Forensics
Serial Killer Research Project
Your “big” project
• You will each choose the name of a person
or persons (from the list provided)
involved in a criminal case involving
forensic science.
• There are 3 parts of the project: the
outline, the research paper, and the
presentation.
The Cases
• Mary Jo Kopechne (Ted)
• Sunny vonBulow (Claus
von Bulow)
• Vincent Foster
• David Koresh (Branch
Davidians, Waco, Texas)
• Ruxton case
• Sam Sheppard (Marilyn)
• Tom Capano
• McMartin Preschool case
• Colette McDonald
(Jefferey McDonald)
• Nanny case (Louise
Woodward-Boston)
• Zodiac Killer
• Green River Killer (Gary
Leon Ridgway)
• I-5 Killer (Randall “Randy”
Woodfield)
• The Texas Cadet Murder
Case
• Martha Elizabeth Moxley
• Tawana Brawley
• Lindberg Baby Kidnapping
The Cases
•
Mary Jo Kopechne (Ted)
•
•
Sunny vonBulow (Claus von Bulow)
•
•
Leader of a religious sect/cult, accused of child abuse and statutory rape, huge
stand-off with authorities in Waco, TX, did not end well...
Ruxton case
•
•
Worked in the White House during Clinton’s first term, “committed suicide”, FBI
got involved, suicide or government cover-up??
David Koresh (Branch Davidians, Waco, Texas)
•
•
Very wealthy woman, husband convicted of attempted murder via insulin overdose,
decision overturned, she lived in vegetative state for a long time
Vincent Foster
•
•
Political Secretary, left a party with Ted Kennedy, car went off a bridge, Kennedy
escaped, Mary Jo did not, Kennedy did not report until the next day...
Jealous husband kills wife (and the housekeeper too) then does some very
interesting things to the bodies to keep from being discovered and caught...
Sam Sheppard (Marilyn)
•
Dr convicted of murdering his pregnant wife, decision overturned in an appeal, was
he guilty??
The Cases
•
Tom Capano
•
•
McMartin Preschool case
•
•
19 yr old nanny, accused of murdering an 8 month old boy in her care, did she do
it?
Zodiac Killer
•
•
Army officer, medical dr, murders his pregnant wife and 2 young daughters, was
he guilty?
Nanny case (Louise Woodward-Boston)
•
•
Family run daycare, family accused of sexual abuse, 6 years of criminal court, all
were acquitted...
Colette MacDonald (Jefferey MacDonald)
•
•
Wealthy lawyer, murders his lover, dumps her body in the Atlantic Ocean...
Northern CA, claims 37 murders, identity still unknown, investigation continued
from 1969 to 2004 and was re-opened in 2007
Green River Killer (Gary Leon Ridgway)
•
Believed to have murdered at least 48 women, most were murdered between
1982-1984, dumped their bodies in Washington along the Green River, how was he
finally caught and when?
The Cases
•
I-5 Killer (Randall “Randy” Woodfield)
•
•
The Texas Cadet Murder Case
•
•
15 yr old African-American girl, accuses 6 white men (some of whom were police
officers) of raping her, was it all a hoax or a giant cover-up??
Son of Sam
•
•
15 yr old girl, murdered after attending a Halloween party, was the killer a
relative of the powerful Kennedy family?...did he get away with it??
Tawana Brawley
•
•
Jealous US Navy woman murders other woman because she believes she was
“involved” with her boyfriend...
Martha Elizabeth Moxley
•
•
Killed and sexually assaulted women along Interstate 5 between Washington and
Oregon, convicted of 3 murders, suspected of at least 18 murders
Killed 6 people and wounded 7 others in NYC, claimed the neighbor’s dog was
possessed by demons and made him do it...
Richard Trenton Chase
•
Killed 6 people in less than a month and became known as the vampire killer...why?
The Cases
•
Lindberg Baby Kidnapping
•
•
Jeffrey Dahmer
•
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Killed at least 10 people, BTK...Bind, Torture, Kill
Ted Bundy
•
•
Killed at least 17 boys and men, involved in sodomy, sexual assault,
dismemberment and cannibalism
The BTK Killer (Dennis Rader)
•
•
20 month old Lindberg baby was kidnapped, body found over 2 months later, what
happened??
Confessed to 30 murders, real amount is unknown, often faked injuries to lure
women into helping him, committed both rape and necrophilia
The “Acid Bath Killer” (John Haigh)
•
Convicted of killing 6 people, admits to killing 9, dissolved the bodies in sulfuric
acid, forged paperwork and became wealthy...why?
The Information
Part I Background Knowledge
•
In this section, you should provide all the relevant background information including date,
time, people involved as well as anything else that you feel is important to include.
Part II The Case
•
In this section, you should explain the case itself including all the details (especially the
motive) concerning the “incident” at the time it occurred. Also include the final disposition
of the case at the time it occurred.
•
You should use visuals during this portion of your presentation. A poster representing the
scene is just one example. Power Point presentations or video segments might be helpful
but use Power Point as guide and try to keep the amount of text to a minimum.
Part III Current Information
•
Use this section to discuss any new or ongoing investigations that might impact or change
our current understanding of the case. It is in this section that you can express any
personal ideas or thoughts regarding the case.
The Outline
(an example)
I. Background Knowledge Intro
A. People
i.
Victim
ii. Suspects
iii. Law Enforcement Agents
B. Date
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Crime happened
Suspect arrested
Court dates
Crime solved
C. Time
i.
Of death
ii. Body found
iii. Alibi
…and so on and so forth
The Research Paper
• After your outline has been approved, use it
to create a 3-4 page research paper.
• Your paper should be double spaced, font
size 12. (Pick a font that is appropriate for
a formal research paper.)
• You will need to include a sources cited page
including all of the references that you used.
You need to use at least 5 references
(books, websites, etc).
– Use the library or stores like Barnes & Noble to
help locate actual books/texts that relate to
your case.
The Presentation
• The power point for your presentation should be mostly
pictures…FEW words.
– Pictures of:
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Suspect(s)
The Victim(s)
The Crime Scene
The House(s) or building(s) involved
Evidence
Etc
• The pictures should help guide your “story” that you will tell us.
– For example…when the picture of the victim is on the screen…you tell us
all about the victim
• You must know the case very well.
• You will be graded on:
–
–
–
–
Knowledge of Case Information
Visual Aid(s)
7+ minutes
Delivery of Report
Confused, Bewildered, Befuddled????
• I will show you an outline, research
paper and presentation to help clarify
any questions you might have.
When’s it due? What’s it worth?
Timeline for your project
– October 4, 2012 (Friday)
•
Outlines due
•
Teacher gives back outlines
(with feedback)
– October 7, 2012 (Monday)
– November 4, 2012 (Monday)
•
Research paper due
– November 6, 2012 (Wednesday)
• Power Point presentations: for
1- 2 days
Grading system – 200 points possible
I. Content (50%)
• Outline & Research Paper
–
–
–
–
Background Information
Case Details
Current Information
Personal Opinion/Interpretation
II. Presentation (50%)
• Knowledge of Case Information
• Visual Aid(s)
• 7+ minutes (it will be timed)
• Delivery Report (eye contact, speed
of delivery, “smoothness” of
delivery and knowledge of
information)