Practice dig brings 'CSI' to Rowan
GLASSBORO -- Yellow police tape cordoned off a large grassy area on the west end of Rowan University's campus Saturday.
State police monitored the field between Joseph L. Bowe Avenue and Rowan Hall, while a university ambulance stood by.
"They've located what they believe to be a grave," said Dr. Diane Markowitz, a forensic anthropology professor at the university referring to a 6-by-6-foot site sectioned off by stakes.
Markowitz said public safety became aware of a possible "burial site" after an elderly man walking his dog noticed a plot of disturbed ground.
The "investigators" were looking for a body.
"We're trained for this, we specialize in this," said Rowan University sophomore Megan McCabe, 19, a biology major.
Had it been a true crime scene, the investigation may have been a bit more methodological, but carried out in the same way, according to Det. Sgt. Greg Coffin of the New Jersey State Police Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
"When you actually have a true crime scene, you're mind works in a different way," he said. "Everything you found should potentially be held up in a court of law."
The project was part of a forensic anthropology course in which 10 students scoured the grounds for a "burial site," excavated the "corpse" and analyzed the bones to identify the deceased person.
"It's a slow process," said senior Adam Capel, 21, also the project site manager.
Dr. Maria Rosado, who teaches the course with Markowitz, said the process pays off.
"They can determine the age, sex, height, population affinity and cause of death," she said.
Rosado and Markowitz began the project three years ago to give students hands-on experience in the forensic anthropology field. They buried the clothed plastic skeleton in early July, so that grass would grow back in time for the students to perform the investigation in the most realistic environment possible.
They scoured the large field Saturday, spiking flags near evidence that they would later analyze at the lab.
They found an area with patchy grass, sectioned it off and began digging.
"We're looking for anything that's not naturally in the soil," said Rowan University senior Ashley Pelura, 21, while sifting for evidence through a mound of dirt.
Coffin said he and Lt. Steve Hildebrand, also a crime scene investigator with the New Jersey State Police, stress to the students the importance of preserving evidence.
"It's so important on any crime scene that the evidence is documented properly," he said.
Trash could contain a receipt and lead to securing a surveillance tape, and the cell phone could contain phone records or fingerprints to aid in the investigation.
A few students measured the distance from each piece of evidence to a standing point that would eventually help them piece together the "crime" sequence, while others dug in the area believed to contain the body.
After hours of work in the hot sun, the students uncovered the tip of a brown leather shoe nearly two feet below ground.
Then a few scattered finger bones.
And then a skull.
The skeleton would be transported back to the laboratory by ambulance and later analyzed.
The students' work would eventually lead them to learn how the person died, and who he or she actually was.
"We have been teaching them how this knowledge is applied," Rosado said. "When you put the knowledge to work is when you truly know if you've understood it."
Markowitz said the students would match the "skeleton" to a missing persons photo through research and dental records and present their findings in two weeks that could reveal the person's story.
"There's a story behind every missing person," she added.
State police monitored the field between Joseph L. Bowe Avenue and Rowan Hall, while a university ambulance stood by.
"They've located what they believe to be a grave," said Dr. Diane Markowitz, a forensic anthropology professor at the university referring to a 6-by-6-foot site sectioned off by stakes.
Markowitz said public safety became aware of a possible "burial site" after an elderly man walking his dog noticed a plot of disturbed ground.
The "investigators" were looking for a body.
"We're trained for this, we specialize in this," said Rowan University sophomore Megan McCabe, 19, a biology major.
Had it been a true crime scene, the investigation may have been a bit more methodological, but carried out in the same way, according to Det. Sgt. Greg Coffin of the New Jersey State Police Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
"When you actually have a true crime scene, you're mind works in a different way," he said. "Everything you found should potentially be held up in a court of law."
The project was part of a forensic anthropology course in which 10 students scoured the grounds for a "burial site," excavated the "corpse" and analyzed the bones to identify the deceased person.
"It's a slow process," said senior Adam Capel, 21, also the project site manager.
Dr. Maria Rosado, who teaches the course with Markowitz, said the process pays off.
"They can determine the age, sex, height, population affinity and cause of death," she said.
Rosado and Markowitz began the project three years ago to give students hands-on experience in the forensic anthropology field. They buried the clothed plastic skeleton in early July, so that grass would grow back in time for the students to perform the investigation in the most realistic environment possible.
They scoured the large field Saturday, spiking flags near evidence that they would later analyze at the lab.
They found an area with patchy grass, sectioned it off and began digging.
"We're looking for anything that's not naturally in the soil," said Rowan University senior Ashley Pelura, 21, while sifting for evidence through a mound of dirt.
Coffin said he and Lt. Steve Hildebrand, also a crime scene investigator with the New Jersey State Police, stress to the students the importance of preserving evidence.
"It's so important on any crime scene that the evidence is documented properly," he said.
Trash could contain a receipt and lead to securing a surveillance tape, and the cell phone could contain phone records or fingerprints to aid in the investigation.
A few students measured the distance from each piece of evidence to a standing point that would eventually help them piece together the "crime" sequence, while others dug in the area believed to contain the body.
After hours of work in the hot sun, the students uncovered the tip of a brown leather shoe nearly two feet below ground.
Then a few scattered finger bones.
And then a skull.
The skeleton would be transported back to the laboratory by ambulance and later analyzed.
The students' work would eventually lead them to learn how the person died, and who he or she actually was.
"We have been teaching them how this knowledge is applied," Rosado said. "When you put the knowledge to work is when you truly know if you've understood it."
Markowitz said the students would match the "skeleton" to a missing persons photo through research and dental records and present their findings in two weeks that could reveal the person's story.
"There's a story behind every missing person," she added.