May 11, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Three University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) graduate students have spent the last several months working with the Homewood Police Department on a project that could result in officers reopening an unsolved homicide case.

The three  will be recognized for helping Homewood Police gather and organize mountains of old case files connected with the case, which occurred more than a decade ago. For their efforts, they will receive a special commendation from the Homewood Police Department at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 11 at the annual Homewood Police Awards Ceremony at SoHo Square, Rosewood Hall, 2850 19th St. South. To be honored are Lindsay Duty of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; Kathrine [cq] Simmons of Selma; and Shannon Crock of Wexford, Pa.

The students participated in the UAB Department of Justice Sciences Cold Case Project, in which top students are selected by their professors to assist local police departments on unsolved cases. The program is in its first year. The Justice Sciences department also offers a cold case course in which students learn about evidence gathering, interviewing and other techniques.

"I was very surprised when I heard that we were going to be honored," said Duty. "When I saw the letter from the chief of police, I was just floored."

The students examined unsolved homicide of David Traywick, who was gunned down at night in the parking lot of his Homewood apartment complex in 1998.

Under the supervision of UAB Associate Professor of Forensic Science Beth Gardner, Ph.D., the students photocopied, read, studied and organized every report written about the case by police officers, detectives and forensics experts. They also listened to hours of recorded statements and analyzed recorded patterns in behavior among the suspects and witnesses. The students worked on the case for 10 months.

"We have a secure cold case room here at UAB where the students worked," said Gardner, "The work was very intensive, however, the purpose of the project was not to solve the case, but to conduct that first step that's necessary for reopening any cold case. Of course, we do hope that it will lead to the eventual clearing of this case."

Toward the end of the project, the students used Microsoft Visio® to create a timeline of the events and to map the relationships of the people involved in the case.

"I believe this experience has helped me primarily by developing my knowledge about the inner workings of the justice system," said Simmons, who is pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice and planning a career as a criminal investigator. "I feel that I understand the process of an investigation and just how much hard work goes into a single case."

The students recently presented their work to police officials who will make a final decision on whether to reopen the case, said Homewood Police Sgt. Doug Finch. He credited the students with saving police staff countless hours that would have been spent just locating and organizing all of the old case documents.

"What they accomplished was better than what I expected," said Finch, "and it was very helpful to me because we don't have the luxury of dwelling on just one case at a time. This particular case went cold for a reason. There was just not a lot to go on.

"But the work that the students did really helped us to see the case in a new way."

About the UAB College of Arts and Sciences

The Department of Justice Sciences is housed in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, home to academic disciplines that include the arts, humanities, sciences ands the School of Education. The college's unique structure advances research such as the UAB Spam Data Mine and learning in both K-12 and higher education, and its courses are taught by a world-class faculty. Committed to the UAB spirit of independence and innovation, the college enables students to design their own majors, participate in undergraduate research or complete graduate degrees on a five-year fast track. Through productive partnerships, flexible curricula and a bold, interdisciplinary approach to learning and teaching, the college is preparing students for success in the ever-changing global marketplace of commerce and ideas.