Hamline University hosts mock crime scenes for student investigators

Hamline students investigate mock crime scenes

Hamline University students investigated mock crime scenes during the late-night hours to replicate the realities of responding to a chaotic environment.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Hamline University students were called to investigate overnight mock crime scenes to apply their forensic skills in a real-world environment.

What we know

Forensic science students at Hamline University responded to the campus just before midnight on Nov. 20 for two staged homicides.

University officials say the students were given "very little notice in order to most closely simulate actual casework."

The recent snowfall also reflected the reality of working in Minnesota as students endured cold and other elements on the St. Paul campus.

The students were tasked with photographing evidence such as gunshot wounds, bullet casings, footprints and documenting the scene for a crime report.

There were also actors portraying witnesses and mannequins representing victims.

What they're saying

"The average crime scene is not during the day in a controlled setting," said Hamline University Professor Dr. Jamie Spaulding. "It's out here in the middle of the night, cameras are gonna go a little bit faster with the batteries because it's cold, hands are gonna get cold, they're gonna get tired. They have to really go through this as if it's their investigation and figure out what happened and reconstruct all the events."

Hamline University senior Grace Tesmer spoke about the value of the exercise.

"It's really fun because as much as you can learn in the classroom, once you get real witnesses, and real victims, it kind of gets to a whole new level of being real," Tesmer said.