The Crime Scene

Exhibit 1
A redheaded victim is pictured after she is found with a slit throat on the hood of a car.

Exhibit 2
An O- blood sample was found at the crime scene. Only Candi Stores and Ginger Snap have O- blood, narrowing the possible victims to these two women.

Exhibit 3
A tented arch fingerprint is lifted at the crime scene, with the only possible match being Candi Stores. Therefore, Candi Stores is the killer.

Exhibit 4
Dark red lipstick found on plastic cup would most likely indicate a female victim. The lip print left shows a full bottom lip with a partial upper lip.

Exhibit 5
The cup contained a blue liquid drunk by the victim, as proved by the lipstick print. After poison and drug analysis, no harmful substances were found in the drink. The pH of the liquid was 8, slightly basic but not harmful enough to kill.

Exhibit 6
An unknown fiber found at the crime scene proved to be cotton underneath the microscope. Compared to a known cotton sample, the substance had the same distinct unruly pattern of colorless strands.

Exhibit 7
Handwriting found at the bar reads "Please help me!" The paper was obviously written by the victim. The handwriting can easily be matched to Ginger Snap's distinct letter formation. For instance, Ginger Snap's writing has a forward slant, narrow loops, small spacing, a ratio between width and height of letters of about 1, all cursive writing, and few pen lifts. The sample at the bar matches each of these characteristics exactly.

Exhibit 7A
Letter found at the scene reads "I needed the money."The letter was written by the perpetrator, who is at this point believed to be Candi Stores. The writing sample given by Candi Stores contains a forward slant, small attributes on the "e's," incomplete letters (d and o), rather large writing, and embellishments on the "t." The unidentified handwriting matches Candi Store's perfectly.

Exhibit 8
The unknown black fiber found at the scene can be identified as wool through microscopic examination. Once compared to a known wool sample, the length of the fibers, the color, and the general composition of the hair prove to be the same.

Exhibit 9
Gold necklace found at the crime scene was of no importance to the investigation. My group theorized that it could have been the murder weapon, but no blood was found on the item.

Exhibit 10
The fingerprint found at the crime scene is a double loop that matched only Ginger Snap's print.

Exhibit 11
A fingerprint sample had to be lifted off a piece of glass with tape and dark powder. The print was identified as an ulnar loop, which matched no profile and therefore had no relevance.

And the killer is....
Ginger Snap, a server at the local bar, was being preyed on by a desperate entertainer named Candi Stores. Ginger Snap knew she was in trouble, as indicated by her handwritten note that read "Please help me!" that was most likely slipped to a customer with their order. Once outside the bar at the end of her shift, Ginger Snap was confronted by Candi Stores, who intended to either mug Snap and run or kill her acting as a hitman. Either way, a struggle ensued (proven by the presence of two sets of fibers) and Stores managed to slit Snap's throat. The murder weapon could have been the gold necklace, tied around Ginger Snap's throat until the necklace broke skin. Or it could have been a knife or some object not present at the crime scene, which would mean that the weapon was dumped or still in Candi Store's possession.

All photos of crime scene courtesy of Ashley Eakins and Audrey Brown