Case 47: Behind the Yellow Tape

Join us for an exciting, weeklong STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math) adventure in partnership with CU Boulder's Science Discovery program. Students will dive into hands-on workshops that spark creativity and innovation through forensic science. The program will be conducted by CU Boulder Science Discovery staff.

To solve a case, detectives and forensic scientists work together to identify relevant data, analyze evidence, and draw sound conclusions. For the week, you’ll step into the role of a forensic scientist and put your skills to the test to solve a mock case. We’ll make detailed observations to sketch a crime scene and review our persons of interest. Then, using biology, chemistry, and physics, we’ll analyze evidence such as fingerprints, hair, blood, and DNA, and even perform a mock autopsy. By the end of the week, it will be up to your team to determine the cause, mechanism, and manner of death.

Day 1

Case 47 – Beyond the Yellow Tape, students stepped fully into the role of crime scene investigators as they worked through multiple stages of analyzing a potential crime scene. The day focused on documenting the scene, examining evidence, and beginning to piece together a timeline of events.

The investigation began with a discussion of the “Golden Rules of CSI” and how investigators approach a scene using careful scanning, detailed observations, and scientific questioning. Students then searched the crime scene, placing evidence markers where potential clues were discovered. Working in teams, they created accurate sketches of the scene, paying close attention to proportions and measurements. Each sketch included detailed notes and scientific questions about the evidence, along with ideas about how those questions could be investigated.

Next, students shifted their focus to digital forensics. By examining digital evidence such as text messages, emails, and social media activity, along with statements from persons of interest, teams worked to construct a timeline of events. This helped investigators identify when key actions may have taken place and how different individuals might be connected to the case.

The afternoon moved into trace evidence analysis, where students examined clues collected from the scene. Using microscopes, they prepared dry-mount slides to study hair samples and compared them with samples from the persons of interest. Students also analyzed fingerprints, comparing patterns and minutiae to determine possible matches.

One of the most engaging activities involved blood spatter analysis. Students created their own blood spatter patterns outside and challenged other groups to interpret how each pattern was formed. This hands-on activity helped demonstrate how investigators use stain patterns to infer actions that may have occurred during a crime.

Throughout the day, teams added new findings to their evidence boards, building concept maps that highlighted connections between suspects, evidence, and key events. By the end of the session, investigators had gathered important clues, raised new questions, and taken another step toward uncovering the truth behind Case 47.

The mystery continues as students prepare to analyze additional evidence and refine their theories about what really happened beyond the yellow tape.

Day 2

Day two of Winterim: Case 47 – Beyond the Yellow Tape pushed students deeper into the role of forensic scientists as they explored how physical evidence can reveal what happened at a crime scene. The focus of the day was blood spatter analysis and DNA fingerprinting, two powerful tools investigators use to reconstruct events and identify individuals involved in a case.

The morning began with a blood spatter investigation. Students examined how different types of blood stains form and how investigators interpret them. By carefully measuring the width and length of blood stains, students used trigonometry to calculate the angle of impact of the droplets. This helped them understand how analysts can determine the direction from which blood traveled during an incident.

Students then designed and conducted their own blood spatter experiments. Teams dropped simulated blood from different heights and measured the resulting stain diameters. Through this investigation, students observed that blood droplets tend to create larger stains when dropped from higher heights and smaller stains when dropped from lower heights. Using their data and calculations, teams attempted to determine the height and angle at which blood may have originated at the crime scene, helping them better understand the mechanism of the decedent’s injury.

The investigation then shifted into the world of forensic DNA analysis. Students reviewed the structure and function of DNA and learned how scientists can separate DNA fragments by size using gel electrophoresis. Before running their samples, students practiced micropipetting, an essential laboratory skill required for accurately transferring tiny volumes of liquid.

Next, students completed the key steps of DNA fingerprinting. They followed a three-stage process commonly used in forensic labs:

Extracting DNA from blood samples.
Amplifying the DNA using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to create enough copies for analysis.
Separating the DNA fragments through gel electrophoresis to produce a unique banding pattern.

Once the gels finished running, students carefully visualized and recorded the results by sketching the band patterns. By comparing the DNA profiles from the crime scene with those from the persons of interest, teams worked to determine whose DNA matched the blood evidence found at the scene.

Day 3

Day three of Winterim: Case 47 – Beyond the Yellow Tape brought students into the world of forensic pathology, where investigators analyze the human body to determine how and why someone died. Throughout the day, students examined both external and internal evidence, using tools from anatomy, physiology, and histology to move closer to understanding the cause of death in the case.

The morning began with a mock autopsy, starting with a detailed external examination of the victim. Students carefully documented injuries and physical findings while learning about the key postmortem changes that help forensic pathologists estimate time of death. These included livor mortis (pooling of blood after death), rigor mortis (stiffening of muscles), and algor mortis (cooling of the body).

Using body temperature data, students applied the Glaister equation to calculate a more precise estimate of the time of death. By combining this calculation with observations of the victim’s external injuries, teams began forming hypotheses about what may have happened to the victim and how those injuries relate to the overall case. Each group then compiled their findings into a formal autopsy report, documenting the evidence collected during the examination.

Next, students explored heart and brain anatomy and physiology. Through diagrams and modeling activities, they reviewed how these critical organs function within the human body and how damage to them can affect survival. This background knowledge prepared students for one of the most hands-on activities of the day: organ dissections.

During the dissection lab, students examined sheep hearts and brains, identifying key anatomical structures and labeling them with flags. They compared what they observed in the specimens to examples of known pathological conditions, helping them understand how abnormalities in these organs might contribute to a person’s death.

The investigation continued at the microscopic level during the histology lab. Using microscopes, students observed tissue samples from the lung, brain, and heart. They first examined healthy tissue to learn how normal cells should appear. Then they compared those samples to tissue from the victim, looking for cellular damage or abnormalities that might reveal disease, trauma, or other contributing factors.

By comparing normal and abnormal tissue patterns, students were able to identify signs of damage in the victim’s cells and document their findings. These microscopic clues added another layer of evidence that could help determine the cause of death.

By the end of the day, students had investigated the case from the whole-body level down to individual cells, gathering critical forensic evidence along the way. As they continue to connect the findings from the autopsy, dissections, and tissue analysis, the investigators of Case 47 are getting closer to uncovering the truth about what happened to Brianna and what occurred beyond the yellow tape.

Day 4

On the final investigation day of Winterim: Case 47 – Beyond the Yellow Tape, students stepped into the role of forensic toxicologists and trial experts, working to determine exactly what substance caused the victim’s death and who was responsible.

The morning began with an introduction to forensic toxicology, where students discussed how scientists use different diagnostic tests to identify unknown substances in biological samples. Teams then conducted a chromatography lab, using paper chromatography to analyze samples collected during the investigation. Students carefully placed samples from the victim’s blood, a pill bottle, and a water bottle onto chromatography paper and observed how each substance traveled with the solvent.

By comparing the movement patterns of these samples to known substances, students were able to identify a match with sodium azide, a highly toxic compound capable of causing death even in small doses. Students supported their findings through research and documented their procedures and conclusions in formal lab reports.

In the afternoon, investigators focused on synthesizing all of the evidence gathered throughout the week. Teams worked collaboratively to finalize their evidence boards, connecting toxicology results with earlier findings from crime scene documentation, blood spatter analysis, DNA fingerprinting, and the autopsy.

Students then began preparing their final case reports, choosing creative formats such as presentations, posters, chalk talks, and podcasts to communicate their claims. Each group was tasked with presenting clear evidence and scientific reasoning to support their conclusions about the cause, mechanism, and manner of death, as well as the identity of the perpetrator.

The day concluded with group presentations and lively debates, as teams attempted to convince their classmates and instructors of their theories. After weighing the evidence and engaging in thoughtful discussion, many groups reached a final verdict: the roommate, Kelly, was responsible for Brianna’s death.

With the mystery solved and the evidence laid out, students completed reflections on their investigative journey — a week that challenged them to think like scientists, collaborate like detectives, and communicate like expert witnesses.

Day 5

The final day of Winterim: Case 47 – Beyond the Yellow Tape took learning beyond the classroom and into the world of real scientific research and college life. Students traveled by bus to the University of Colorado campus for an immersive experience exploring how forensic science and biomedical research are practiced at the collegiate level.

After arriving and checking in, students toured the Advanced Light Microscopy Core, where they learned how powerful imaging technologies allow scientists to study cells and tissues in far greater detail than the classroom microscopes used earlier in the week. This visit helped students make connections between their own histology work and real-world research applications.

At the Skills Center in Porter Biosciences, students explored how university learners can customize their education by completing specialized, credit-based laboratory skills modules. A highlight of the visit was seeing a one-million-dollar scanning electron microscope in action. The instrument was actively scanning for bacteriophages at an incredible magnification of 140,000×, giving students a firsthand look at the scale and precision of modern scientific research.

After lunch at the Center for Community, students visited the university library’s Special Collections, where they viewed historical materials related to forensic science. This experience helped place their weeklong investigation into the broader context of how forensic techniques have evolved over time.

The afternoon continued with a student-led campus tour, offering a glimpse into daily life at a large research university. Students visited the recreation center, where they saw the famous buffalo-shaped pool, explored Folsom Field, walked through the Duane classroom building, and concluded the tour at the UMC Bookstore. These stops helped students imagine what it might be like to learn, train, and live on a college campus.

As the group prepared for departure, students reflected on everything they had experienced during Case 47 — from analyzing blood spatter and DNA to debating suspects and presenting final case reports. By stepping into real laboratories and exploring campus resources, students were able to see how the investigative skills they developed during Winterim can connect to future opportunities in science, medicine, and forensic careers.

Winterim may be over, but the curiosity, collaboration, and critical thinking sparked beyond the yellow tape will continue long after the bus ride home.

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