Florida International University Personal Bankruptcy Discussion

Onthemorningof15 October 2020, investigators (you) were called to the Student Health Center on the campus of Florida International University. Upon arriving at the scene at 9:40 a.m., investigators were informed that Dr. Chad Chumbley was found by his co-worker, Alexander Kammerer. He had been shot in the head. Other than Dr. Chumbley, nobody was in the clinic since it closed Friday afternoon.

The main crime scene is Dr. Chumbley’s office. The office is 6.5’ x 6’ with a door on the south side of the room and a window on the north side. Dr. Chumbley’s desk is located on the west wall 2’ from both the south wall and north wall, a trash can is against the south side of the desk, and an office chair is in the middle of the desk facing to the southeast. An exam table is located on the north wall by the window 1’ from the west wall and 2’ from the east wall. A stool is located 0.5’ from the east wall and 1.5’ from the north wall. A bloodstain is located on the east wall centered about 5’3” from the floor. Dr. Chumbley is lying face down with his body pointing southeast. A pool of blood has formed under the victim’s body along with an additional bloodstain near his head, and a gun is in his left hand.

On Dr. Chumbley’s desk sits a note that reads “My daughter died because of you” written in blue ink. Also, on the victim’s desk is an unmarked bottle of white pills.

An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. The medical examiner is going to list the manner of death as suicide; however, skin tissue was found under Dr. Chumbley’s fingernails, a contusion was found on the victim’s left arm, and the gun shot wound is not consistent with a self-inflicted wound. The fatal bullet was recovered during the autopsy.

Using the skills gained in this lab and being creative, investigate the described crime scene and determine if Dr. Chumbley committed suicide.

Your lab report from the mock crime scene is worth 100 points. Please try to make it look as professional as possible. There are points assigned for presentation. IT MUST BE TYPED. Using the above scenario, discuss what evidence was collected and what each analysis revealed.

Each lab report has to be unique regarding how you present the information. Do not copy someone’s report. PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARIZE THE EXAMPLE PARAGRAPHS IN THIS DOCUMENT. If you turn in a report that is identical to another, you will be looking at ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT. So please submit original work.

The entire report must be continuous – do not start every section on a new page. Make sure the sections are separated (for example by using bold lettering for headings etc.)

PLEASE USE THE THIRD PERSON PAST PASSIVE TENSE WHEN WRITING YOUR LAB REPORT (no “I” or “we”; “fingerprints were dusted” instead of “I dusted for fingerprints”).Please use this as a guide to help you organize and present the lab report. Please ensure that your report is divided into the following sections:

Chain of Custody

• Use what you have learned about chain of custody to document all pieces of evidence. This should be in table form.
• Describe all of the evidence obtained (including photographic evidence) carefully. Actual photos are NOT necessary for this lab (only a chain of custody is needed).

Explain why each piece of evidence was collected. Use separate paragraphs for each piece of evidence to accomplish this.

Crime Scene Sketch

• Use the methods learned in this course to make a crime scene sketch for the scene. A final sketch is the only one necessary for this report. Be sure to include all measurements, a legend, and all relevant pieces of evidence in the sketch.

Analysis of Evidence and Results

• What methods were used to analyze the different pieces of evidence?
• Why was this method chosen?
• If a piece of evidence was not processed, describe how it would have been collected and processed. Describe the method(s) that would have been used and explain why.
• Document everything that was done with the evidence and the conclusions that were drawn.

Conclusion

• What was the conclusion of the investigation?

Example: Dusting and tape lifting was used as the method to collect fingerprints because it was most suitable for the area under investigation, and it produced recognizable ridge patterns. Results concluded a match between suspect A’s fingerprints and the fingerprints obtained from the murder weapon.