Home Chemistry: Forensics, Crime, Barefoot Burglar

The case of the Barefoot Burglar

In groups of 3, you are going to need to use your forensic knowledge to solve a crime. You must use the web page: Barefoot Burglar Evidence

1. Determine which of the four suspects is the "Barefooted Burglar"?
2. What do you think was the motive for this crime?
3. Write the results of your findings and convince a jury of your peers

The Crime

At approximately 7:15 a.m., Friday morning, Mrs. King, the science teacher, thought something was fishy as she walked down the hall and noticed that her door was open. She walked into her classroom and immediately discovered that the small aquarium had been broken and her prized goldfish were gasping in the sink. Besides the broken aquarium were the shattered remains of the pink piggy bank that had been on the shelf above the aquarium. A can of blue paint was spilled on the floor. Footprints of a barefooted burglar led to an open window. Bits of a white powdery substance was found next to the broken, empty, piggy bank. The only other item found was a half-eaten large chunk of chocolate candy.

When the police arrived they immediately began to gather forensic evidence.

Dan the Man Height : 176 cm Alias: The General Dan was wearing a woolen general's uniform with small holes when apprehended in the woods. He claimed to be gnawing on wood for moisture and insects to practice his survival training. His teeth look like beavers from gnawing. His wife complains that she never has any baking soda due to Dan's compulsion about storing clothes in mothballs. He thinks the baking soda takes away the mothball smell, so he stuffs his pockets with the substance. Also, his wife reports that her giant chocolate kisses continually disappear from the candy cupboard. He blames their dog Patton, an English bull terrier, who patrols the neighborhood. His neighbors report that Dan loves the military. He was very regimented about playing taps on his bugle every day at sunset until an irate neighbor broke his bugle. Dan has been trying to save money for a new one. Peg the Leg Height: 152 cm Alias: Lucky Lady

Peg is a librarian known for hanging horseshoes and four-leaf clovers in her library. Employees say she is so superstitious she insisted on carpeting in the library instead of laying tiles so she would not step on the cracks. She wraps construction zone tape around open ladders so no one can walk under them. Cola bottles litter her office, which she drinks with chocolate chunks. Her teeth are chipped from knocking the bottles against them. She is always throwing salt over her shoulder for good luck and keeps a salt shaker in her purse. Her alibi is that she was busy closing open umbrellas the morning of the crime.

Jake the Jock Height 201 cm Alias: Armchair Quarterback                                                                                          Jake the Jock is known for quoting statistics on every sport from boomerang throwing to sled dogging. His neighbors report that he is the neighborhood pitcher for baseball games. Last year a baseball hit him in the mouth and knocked out his front tooth. This has cramped his eating style of chocolate chunks, candied apples, and corn on the cob. His wife claims that on the morning of the crime Jake was rubbing his hands with cornstarch to keep them dry in preparation for an important baseball game.

Lou Lou Height: 160 cm Alias: Sweet Tooth

Lou Lou is so addicted to sugar that she never leaves home without it. She loves to bake sweet things and has an entire pantry full of sugar bins. She claims to have been baking her famous chocolate chunk cookies the morning of the crime (although not a morsel of a cookie or chocolate chunk was left when the police arrived.) Lou Lou rarely wears shoes, which often causes her to slip and break things, especially her collection of ceramic pigs.

Evidence:

• Fingerprints: Sticky, 'swirl' fingerprints were lifted from the aquarium and piggy bank.
• Footprints: The painted footprints were measured and were for 26 cm feet.
• Teeth: The chunk of chocolate candy was collected for examination. It appeared there were teeth imprints.
• White Powder: The white powdery substance by the piggy bank was carefully placed in a plastic bag and taken to the forensic chemist for identification. It had very small grains and when mixed with Iodine it reacted making the color brown. It did not have a smell.

Name: Dave

Fingerprints: No.

Mouth prints: Has a chipped tooth.

Shoe size: 16

White powder: None found.

Name	Evidence
Dan	Fingerprints: Yes Mouthprints: Beaver looking, Show size: No White powder: He stuffs his pockets with substances, His wife complains that she never has any Baking Soda due to Dan's compulsion about storing clothes in mothballs.
Peg	Fingerprints: Yes Mouthprints: Chipped teeth   Shoe size: No White powder: She is always throwing salt over her shoulder for good luck and keeps a Salt shaker in her purse,
Jake	Fingerprints: Yes Mouthprints: Front tooth chipped, Shoe size: No White powder: His wife claims that on the morning of the crime Jake was rubbing his hands with Cornstarch to keep them dry in preparation for an important baseball game,
Lou	Fingerprints: Yes Mouthprints: No Shoe size: Lou Lou rarely wears shoes, which often causes her to slip and break things, especially her collection of ceramic pigs. White powder: Lou Lou is so addicted to sugar that she never leaves home without it.

Findings: ( what did you find. Summarise what you have written in the table above)

What I got first from the table that everyone had a fingerprint and evidence for white powder. But I did not get a shoe size from any of the suspects probably because they were all barefoot? There were not any mouth prints for Lou Lou but Dan the Man has teeth like a beaver, Peg’s mouth was chipped from too many cola bottles while Jake got his front tooth knocked off during a baseball game.

Verdict: ( who is the burglar and why)

I think that the burglar is Dan the Man because he has a swirl fingerprint,

But I also think that the burglar is Lou Lou for a couple of reasons, so in the crime scene there is broken stuff around and footprints in the spilled paint and Lou Lou does rarely wear shoes which sortive makes her clumsy and she tends to break

stuff.