Date: Thu 16-May-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

schools-whodunnit-middle

Full Text:

Who Murdered Andrew Peck? Student Forensic Experts Suspect A Conspiracy

A murder is committed: Andrew Peck, played by Newtown Middle School Principal

Les Weintraub, is shot twice in the chest (note red construction paper blood

blobs) and falls down dead... but not before naming his killer.

-Bee Photos, Evans

The cast of shady characters: from left, prime suspect Rudolph Stoffell

(played by Chris Canfield), nurse Alice Lockwood (Jen Neves) and ex-wife Mary

Peck (Margitta Savo). Back row, from left, are daughter Matta Elizabeth (Nell

Ayn Lynch), Chief Inspector Mike Kehoe with Deputy John Pope and, far right,

Farmer Andrew Peck (Les Weintraub).

Narrator John Reed used his deep voice to good advantage.

Forensic experts Laura Amodeo (left), Dan Cruson and Kristen Breaux do

chromatographic analysis of a handwriting sample.

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

"It would be criminal if we didn't repeat!" said middle school science teacher

Wendy Bowen, with a straight face, as she introduced this year's

interdisciplinary project and "Who Dunnit?" skit to an audience of

crime-solving students.

It was Thursday evening, May 8, at 6 pm - a time when most middle schoolers

were just settling down to dinner.

But these would-be detectives and forensic experts had signed up several weeks

ago to participate in the evening's events. Just like Agatha Christie's master

sleuth, Hercule Poirot, their little gray cells were now working overtime.

The students were about to witness the reenactment of an actual unsolved

Newtown crime as researched by town historian Daniel Cruson and acted out by

middle school faculty members.

Of course, some poetic license had been taken by script writers to make the

play more interesting. But there was no getting around the intriguing fact

that, as middle school Assistant Principal Virginia King had said in an

earlier statement to the press, this was basically a "true" mystery taken from

old Newtown history.

"The kids will watch the skit and then, using modern forensic techniques,

examine the evidence. At the end of the evening, an arrest will be made," Mrs

King promised.

At least that's the way it happened last year when they solved the 1996 "Who

Dunnit" about the Church Hill Road cobbler murdered in August 1915.

Some of those same middle school students who enjoyed the first mystery

project had come back for a second round.

Now they knew the routine. Watch the skit and look for clues. Then use

chromatography, footprint analysis, fiber and hair analysis and DNA to analyze

the evidence and find the killer.

They couldn't wait to try their skills.

The Plot Thickens

The stage lights dimmed as School Superintendent John Reed took his place on

stage. His deep bass voice was well-suited for his role as narrator and as the

dastardly deeds unfolded, his delivery became even more dramatic.

The action revolved around the tall, prosperous figure of Andrew Peck, played

by school principal Les Weintraub acting in the title role of The Philandering

Farmer.

Farmer Peck had actually lived off Eden Hill Road in Hattertown during the

year 1888.

As he was portrayed in the "Who Dunnit" play and possibly in real life as

well, Andrew Peck's relationships with women were downright unsavory.

He not only dallied with several local ladies in succession, he was currently

involved with a nurse named Alice Lockwood (played by Jen Neves), who was a

morphine addict and quite hopelessly confused. And he had an ex-wife, Mary

Peck (played by Margitta Savo), whom he had deserted long ago.

(She didn't know that through a sly bit of legal maneuvering, he managed to

divorce her, too.)

Their daughter, Matta Elizabeth (played by Nell Ayn Lynch), had been born just

before his departure.

Worst of all, Farmer Peck just couldn't stand dogs. He especially hated the

one owned by his neighbor Rudolph Stoffell (played by Chris Canfield)... so

much so, that one day when the dog wandered out of its yard and bothered his

sheep, he shot it.

No wonder nobody liked Andrew Peck.

Not long afterward, while stepping out of his farmhouse doorway for a breath

of fresh Newtown air, Peck was fatally shot in the chest.

The Body Of Evidence

Suddenly, there are plenty of suspects with sufficient motive and opportunity,

since several of his old paramours, including Mary Peck with her daughter,

have reappeared on the scene.

"Back in 1888, of course, they found Stoffell guilty, but all they had to go

by was some tobacco, some footprints and a pair of black hands... ," Dr Reed,

the narrator, intoned.

Modern-day investigators have forensic science on their side, he said, and

"this case was so fascinating to me that I preserved all the original evidence

for just such a night as tonight."

Having said that, he announced that the play was over and the real work of

finding the killer was about to begin.

The student investigators left the auditorium and retired to the cafeteria (as

opposed to the billiards room or the conservatory) to review the evidence that

had been collected and prepared for them by Newtown science teachers Nancy

Koonce and Wendy Bowen, along with a team of helpful parents.

It would be a long night, but by 8 pm the crime detectives would be seeking a

warrant for arrest (or arrests) after submitting their evidence to Chief

Inspector Mike Kehoe of the Newtown Police Department.

"We are arresting Rudolph Stoffell for the murder of Andrew Peck," Officer

Kehoe said, adding that other evidence had indicated there might be more

suspects involved.

"Who had the most recent grudge against Farmer Peck?" was one question Lab

Team Two spokesperson Nikki LaRoche wanted answered.

The Burden Of Proof

The 1997 middle school "Who Dunnit," titled The Philandering Farmer , goes to

trial Thursday, May 29, with all parts except the judge to be played by middle

school students (following a little coaching from their teachers).

The prosecutor will present the case, witnesses will be called and evidence

offered, the defense will cross examine and the jury will deliberate.

A judge, to be played Newtown lawyer Jane Glander, will hear the verdict and

pass the sentence.

"We were lucky to get the courtroom so soon," said Mrs Koonce, as she bid

goodnight to the investigative teams and their waiting parents.

"Though we do have a script for the trial, we didn't write the verdict," she

added.

The trial was bound to be an exciting night full of surprises - not to mention

the papparazzi lurking around every corner, Mrs Koonce predicted.

That's May 29, she said. Be there.