Jump to The Sam Sheppard Case

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Instructions are in BLUE and questions are in RED   Use this link (Links to an external site.) to review, study, and form your answers.  LINK: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/sheppard/   1.    Detail the procedures/processes a major crime unit would have done if this murder had happened today. Include ALL the processes–evidence collection, testing, etc.  2.    Why was it important to capture Marilyn Sheppard’s fingerprints? What type of fingerprint pattern is on her right thumb? 3.    Reviewing the crime scene photos/diagrams, is there ANYTHING on those photos that would indicate sources of cross-contamination?    Review this picture/caption (Links to an external site.).  LINK: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/all_crime_scene_photos/34/ Dr. Paul Leeland Kirk, professor of Criminalistics, stated in his affidavit that he examined the crime scene, various pieces of evidence held by the prosecutor and police, and blood samples collected and mailed to him. His investigation began on January 22, 1955 and continued for several months. Dr. Kirk used blood spatter analysis to conclude that: 1. The murderer was left-handed (Sam Sheppard was right-handed) 2. From injuries to the victim’s teeth, the victim had bitten the attacker’s hand 3. A large bloodstain on the wardrobe door was likely from the attacker’s bloody hand 4. Testing of the large blood stain showed it did not match that of Sam or Marilyn Sheppard, so the attacker must have been a third person 5. The murder weapon was a cylindrical object, such as a pipe or flashlight–not a a surgical instrument, as asserted by the Coroner Dr. Kirk surmised that the physical evidence demonstrated that the crime was a sexual assault.   4.    From what you have studied and reviewed in this class, how could Dr. Paul Kirk know the attacker was left-handed? 5.    Describe the process to match bite marks found on a victim.  6.    Why do you think the Coroner thought the murder weapon was a surgical instrument and not a cylindrical object? (For this answer, please think about the time this case was being investigated)