Not So Dead Students: Visit the Scene, Solve the Crime
You can test your crime solving ability courtesy the West Virginia University Crime Scene Training Complex. Click into the 3D model and explore to find the clues. We suggest expanding to full screen for best viewing.
The background:
“On Tuesday, 03-Mar-2016 at 1758 hours, you were called to the scene at 253 Oakland St. in Morgantown, WV. Chief Robert O’Brien informed you that 911 dispatch received a tip of a possible multiple homicide. It was reported that the neighbor heard several gunshots. Due to prior arrests of the occupants and a suspicious odor, the presence of a meth lab is suspected. Proceed with CAUTION!”Hint — Hit the arrow on the left to play the highlight reel or…
- Start in the kitchen, something happened there. What details do you notice? What do you think they were “cooking” in the kitchen?
- Watch your step, you wouldn’t want to get your shoes sticky or contaminate the scene.
- After the kitchen head into hallway. Do you see the trail?
- What happened in the hallway?
- Find all four bodies. How are the deaths related?
Ok Sherlock, after you’ve explored the first model and think you have answered these questions, go to the second model to see the clues inspector Edmond Locard noted and the conclusions he deduced from the crime scene.
About this project:
With four houses and a garage, West Virginia University’s Forensic & Investigative Science Department has the largest college level crime scene training complex in the United States. The school’s 360 students use the house to explore real-life scenarios and learn the process of crime scene investigation. This project was completed in April 2016 in collaboration with WVU’s Reed College of Media’s Innovation Center where students explore new ways to tell stories. We’ve partnered with Matterport.com to give students some of the latest tools in 3D modeling and storytelling.
Students Ling Tao, Kayla Krausman and Korina Menking-Hoggatt led the work on the project. Forensics students, Krausman and Menking-Hoggatt, set up scenes to leave behind important clues as well as distractions to throw off the investigation. Tao, a Reed College of Media student, created the 3D model of the house using the Matterport camera system. Special thanks to our “decedents” WVU forensics students Hannah Storm, Sam Ennis, Mikayla Weese and Rhiannon Zeman. Forensics professor Robert O’Brien and I worked with the students.
PS… very glad to see we can now post these Matterport embeds on Medium.com — Thank you.
— Nancy Andrews, Ogden Professor of Media Innovation
West Virginia University
May 2016
Contact: @Nancy. on Medium or @nancyandrews on Twitter
