Question

real life forensics: a bump in the night
name:
directions: read the following passage about the kidnapping and murder of polly klaas.
then, answer the questions that follow.
it was october 1, 1993, just before midnight, and polly klaas
and her friends were enjoying a pajama party when they
suddenly heard a bump in the night. that night, every
parents worst nightmare came true. a stranger holding a
knife walked into the bedroom and warned the girls that if
they made a sound he would slit their throats. he tied the
girls hands and placed pillow cases over their heads and
kidnapped 12 - year - old polly klaas.
usually, detectives try to \shed light\ on a situation, but in
this case, evidence was hard to come by until investigators
turned off the lights. through a process using alternative
light sources (uv and black lighting), investigators were able
to identify a partial print on the bed post in pollys bedroom.
unfortunately, the print was not complete, but did include
enough ridge patterns that they felt confident that enough of
the print was extracted. however, there was a problem.
without a suspect, the fingerprint evidence was useless.
two months later, torn childrens
clothing was found on the side of a hill
and reported by an anonymous person.
a computer search revealed that on the
night of the kidnapping, a car, driven
by richard allen davis (a man who
had previously served 18 years for
burglary and kidnapping) had been
stuck on a secluded road not far from
the hill. experts in the fbis crime lab
compared his prints to the partial
print found on polly klaass bed post
and confirmed that it was a match.
confronted with this evidence, davis
confessed to the murder of polly klaas.
case analysis

1. who was the victim in this case?
2. who were the eye witnesses in this

case?

1. how did investigators find evidence in this

particular case?

1. what was the only piece of evidence that was found

at the crime
scene?

1. describe the print that was found on pollys bed

post.

1. why was the print not (initially) helpful to

investigators?

1. two months after the crime, what piece of evidence

led the investigators to their
suspect?

1. who was the only suspect in the

case?

1. describe the suspects criminal record.
2. what was the outcome of the case?

Explanation:

1. The victim is clearly stated as Polly Klaas in the text.
2. The text mentions Polly Klaas and her friends as being present when the incident occurred, so they are the eyewitnesses.
3. The text says investigators used alternative light sources (UV and black lighting) to find evidence.
4. A partial print on the bed post in Polly's bedroom is the only evidence mentioned at the crime scene initially.
5. The print was a partial print that was not complete but had enough ridge patterns.
6. Without a suspect, the fingerprint (as the only evidence at first) couldn't be matched, so it was useless.
7. Torn children's clothing found on a hill and a computer search leading to a car driven by Richard Allen Davis is the evidence.
8. Richard Allen Davis is named as the suspect.
9. He had previously served 18 years for burglary and kidnapping.
10. Confronted with evidence, Davis confessed to the murder of Polly Klaas.

Answer:

1. Polly Klaas
2. Polly Klaas and her friends
3. By using alternative light sources (UV and black lighting)
4. A partial print on the bed post in Polly's bedroom
5. A partial print that was not complete but included enough ridge patterns
6. Because there was no suspect to match the fingerprint (as the only evidence at first)
7. Torn children's clothing found on a hill and a computer search revealing a car driven by Richard Allen Davis
8. Richard Allen Davis
9. He had previously served 18 years for burglary and kidnapping
10. Davis confessed to the murder of Polly Klaas