Ms. Keever's Science Classes
There is a $30 lab fee for all science lab classes. Fees can be paid by cash or check (payable to Butler High School). Fees must be paid for supplies to be purchased so students to participate in lab.
Spring 2010 Crime Scenes
(My apologies to any of my former friends, neighbors, and schoolmates whose names I've borrowed for these crime scenes.)
Case 10-010
{Click thumbnails for larger picture.}
Setting: Jogging trail, Centralia Park, Millville, AL, A college town, population 400,000. Centralia Park is a popular place and is frequented by joggers in the mornings and evenings, along with individuals and families enjoying the outdoors. The park includes jogging trails, a picnic area, and a playground area. The jogging trails wind through scenic hilly wooded areas.
A jogger, Priscilla Lessard, spotted a body near some bushes off the scenic jogging trail and called 911 at 6:12 AM on May 4.
The police officer arrived and found the ID in the victim’s pocket. She is 23 year old City College student Kathy Bardsley. Her address is in an off-campus apartment complex: Watercress Place, apartment 324.
Evidence: GSW entry in front of chest, exit in back. Bullet in pool of blood under victim. Cartridge casing nearby in bushes. Fibers and hair from perpetrator in dirt of jogging trail. Empty film canister with lid nearby in grass. Photographer's business card in victim's pocket. Length of rope laying near bushes. Abrasions around victim's wrists. Set of keys partially buried in jogging trail dirt.
Props: Assorted small bits of trash in grass. Shrubbery.
Information: Boyfriend Dennis Murphy was taking evening classes and usually went to sleep before his girlfriend returned home from her evening job and night class at the college. He did not know she was missing until the next morning when contacted by police. Kathy had the habit of jogging at the nearby park either at dusk or dawn, depending on her class schedule. One evening she encountered a nature photographer, Thomas Fredricks, who wanted to photograph her. She politely declined but accepted his business card, agreeing to share it with her friends who might want photography done. A short while later she was accosted on the isolated portion of the jogging trail by the photographer who tackled her, tied her up, and raped her. She struggled with him, knocking items out of his photo bag. One item was a gun, which he used to shoot her once through the chest. He fled the scene, taking the gun with him to dispose in the nearby river. The gun was never found. He had purchased the gun on the street with no registration and denied owning any gun.
Case 10-020
Setting: Master Bathroom, 575 Chalcedony Street, Gemstone Hills Subdivision, in an affluent area of Old-Towne, Alabama.
Janet Bucculo went into the bathroom and found her husband, James Buccolo, slumped on the bathroom floor. She tried to wake him but could not. She called 911 at 1:55 PM on July 16. The paramedics tried to revive him but were unable to do so.
James Buccolo is the CEO of CC&C corporation (a soft-drink manufacturer) and had come home after lunch. He told his wife that he wasn’t feeling well when he arrived home.
Evidence: Victim slumped in bathroom next to commode. Assorted hairs and fibers on floor. Blue-green fiber on victim's shirt. Poisoned mouthwash on bathroom shelf. Anonymous love letter in victim's pants pocket. Hair that doesn't match victim nor his wife nor their housekeeper is in the brush on the shelf.
Props: Assorted toiletries in bathroom.
Information: Wife Janet Buccolo learned of her husband's long-term affair with his executive secretary Linda Hayes. She found items that hadn't belonged to her in her house, indicating that when she was away visiting her newborn grand-nephew her husband had female visitors. When checking into their finances she discovered that some of their savings investments had been transferred to another, unknown person. Upon further investigation she learned that the recipient was Linda Hayes. In rage, Janet poisoned the mouthwash in hopes that her husband or his mistress would use it when she was gone. James had come home from a sushi lunch feeling ill, possibly from bad sushi.
Case 10-030
Setting: Back yard of a middle-class suburban home, Nowhereville, AL. Homeowners Rachel and Nels Carlson.
Rachel came outside to tell her husband that it was time to start the grill for the hamburgers and found him lying on the ground next to the ladder. She called 911 at 4:48 PM on Saturday August 8. Nels was pronounced dead at the scene. Rachel works part time as a cashier at Kwik Check grocery store. Nels is an electrician who does wiring for new construction.
Evidence: Ladder with scrap of white cotton found in hinge, several "Bubba Beer" cans scattered in yard and trash can, irate note apparently from neighbor in trash can, victim has bruise on forehead. Victim's shirt contained tear that matched fabric scrap from ladder.
Props: Scattered yard tools, dog hair from the family pet, bits of bugs and trash in grass, trash can with yard waste in it.
Information: Nels had a drinking problem, as evidenced by his autopsy report of cirrhosis of the liver. He hadn't had breakfast or lunch but had been drinking beer. He was doing general yard work, including trimming tree branches and cleaning out and repairing the gutters. His anger at his neighbor for the nasty note pushed him to drink extra beer that afternoon. Nels became dizzy from the combination of low blood sugar and too much alcohol and fell off the ladder. He hit his head on the edge of the ladder and the impact broke his neck.
Case 10-040
Setting: Campsite in the Sipsey Wilderness Camping area.
Around 8 PM on June 23 Lindy and Michael Fletcher heard a cry from the tent where their baby was sleeping. They rushed to the tent and saw a coyote near the tent’s entrance. When they looked in the tent their 3-month old daughter Azaira was missing. They contacted the camp ranger, Josef Peoples, who in turn called 911.
Evidence: Large pool of blood on tent floor, scattered baby clothes, scissors with blood hidden in lantern box. Additional evidence: Baby jumper found a distance from campsite with stab-like tears and woman's bloody handprint. Dog or coyote hair near entrance to tent
Props: Tent, sleeping bag, fishing poles, cooler with food and drink, lantern, charcoal starter and charcoal, tent supplies, rubber mallet, assorted bits of bugs and trash in dirt. Duffel bag with assorted clothing and other items.
Information: Parents Lindy and Michael had no answers for what happened other than their story of the coyote near the tent having possibly taken their baby. However, a bloody pair of scissors found hidden in a lantern box and a baby jumper with a bloody adult handprint pointed to one or both of the parents killing the baby and disposing of the body in the woods. Upon further investigation, the tears in the jumpsuit were determined to have been made by stabbing with scissors, but not while on the baby. Possibly left by parents to back up their story of a coyote taking their baby.
(Idea for this crime scene: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azaria_Chamberlain_disappearance )
