Year 8 CSI Day
On Wednesday 6th July, we had an Enrichment Day. Year 8’s activity was a CSI investigation of a murder, the murder of Mr. Kafai. We had to work in groups of three or four to figure out who killed him and how it happened.
Firstly we investigated what pen was found at the murder scene. We put a spot from each coloured pen on the chromatography paper and dipped it in water to show all the colours in the pen. At the end we found out the match was a brown pen which was used by Mr Bansal.
We then used microscopes to detect differences in objects that we usually can’t see with the naked eye. These play a vital role in forensic examinations. We tested the different hairs to determine who the suspect for the murder was. When we tested the materials of clothing and we found out that the suspect had worn denim.
To find out the poison that was put in the coffee we used a universal indicator and matched the pH with the pieces of evidence. We found out the poison was methanol. We also tested the flame colour of the pieces of evidence. We found out that the white powder was paint residue.
We tested each of the suspects’ and the victim’s stomach contents to see if there were any similarities. We tested for starch, glucose, fat and sugar. The victim’s stomach had contained glucose and protein, and one suspect also had contained glucose and protein. The suspect for this test was again Mr Bansal.
For the next test we compared the suspects’ fingerprints with the victim’s fingerprints from the cards they had used to play poker. The fingerprint was also a match with Mr Bansal and we thought that there was enough proof to accuse Mr Bansal of the crime.
After that we had to come up with a story that would match up with the actual events leading to the murder. We had a very exciting day and the winner was to be awarded a prize.
Paramjot Johal
