Robin Barnes is lying on the floor next to the refrigerator. The door is open and the ice cube tray is lying on the floor next to her. The important evidence is as follows:
- 1. The Body - The medical examiner should check for signs of blunt trauma to the head to determine homicide or suicide. The ice cube tray and temperature of the contents of the refrigerator will help determine time of death.
- 2. The Stove - There is a pie just out of the oven. Additionally, all the gas jets are on. Her face showed the tell-tale reddish color of death by asphyxiation.
- 3. The Sink - There is a stainless steel pot in the sink and partially peeled potatoes littering the surface. Mrs. Barnes is clearly in the middle of preparing for something. Is it likely a person will stop in the middle of peeling potatoes to kill herself?
- 4. The Butcher Block - There is a glass and a rolling pin on the butcher block. She had just finished making a pie, flour covers the surface. Did the glass on the butcher block belong to the deceased or did she get a drink for someone else? If she was hit in the head before she expired, the police should check the rollin pin for evidence.
- 5. The Window & the Table - The pin in the window is out; who opened it? The table cloth is askew. In a kitchen where everything else is in place, this disturbed table cloth tells us something. Someone could've left the room through the window.
- 6. The Iron - the iron is on the ironing board. It could've been used to knock her out. The killer could've then turned on all the gas jets and staged the room to look like a homicide. Police should check the iron for evidence.
- 7. The Knife - The knife was very likely used to stuff the newspaper in the door; either by the deceased or her killer.
- 8. The Door - The two doors in the room have their edges stuffed with paper. They are also locked from the inside.
Back to Nutshells | Next: Dark Bathroom