Part 1:
Investigation Lab Journal: Evidence
● 1. There is a pool of blood next to Sues body on the pink rug.
● The blood is almost dry which means it has been there for several hours
● No wounds spotted
● Her body is splayed out in the middle of the living room floor. She was laying on her back
with her arms and legs bent at awkward angles
● All the lights were off in the room but the TV was still on even though it only showed a black
screen
● There was a thin trail of dirt leading from the back door to her body
● Broken glass near her left leg and fresh flowers laying on the floor
● Note on the table that says "Your Loving Boyfriend, Ben."
● Short brown hairs stuck to her pants
● On the coffee table there was a stack of museum comment cards. One of the comment
cards says in big letters "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!" it was filled out by Michael
Wilcox
● Next to the cards on the table is a pizza box with untouched pizza inside. The receipt next to
the box shows that the pizza was delivered yesterday evening at 5:15 pm. She put her
signature on the receipt
● On the corner of the table is a bloodstain. it is dry and the only other bloodstain seen is the
puddle next to Sues body
● Bloody fingerprint near the back door on the door frame. Lock on the door was tampered
with
● A man comes to the crime scene and claims to be her boyfriend(Ben) He said he was on a
flight back from his business trip and had a plane ticket to prove it.
● A female neighbor showed up and said she saw a blonde headed kid dressed in all black
snooping around in Sues backyard yesterday while she was walking her dog
2. Is the glass near her leg from the vase of the flowers? Is the dirt from the back yard or from a
different surrounding area? What weapon was used to kill her? How long has she been dead? Who
is Michael Wilcox and why did he write "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!"? Whose bloody
fingerprint is by the door? Why was there a kid snooping around Sues house in dark clothes? Why
was the note addressed to Sue? Who has short brown hair?
3. Physical evidence that needs to be collected is the card written by Michael Wilcox, the note from
Ben for the flowers, the card signed by Ben, broken glass, short brown hair, fingerprints, blood,
footprint in soil, blonde hair, flowers, and the lock on the door. Yes, there is physical evidence that is
not present at the scene. Ben's plane ticket stub.
4. You will need plastic and paper bags to collect the plane ticket, the 2 cards, the note, receipt, and
the broken glass. Gloves need to be used if you're going to touch the evidence. Need a collecting kit
so you can collect the blood, hairs, fingerprints, footprints, soil, the lock on the door, and the clothes
on Sue.
5. Physical properties and class characteristics are the processes I will use when analyzing the
evidence.
6. Possible suspects/witnesses to interview would be the boyfriend(Ben), the female neighbor, the
pizza delivery guy, the kid that was dressed in black.
7. I need to know what the suspects/witnesses were doing at the time of the crime. I need to know
why Michael Wilcox was so angry when he wrote the note. I would need to know if Ben really went
on a business trip. Need to know more about what the neighbor saw. Research about how blood
dries and similar cases where there was no blood left on the victim.
Part 2:
Investigative Lab Journal: Evidence
Sues hair does not match the hair that was on her leg which was short brown hair but she has long
black hair and the hair on the fence outside was long blonde hair. The short brown hair could have
possibly come from a pet or child but it was said that she didn't have either. The brown hair will have
to be tested to tell if there was a pet involved with the murder somehow. They have to match the
fingerprints because there are different ones on the door handle, on the wall, on the fountain outside.
They have to see if the fingerprints are the same person or if they belong to different people. The
fingerprints on the note can be tested for the ones on the victims body. The handwriting on the note
from Ben can be compared to the writing on the note from Michael Wilcox. The broken glass can be
dusted for prints to see if it matches the one from the door. Testing the glass for finger prints with non
acidic acid may prove who touched the glass.
Investigative Lab Journal: Research
Is Michael Wilcox an ex or just a stalker?
Why did Michael write an angry note?
What kind of dog does the female neighbor have?
Who was the guy that the neighbor described?
Part 3:
Based on the witness testimony given by the victims female neighbor, I conclude that the murderer
was Michael Wilcox
Reflex Questions:
1. Yes, the information I used for my investigation was reliable. I know it's reliable because I used the
notes from our online class and I used websites that were properly run.
2. My final scientific theory regarding this case based on my investigation is that Michael Wilcox
Murdered Sue Ellen Miller. He wrote an angry letter to Sue which was found at the crime scene and
he didn't show up for any questioning about his name being put up as a suspect like Ben or the
female neighbor did.
3. Scientific theories are often so powerful because they can join many hypotheses together making
them reliable. Even if they are just theories they can still make a case stronger.
