Unsolved Crimes Series 1

The iconic unsolved crimes offer puzzles that have lured thousands of people into devoting countless hours searching for solutions.  This class provides an age appropriate, science-based examination of these intriguing cases.  We will focus on the evidence that was found and the ways that it might be analyzed today.  We will critically analyze the main hypotheses in each case to develop conclusions about the proper direction of investigation.

The first case is Jack the Ripper.  We won't focus on the details of the killings, but rather on the physical evidence, such as real and fake letters, the Ghoulston Street Graffito, the geography of the crimes, and the suspects who have captured our attention over the years.  We will work through a new hypothesis that leads to a shocking conclusion about the identity of Jack the Ripper which connects London's Autumn of Terror to the city of my childhood, Chicago.

The second case is the Lizzie Borden case, which is the subject of a questionable nursery rhyme.  Again, we won't focus on the details of the crimes, but rather on the general sense of the scene.  Here, we will examine the prosecution's theory that suggested that Lizzie Borden committed the crimes alone.  As a teaser, I will say that I don't think she did it, and we will discuss the ways that investigators can reconstruct a crime scene which will lead us to doubt the physical possibility of her completing these crimes in the time frame provided.  If not her, then who?  While there are many potential suspects, one or two may stand out above the others.

The third case comes straight from a Hollywood movie--the Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping, dubbed the "Crime of the Century."  The son of the most famous man in the world, and a national hero, was kidnapped in early March 1932.  The case resulted in a conviction and execution, but it has returned to the list of unsolved crimes because of a plank from a table that was discovered in police archives in 2003.  The implications of what was taped to the bottom of the plank, along with an oddly shaped piece of metal on the wood casts serious doubt on the guilt of the accused.  But, if not him, then who?  The questions that must be asked take this case in directions that any mystery writer would be proud to devise.  We will look at some truly unique evidence and examine the history of the period and of some of the people involved. 

I have taught Unsolved Crimes for over 5 years at the college and teen levels, and it is one of my favorite classes.  I have found new clues in some of these cases, and I have had students, including homeschooled teens, find more clues that had previously been unknown.