Who Killed Kyle?

Who Killed Kyle?

Setting the Scene

Six friends are on a 3-day canoe trip around Loon Lake, Northern BC. Kyle organized the trip and likes to think of himself as the leader. Joining him are 2 work colleagues and his girlfriend, Juno, who brought along her best friend, Beth (who happens to be Kyle's ex). Rounding out the group is a quiet guy named Oliver, Kyle’s cousin. Tight deadlines at work are making Kyle’s social life stressful and he figures that reconnecting with nature is a good way to clear his head and mend crumbling relationships.

Things go wrong from the start. Kyle forgot the map but decides to continue, claiming that he’s been to the lake before and “knows it like the back of his hand”. Two of Kyle’s work colleagues, Dean and John, think that it’d be funny to push Beth out of the canoe. Kyle laughs along with them. Oliver glares fiercely at Kyle and hauls the soaking wet and cold Beth back into the boat. Her phone has water damage and stops working.

Setting the Scene

As it begins to get dark, it becomes clear that the group will not find the campsite. Juno is furious at Kyle for forgetting the map and forcing them to camp on a beach with clear bear-sign, no food store and no toilet. The group store their food in a tree, dig a toilet in the ground and gather round a campfire. After the day they have had, the atmosphere is tense and no-one really feels like talking. It’s not long before everybody returns to their tents.

The next morning, Kyle is dead.

Juno
Girlfriend

​

The Suspects

John
Colleague

​

Oliver
Cousin

​

Beth
Ex-Girlfriend

​

Dean
Colleague

​

What could be the suspects' motives? Do they have alibis? Who is your prime suspect?

Time for some interrogation...

​

Who do you think is guilty?

1. Look at the shoe prints found next to the crime scene

2. Are there any matches between shoe prints found at the crime scene and the victim’s/suspect’s shoeprints?

3. Place a checkmark in box(es) where you think there is a match.

​

Evidence: Shoe Print

Who do you suspect now?

Who did not commit the crime?

Under one of the tents, detectives discovered a bloodied pocket knife half-buried in the sand.

The blood might be Kyle’s - but until testing confirms it, they can’t rule out another possibility.

​

Evidence: Blood Typing

​Blood types get their name from antigens (arms) found on the surface of red blood cells. People can have the A kind, the B kind, both, or even none!

​

Blood
Types

There's another antigen which you either have or you don't. It's called Rhesus Factor and gives us the plus or minus sign.

​

Blood
Types

Look at how common each blood type is in Australia.

How could we use this information in our case?

​

Blood Types

You need safety goggles for this experiment.

Push your chairs in and move any obstacles. You need to be SUPER careful not to spill the liquids!

Once you're finished, rinse the samples down the sink with lots of water!

​

Testing the Pocket Knife

Who do you suspect now?

Who did not commit the crime?

DNA Fingerprinting

DNA Fingerprinting

​The shoe print and blood from the pocket knife weren't the only pieces of evidence investigators found.

Under one of Kyle's fingernails, the forensics team gained a sample of DNA.

Who do you suspect now?

Who did not commit the crime?

​Who should the police arrest and take to court?
Could the jury debate any of your evidence?

What Really Happened

“I didn’t mean to kill him! I couldn’t sleep I was so furious at being pushed into the water. So, when I saw Kyle head down to the canoe in the night, I went down to confront him. I just wanted an apology but he started laughing at me again! So I picked up the paddle to threaten him and he whisked out a knife! He started playing around, pretending to swipe at me. So I swung the paddle...not meaning to hit...but got him square on the jaw. At the same time, his knife caught my arm. He fell and hit his head on the canoe. He didn’t wake up after that.”