swanson’s office. Not knowing
what lay inside, he opened the door and gasped.
The police came and examined the body, finding skin cells underneath the
professors’ fingernails and blood on the doorknob. Samples were taken and brought back
to the lab for analysis.
DNA samples were taken from all of Dr. Swanson’s Biology students to compare
their DNA to the DNA found at the scene of the crime.
Discussion:
According to my results, the guilty party in the homicide case is Nick Talsma. I
have come to this conclusion by comparing the DNA results of all the students compared
to the DNA results of the suspect. Nick Talsma’s DNA matched in 4 of 5 loci. The next
closest suspect would be Jenn Waters with 3 of 5 matching loci. However, the suspect is
a male (determined by the presence of a Y gene), so this eliminates Jenn as a suspect.
While appearing in court, Talsma was asked his motive behind killing Dr. Brad
Swanson. His answer was that Dr. Swanson always picks on him, not constructive
criticism but destructive teasing. He said that it was tolerable at the beginning of the
semester, but the more time they had class together, the more the teasing increased. His
trip to the office that fateful night was actually meant to be a conference, bringing his
feelings to the table, however, when Nick received the graded paper back and read the
comments, he decided the only way to solve the problem would be to finish off the
instructor.
Although the crime was indeed a heinous one, the court decided to go easy on the
student. His punishment was to sit through video tapes of Dr. Swanson’s lectures 6 hours
during weekdays and 7 hours on weekends for the rest of his college career. To deter
sleeping during these lectures, he will be chained to the chair, and The Chinese Water
Torture will be put into effect (constant drip of water hitting the top of his head). He will
no longer be allowed to use scalpels and sharp objects during labs; he will be issued a
pair of blunt, safety scissors to be used. He will also be required to handwrite all labs.
The final punishment will be to cancel Talsma’s membership on Facebook.com.
Now yes, these punishments appear to be cruel and unusual, but isn’t that better
than the death penalty?
Introduction
I had been hearing whispers around campus that something horrible had happened
last Tuesday. I had heard that there had been a homicide on campus; that somebody had
killed a professor. It wasn’t until I tried to attend class on Thursday that I came to find
out the truth. I was walking through Brooks Hall on my way to Honors Biology 101,
when all of a sudden something yellow caught my eye down the hallway. I investigated
further to find that it was police caution tape, emblazoned with the phrase “Crime Scene
– Authorized Entry Only”. There were several bloody footprints on the tile flooring in
the hallway, in front of… my biology professor’s office door. I looked at his office
windows to see the constant flash of cameras as investigators collected samples and took
photographs of the crime scene. I stumbled backward, feeling for the glass doors. I
stepped outside and took in a deep breath, thinking to myself, so this is what all the
whispers are about. No wonder people had been giving me accusing looks recently…
Then again, who really knows who killed Doctor Swanson? The police wanted to find
out; they called us all in for blood sampling so they could compare samples of our DNA
with ones that were located at the crime scene.
Discussion
After reviewing the sample test results and examining the results from both the
victim and the suspect’s DNA, I can say with some authority that one Nick Talsma is the
murder suspect. Nick’s DNA matched with the suspect’s DNA on four tests (2A, 2B, 10,
and Y) and matched on only half of the X test. However, Nick is the only person who is
that close to the suspect’s DNA, and therefore should be considered to be the culprit. The
presence of a Y gene in the suspect’s DNA indicates that it is definitely a male suspect,
which narrows it down to only three individuals, I being one of them. Tom Mott, the
other male besides me and Nick, didn’t come close to matching on the tests. This
narrows it down even further to two suspects – Nick and I. As stated before, though,
Nick matches on more accounts than I do. Unfortunately, the tests could have been
flawed – some DNA could have been tampered with accidentally; thus the results might
be skewed a very little bit. Unfortunately for Nick, though, the DNA speaks for itself.
He killed Dr. Swanson.
It was reported recently in our campus newspaper, CM Life, that Nick had indeed
been arrested and convicted of the murder of Doctor Bradley Swanson. After a
successful search warrant was issued, police found the murder weapon – a letter opener –
in Nick’s desk drawer, as well as a blood-splattered test which clearly held a failing letter
grade. CM Life also published photos of Dr. Swanson’s office, which had been greatly
disturbed in the struggle. On one wall, a message had been spray painted: “You’ve just
proven Darwin’s theory of natural selection!!” The rest of us who had attended Dr.
Swanson’s class this fall attended his funeral, where we all placed our extra-credit
bookmarks upon his casket as it was lowered into his final resting place. Rest in peace,
good doctor, rest in peace.
Introduction
On November 3, 2005, Dr. Swanson was found murdered in his office in Brooks Hall.
Investigators found skin cells under his fingernails, as though he had clawed at his
assailant. In one hand he was clutching several short hairs with full follicles, a sign
that he had ripped them out of someone’s head in self-defense. A small pile of nail
clippings was found on a chair in the office, and a hair was discovered in the
carpeting. All of these things were collected and bagged as evidence, and taken back
to the crime lab to be analyzed. A sample of the professor’s DNA was also collected,
to compare with the DNA found in each piece of evidence.
After the scene was discovered and investigation began, 17 of the current 19
honors biology students were brought in for DNA samples. Two students were not asked
to participate because they had not been on campus at all that week. All of the others had
been seen on campus throughout the day of the murder, and were considered prime
suspects since the professor was known to be tough and a hard grader. Many of his
honors biology students needed a good grade in the class in order to graduate or go on to
medical or other biological professions. 10 hair follicles and a cheek cell swipe were
taken from each student to be analyzed.
Discussion
In order to convict someone of murder, the genotype of the DNA found at the crime
scene and the genotype of one of the suspects has to match exactly. For the X-7108 and
the 2-117 chromosomes, Waters matches exactly. For the 10-1714 chromosome, Talsma
matches exactly. For the Y-392 chromosome, Kraft matches exactly. However, none of
the suspects have a genotype matching the 2-163 chromosome found in the DNA at the
crime scene, and it doesn’t match the victim. When looking at these genotypes
individually, it seems that there is more than one perpetrator. However, when one looks
at the data collected, it is clear that more than one person can have the exact same
genotype for any given chromosome. Given this, given that none of the suspects match
the 2-163 genotype of the perpetrator, and given that one collected sample of body cells
from the scene of the crime contains chromosomes that don’t match one specific person,
it is most likely that the perpetrator was not any of the honors biology students. Further
investigation into faculty, other students, and lab assistants must be done to determine
who did kill Dr. Swanson.
Introduction
Dr. Brad Swanson, a professor from Central Michigan University was found
brutally murdered in his office from multiple stab wounds in his lower back and torso.
There were signs of a struggle. Lacerations on Dr. Swanson’s hands indicated that he
had unsuccessfully tried to pry the knife from the attacker. Broken fingernails and the
skin cells found under them suggested that the professor may have scratched the
murderer during the scuffle. Blood, located 20 feet from Dr. Swanson’s body, was
discovered on the doorknob inside the office.
Although he was a fair and just professor, he had a well-known reputation for
being a very tough grader. The 17 students in his biology class were not receiving the
grades they had hoped for. They immediately became logical suspects as many of them
desired to continue on to medical school (requiring good grades in all biology classes) or
needed the class to graduate. All of the suspects were identified as being on campus
throughout the day that the professor was killed.
Since Dr. Brad Swanson could not overpower the assailant in order to take away
the knife, our hypothesis was that the murderer was male. A male is more likely to
overpower another male than a female is. Our objective was to discover the identity of
the murderer by comparing the DNA samples found at the crime scene to the DNA of
each suspect using the polymerase chain reaction.
Discussion
The suspect whose DNA sample most closely matched the sample taken at the
crime scene was Nick Talsma’s. This is strong evidence that indicates that Nick Talsma
was the murderer of Dr. Swanson. This evidence was used in court where Nick was
charged with the killing of his professor. In addition, there were witnesses that testified
that Nick had always given the professor devious smiles, mocked him in lecture and
complained about his grade in the class. Furthermore, another bit of evidence that was
sitting clearly on Dr. Swanson’s desk was a note, later analyzed to be in Nick’s
handwriting. It listed several ways to kill Dr. Swanson: throwing sharp stones at him,
strangulating him with barbed wire, repeatedly shaving his head bald until he killed
himself, forcibly ramming him with a candelabrum, crushing his skull with a mace,
spearing him like a fish, slipping rat poison into his morning coffee, etc. However, the
one that was checked consisted of stabbing Dr. Swanson to death with a sharp knife.
The evidence was overwhelming against Nick in court. Many witnesses testified
against him. The scratch on Nick’s left arm that appeared to be from fingernails did not
help. Even though Nick was rich and Johnnie Cochran was his lawyer, this trial went
exclusively in the prosecution’s favor. The prosecutor drilled Nick with questions. Sweat
dripped from Nick’s brow under the intense heat in the room. Finally, Nick gave in to the
pressure of the courtroom. He revealed everything from his motive to how he did it. Nick
said he needed those an A in the class to keep his scholarships and since Dr. Swanson
was such a tough professor when it came to grades, he felt he had no other choice, but to
kill him.
Nick explained that he visited Dr. Swanson during his office hours and hid a knife
in his belt. When the time was right, Nick moved in closer for the kill. Nick had not
anticipated such a struggle from an “old man” and so the murder did not go as swiftly as
planned. Nick told that Dr. Swanson attempted to snatch the knife away but only
succeeded in cutting his hands. He admitted that amidst the scuffle, Dr. Swanson dug his
fingernails into his arm as he was stabbed in the back. To finish the job, Nick turned the
knife away from his back and proceeded to puncture him from the front until Dr.
Swanson collapsed.
The jury unanimously proclaimed Nick guilty. The judge announced his
punishment loud and clear for all to hear. Nick was the given the ultimate sentence, life in
prison without possibility of parole. A tragedy that such a brilliant professor and student
have essentially lost their lives just because one student was not getting the grades he
wanted.
If I were to do this case again, I would need precise results since Nick’s DNA was
not exactly the same as the suspect’s. Otherwise, the evidence seems too unreliable. Since
Nick was a male, our hypothesis was supported. The reasoning behind this being that Dr.
Swanson would probably have been able to more easily overpower a female than a male
when he attempted to seize the knife.