On television, detectives can crack a murder case in less than an hour.  But in the real world, criminal investigations often remain unsolved for years due to a lack of evidence, witnesses or suspects.

Lindsay Duty (left), Katherine Simmons (right), and Shannon Crock helped UAB forensic scientist Elizabeth Gardner (center) investigate a 1998 unsolved murder.

Now students at UAB can learn to crack these so-called cold cases in a new course that Gardner teaches with instructor John Grimes, J.D. Working in teams, students conduct a mock criminal investigation modeled on a real-life case. This spring it was a homicide resulting from a drug deal gone bad in Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s. Students examined old police reports and conducted interviews with witnesses - played by members of the UAB Mock Trial Team. The students then presented their case to Grimes, the "district attorney," to request an arrest warrant. The course ended with a visit from investigator Rodney George, who solved the real case in 2002.

"The class exposes students to investigations and forensic science and to the process for conducting background checks, interviewing, creating a timeline and organizing a case," Gardner says. They also hear from guest speakers with expertise in cold-case investigations.
Gardner also developed the Cold Case Project. Its first investigation: assist Homewood city detectives considering whether to reopen a 1998 case involving the death of a man gunned down in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

Gardner selected three graduate students to work on the project. For 10 months, the group gathered in a designated cold-case room in the Justice Sciences department to organize police and forensic science reports, listen to witness statements and discuss the available evidence - the first steps in reopening any cold case, Gardner says.

"I think every day we could look at that case and find something new,'" says student Lindsay Duty. "It took us about two months just to read it cover to cover and get familiar with all the names and people and places involved." In May, the Homewood Police Department gave the three students a special commendation for their work.