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"It was planted," Chris determined after speaking with the teacher.
Room 107 was the scene of a crime Monday at Springfield High School.
This was the first major project for this semester's forensics class, a popular course that began this year. Right now, all three classes are filled and there is a waiting list.
A "room within a room" featured the outline of a body that had been found facedown on a kitchen table (lab table) next to a baking tin and muffin tin that were on the stove (tape) and there are drops of blood (ketchup).
Also at the scene was a burned candle and two half-empty cups, one with lipstick marks, one without. A cigarette butt and shell casings and footsteps were on the floor.
The murder victim was identified as a 25-year-old single female. She was stabbed in the chest.
No items at the scene were disturbed.
The students made a rough drawing of the crime scene. Using a compass to determine which walls are north, south, east and west, and measuring tape to determine the width and length of the room, the students began to gather evidence.
"It think the drinking got a little out of hand and he killed her," said sophomore Eric Agovino.
Senior Rachel Mollichella decided it would be important to measure the doorframe. "Seven feet," she reported. "Eighty-four inches."
Before long, evidence was touched. Somebody pushed the glasses together. This led to a question.
"How do you know somebody's not moving stuff around?" asked Kovatch.
She answered her own question. "You have the sketch."
Students were told to bring their digital cameras Tuesday to take photographs of the scene. Once they shoot, the scene is closed, Kovatch explained, and they only have their preliminary sketch to go on to make their final sketch of the crime scene.
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Last winter, science department teachers Janet Barber and Kovatch offered a list of electives to the students to enhance the science program. The top four choices were meteorology, science of sports, anatomy of physiology and, the most popular, forensics.
"It's very hands-on," said biology and AP environmental teacher Janet Barber, who also teaches forensics. "There's several labs per week with a history. Where has it started and where is it going?"
In 1000 A.D., individuals used fingerprints to sign documents and artwork. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, forensic science began to be used formally in solving crimes. Fingerprints were recognized as belonging to an individual and they began to be used for cases and in prisons.
"We teach the history, crime scene, fingerprinting, serology (blood), hair and fiber analysis, odentology (teeth) and anthropology (bones)," said Kovatch, who also teaches biology.
The course also includes learning about what types of jobs are in the forensics field. "A police officer, coroner, even a lawyer needs to know," said Barber.
"By no means is this all of forensics. It's the tip of the iceberg. In an every-other-day course we obviously can't cover everything," said Kovatch.
"They're not qualified but aware," said Barber. "They're better citizens (because of the course)." She added that if she were picking a jury, she would want someone with some knowledge about forensics.
"There's a lot of learning on your own," said Barber.
"It's not spoon feeding," added Kovatch. "They really need to sit and think. That's why I step out of the way."
Barber and Kovatch are excited that the school was granted the Best Buy "te@ch" award for the forensics class. The package includes a grant award check for $2,500.
"There's a new fire, a new spark, energy and excitement that the kids bring," said Kovatch. "They're as eager to learn as we are to teach them."
Seniors Brian Thomas, Kim Cifuni and Larry Greenwich took the forensics class when it first began last fall.
"We started off learning about case studies, fingerprinting, hair analysis," Kim recalled.
The students learned to lift each other's fingerprints.
"We used powder to lift them," says Larry. The students could also lift fingerprints using tape.
"We had fun with it," said Kim. "The crime scene was pre-made and it showed everyone in class how precise it had to be, exact measurements."
The students also learned to do hair samples and could determine if the hair was from an animal, horse, dog, human or cat. "Animals have a much larger medulla than human hair," said Kovatch. "Humans are usually cut or colored and there's straight versus tapered."
One thing that has gotten students interested is watching CSI, a television show where forensics are used to solve crimes.
"Unlike CSI, you can't solve a crime in an hour, it takes longer," said Kim. "Looking at CSI, you can see what they did wrong. It's not accurate."
The students found that the show was more authentic as the season went on and that they could predict what would happen in the show.
Larry plans to major in forensic science in college. "Anybody majoring (in forensics) should take the class."
"I didn't know anything about forensics," said Brian. "I took it because it was a new class offered and it was fun."
The trio agrees that they would recommend this course.
