Fingerprint Mock Crime Scene

Background: Fingerprints are the most common evidence found at a crime scene.
Fingerprints are unique amongst people, no two people have ever been found to have the
same prints. A forensic fingerprint analyst main job would be classifying fingerprints and
identifying individual characteristics. They then try to match fingerprint evidence to
known evidence from possible suspects using a database called IAFIS. Today you are that
fingerprint analyst.
Type of Crime: Homicide
Location: 111 Locard Street
Date: 4/1/2015

Report Time: 9:04 AM

On 4/2/2015, police were called to investigate a murder at 111 Locard St. The call came
from a lady, Mrs. Nancy Drew. She stated she was the housekeeper for the owner of the
house, Mr. Smiley. Mrs. Drew said she entered the house at around 8:00 am on April 1,
2015. She said that the house was a mess, which was very unlike Mr. Smiley. She stated
that she began cleaning the house thinking that Mr. Smiley was at work. She cleaned the
living room and then cleaned the kitchen. Next she proceeded to enter the bedroom and
that is where she found Mr. Smiley dead on the floor. She immediately called 911 at 8:45
AM to report what she had seen. Police arrived at approximately 9:00 AM.
Officers interviewed Mrs. Drew and gathered her statement as others secured the crime
scene and started looking for evidence. Mrs. Drew stated that she cleaned up a lot of the
house; this was not good because valuable evidence may have been destroyed.
The police officers concentrated on the master bedroom where Mr. Smileys body had
been found since Mrs. Drew had not cleaned it up. The bedroom was in total disarray, all
of the drawers from the dresser were thrown on the floor and the television was gone. A
CSI was called in to look for additional evidence and to document the crime scene.
The CSI assigned to the case started by doing a walk through of the crime scene. He
noticed that the window was open slightly. Upon closer inspection, a fingerprint was
found on the outside glass of the window. The fingerprint was developed with powder,
photographed, and lifted as evidence. The CSI continued documenting the crime scene by
creating a scale map of the bedroom and taking photographs. It appeared that Mr. Smiley
had been hit with a blunt object on the head. An aluminum baseball bat was found in the
restroom and appeared to have a bloody fingerprint on it. The fingerprint was
photographed and the bat was placed into an evidence box to prevent damage. No other
evidence was found at the crime scene.

Victim:
Mr. James Smiley
Witnesses:
Mrs. Nancy Drew
Suspects:
Alfonso Alf Butcher Well known with the local Police Department. He has been
arrested numerous times for breaking into homes and stealing valuables. It was reported
that he had gotten into an argument with Mr. Smiley at Mr. Smileys fast food restaurant.
Johnny Lennon Next-door neighbor, didnt get along with Mr. Smiley because he used
to work for him at his restaurant. Mr. Smiley fired him for giving away food to his
friends. Johnny played baseball when he was in high school.
Saul Goodman Mr. Smileys business partner. Saul had gambling debts and needed
money. Mr. Smileys death would make him the sole owner of the restaurant.
Courtney Love Mr. Smileys on/off girlfriend. The two had had some nasty fights seen
by the neighbors. She wanted Mr. Smiley to marry her but he was too busy running his
restaurant.

Your job as a Forensic Fingerprint Analyst is to compare the fingerprint evidence against
the exemplars to make a match. Go to it!

Evidence
The following evidence was found at Mr. Smileys residence:
1. Fingerprint on outside glass of bedroom window.

2. Fingerprint on baseball bat in Mr. Smileys bathroom.

Exemplar fingerprints were taken from all witnesses and suspects for comparison.
Exemplars:
1. Fingerprint from Nancy Drew

2. Fingerprint from Alf Butcher

3. Fingerprint from Johnny Lennon

4. Fingerprint from Saul Goodman

5. Fingerprint from Courtney Love