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Middle School Students Use Forensics, CSI Techniques to Investigate 400-Year-Old Revenge Murder

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Cox Communications funds STEM learning experience using Facetime, underwater robotics, and underwater recovery   

 Under the direction of a forensic scientist using Facetime from Scotland, students from the Forensics/Mock Trial class at Thurston Middle School in Laguna Beach, California, recently used 21st-century crime scene investigation tactics to investigate a murder from 1585. Based on the historical events of Roanoke, the Lost Colony, the students used a simulated crime scene to investigate and process criminal evidence using current CSI techniques.

The seventh and eighth-grade students examined the dead “body” of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, stepbrother of Sir Walter Raleigh after it surfaced near the Pilgrim ship in Dana Point Harbor in Dana Point, California. Directed by Noelle Martinez from the University of Dundee, the students gathered evidence against John White, accused of killing Raleigh’s brother in a case of mistaken identity. The murder is believed to be a revenge killing for the role Raleigh played in the disappearance of the lost colony of Roanoke, Virginia.

As part of the hands-on learning experience, the Dana Point Harbor dive team assisted the students with the underwater retrieval of the body. The forensic team documented the retrieval using an underwater robot and a 360-degree camera to preserve the evidence for later viewing in addition to the murder scene aboard the Pilgrim ship. The students spent the afternoon analyzing and processing the evidence at the nearby Ocean Institute’s educational facilities.

Now in its fourth year, the Thurston Middle School Forensics/Mock Trial program tasks students with solving a crime by employing the latest forensic techniques. Students in the class are divided into two groups:  the students who discover and analyze the crime scene and the students who serve on a jury to examine the evidence and determine who committed the crime. The students on the jury will view the 360-degree photographs using virtual reality glasses which will allow them to visualize the crime scene exactly as it was at the time of the discovery. After weighing the evidence, a mock trial will be held and the jury will determine whether White is guilty or not. This year’s trial is scheduled for Friday, June 1, at Thurston Middle School.

The TMS Forensics/Mock Trial class is the brainchild of social studies teacher Michelle Martinez and her daughter Noelle. Martinez says the program follows Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for 21st-century learning.

“The program teaches students interdisciplinary lessons that provide them with real-world connections and a stronger relevance of information as part of their educational experience,” Martinez says. “This elective course provides students the chance to experience real-life scenarios to assist them with college and career readiness.”

The program is supported through a grant by Cox Communications under the company’s “Innovation in Education” grant program. Cox Communications awarded $60,000 in Innovation in Education grants last year to 29 Orange County schools to help fund innovative programs for students in grades K-12, including Thurston Middle School. The grant program invited principals, administrators and teachers at eligible schools to submit a grant application for innovative classroom projects that focus on skills-based learning, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art/Design and Mathematics), digital literacy, or cyber citizenship (responsible use of the internet).

 

 

 

Students from the Thurston Middle School Forensics team prepare to examine the “body” of Sir Humphrey Gilbert as part of the school’s forensic science program. The students gathered evidence to build a case against John White, who is accused of committing the murder more than 400 years ago.

 

 

 

 

The Dana Point Harbor dive team assisted the students with the underwater retrieval of the body

 

 

 

 

 

Investigators from Thurston Middle School’s Forensics/Mock Trial class examine evidence from the murder on board the Pilgrim ship in Dana Point Harbor. The students were taught the latest crime scene investigation techniques by Noelle Martinez, a forensic scientist in Dundee, Scotland, who used Facetime to guide the students.

Photo Credit: LBUSD, Cox Communications

 

 

Anakaren Ureno, Public Communications and Relations Liaison

Laguna Beach Unified School District

 

 

Joe Camero

Cox Communications

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