Mini Murder Mystery
Read the following mini Murder Mystery example, and then follow the instructions below.
Bloody Murder
‘A bad mess, this,’ said Professor Fordney to Sergeant Reynolds, as they viewed the bloody scene.
‘Yeah, I wish these guys wouldn’t be quite so thorough when they bump themselves off,’ replied Reynolds as he set grimly to work.
A man with his throat cut, the head almost severed, sat slumped over a blood-spattered desk. What a horrible sight! His bloodstained coat flung across the room, the razor! the shirt! the tie! his hands! covered with blood, made a ghastly and awesome picture framed by the flickering light of a dying candle.
After turning on the lights, Fordney bent down to take a closer look at the man.
‘His face seems vaguely familiar, Sergeant, but I can’t recall at the moment where I’ve seen him. How long has he been dead, Doctor?’
‘About two hours,’ replied the police surgeon.
At this moment the telephone rang. The caller, upon hearing Fordney’s voice, immediately disconnected.
‘Odd,’ murmured the Professor as he hung up the receiver. ‘I remember now where I saw this man. His name is Thompson.’
As he glanced around, he observed that the alarm-clock on the dresser had stopped just two hours and fifteen minutes before.
The telephone rang again and Fordney motioned Reynolds to answer.
‘Hello!’ he said. ‘Mr. Thompson stepped out for a few minutes. Leave your number. I’ll have him call you.’ The man at the other end inquired who was speaking and, when Reynolds replied, ‘A friend,’ he hung up.
‘Better trace that call, Sergeant; this is murder,’ said Fordney.
‘What!’ exclaimed Reynolds. ‘Still looks like suicide to me!’
As asked at the end of the mystery, do you agree with Reynolds or the Professor? Why?
- Analyze the evidence in the story to look for clues as to how and why the incident occurred.
- Find all the evidence you can that supports either Reynold’s or the Professor’s argument. This should include anything that may be considered concrete, observable information including personal testimony and material objects and their condition or appearance as described in the story.
- Once you’ve gathered the evidence, make your claim and warrant that claim by explaining how each piece of evidence supports the claim.
- Submit a clear statement of your claim.
- Submit a list of the data (evidence) upon which you are basing your claim.
- Then, write a warrant statement that clearly illustrates how and why the evidence you found supports your claim. The warrant statement should be a short paragraph that clearly discusses the relationship between the evidence and the claim. Be sure to clarify why this evidence is significant, and why it undermines alternative possible theories of the crime. This is what would get a judge to sign off on an arrest or search warrant, after all.
Topic: Mini Murder Mystery
Answer preview for Mini Murder Mystery
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