Criminal Justice Students Investigate Mock Murder

Students in Rachelle Denmark’s Criminal Justice class at Southwest Georgia Technical College have a murder mystery to solve. The “mock” murder of an instructor was committed on campus this week and students are now charged with solving the case and bringing it to trial.

The students were allowed to enter the crime scene and gather evidence, chart and photograph the scene, and make notes on their findings.  Every detail of the mock crime scene was realistically portrayed right down to the blood stained carpet and spent shell casings scattered about the room.

“This type of hands-on lab work is critical in the learning process,” said Denmark. “Talking about working a crime scene and then actually doing the works helps prepare the students for real life scenarios in the Criminal Justice field. These students have never worked a crime scene or scenario so this will be a very good experience for them.”

Solving the murder will be an ongoing project for the class as they students review and process the evidence and develop a suspect list. “They will actually go thru the steps of interrogating and eventually arresting their suspect,” Denmark said. “The will be required to interrogate their suspects and interview witnesses. After they determine if probable cause exists for an arrest, they will complete warrant affidavits; and have a ‘judge’ sign them if they articulate their probable cause.”

Ultimately, the student investigators will gather and chronicle all of their information and submit the case file to the District Attorney for Grand Jury Indictment. Throughout the entire process, the students must work together as a team to solve the crime. “They will learn the importance of communication, documentation, and grasp the concept of the 5th Amendment and Miranda rights,” said Denmark. “Guidelines for case law applied in criminal investigations will be covered and the students will learn that they must pay attention to every detail, document all aspects of the case and it can be tedious.”