CSI Skyline unmasks the Skyline Phantom

The Skyline Phantom recently struck again at Skyline High School! A prized plastic skull model was stolen from teacher Chuck Krieble's locked classroom. For years, local police have been stumped by the Phantom's random criminal acts against students and staff, but this time school administrators decided they'd had enough. They called in the big brass—CSI Skyline High.

So begins the scenario for Mr. Krieble's Police Forensics final, which recently had students and staff across the campus involved in a finely orchestrated whodunit. Who took the plastic skull? Was it the security officer who conveniently had access to the room? The lollygagging student with a bad attitude who was nearby when the theft occurred? Or someone else?

Students had to use every forensics skill they'd learned throughout the year to interview suspects and analyze the evidence, which included a piece of half-eaten cheese, a footprint, a note, and a Diet Pepsi can left by the Phantom in Krieble's classroom.

Students had the run of the campus, and they diagrammed the crime scene, dusted for fingerprints, created molds from footprints left in dirt, conducted soil analysis, questioned and re-questioned every possible culprit, and collect affidavits. When the time came to present their final case to "the cantankerous Judge Krieble," the teams knew exactly which staff member had footprints, bite impressions, handwriting, and fingerprint swirls that matched the evidence.

In Krieble's courtroom (over which he presided with a rubber mallet), students were graded on the accuracy of their evidence exhibits, quality of their final report and conclusions, and quality of their presentation. The Honorable Judge tightly questioned team members' credentials and accuracy as they made their case ("Is it true that earlier in the year you said you find fingerprint analysis boring? Then how can I be sure your mind didn't wander while you were analyzing these fingerprints?"). But in the end, the clear and convincing evidence was enough to give the Judge confidence in convicting a certain staff member.

It's safe to say that the Skyline Phantom has struck for the last time.

Krieble's forensics expertise comes from being a professional police officer and detective for 14 years. He trained with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. Next year, he says the class will include even more sophisticated techniques as he continues to build the program with lessons learned.

But for its first year, the complicated course was a great success, Krieble said–especially since many students found a real connection with the exciting, interactive lessons that could someday lead to a career in forensics.

"We got definitely got our hands dirty!" Krieble said.


Picture: Crime Scene Investigators Michael Harrison, Ryan High, Jenny Patterson, and Monica Thies present their evidence in the case of the Skyline Phantom.