The Adventure of the Black Magic Murder
The Adventure of the Dissected Dahlia

The following cases are from a Sherlock Holmes board game.  For class I have retyped them, photocopied them and handed them out to the class that has been divided into groups of two.  I read the "adventure" to them.  I then allow each group to ask to visit one crime scene. When a crime scene is chosen I read its related clue.   (To make things more expedient, I allow the rest of the class to hear the clues).   Each group has only one chance to give its answers to the crime.   If needed, we go around the room again for clues.

I like this lesson because it forces the students to go back to the reading material and reread looking for details.  This lesson works well and really well if you offer some sort of incentive (points, candy, stickers)

A good writing assignment from this is to let the students try their hands in writing an "Adventure" themselves.

Note: I saved this document in word/html. You might want to download the attachment.
 

The Adventure of the Black Magic Murder

The Crime:

Murder and money are two of the most captivating topics in human experience.And when they combine with Voodoo Black magic, they can knock even news of a World War off the front page, as they did on July 8, 1943.

Sir Harry Oakes, American, the richest man in the world, has been murdered in what appears to be a Voodoo ritual. He is found dead at his mansion in the Bahamas--face-up on the bed--tarred, feathered, smoldering as if set on fire. The body is discovered early in the morning by Harold Christie, the only house guest at the victims' Westborne mansion.
 

Oakes, who found fame and fortune prospecting for gold, had many enemies. He was despised among locals for bulldozing ancient trees for recreation. He bitterly opposed the planned marriage of his 18 year-old daughter, Nancy to 35 year-old playboy Alfred de Marigny. Christie, a local real estate developer, wanted to bring gambling to the islands, an idea Sir Harry loathed. The islands' governor, the Duke of Windsor, a man so erratic he gave up the English throne, was friendly with the Nazis.Sir Harry hated them.
 

As a famous man once stated, "No matter how much wealth a man may acquire, it cannot protect him from the real tragedies in life.

Your mission is to deduce:
 

(a)    who killed Sir Harry

(b)   the motive

(c)    the weapon

(d)   who master-mined the crime.

Directions:

There are 18 clues you can get from visiting 18 different places.

Clues:

Solution:
 
 

The Duke and Sir Harry, both extremely competitive, enjoyed their regular rounds of golf.The Duke usually won; and a few days before the murder, Sir Harry learned why--the Duke had been cheating!Sir Harry chided the Royal duffer, calling him, among other things, the "Fluke of Windsor"; and threatened to unmask the Duke if he tried cheating again.The Duke, fearful that Sir Harry would ruin his good name, imported a Brujeira dwarf from Florida to kill Sir Harry and make it appear to be a Voodoo murder.The dwarf knocked harry unconscious with a mace, then covered him with hot tar and feathers.
 
 
 

·        Killer: Dwarf

·        Motive: Protect Duke's good name;

·        Weapon: Mace

·        Mastermind: Duke

The Adventure of the Dissected Dahlia

The Crime

It's a blustery morning in Los Angeles, January 15, 1947.The nude body of a young woman, crudely cut in half, is discovered in a vacant log.The victim has been tied and tortured; mouth slit open from ear-to-ear; the initials "BD" carved in one thigh.
 

The stark-white corpse has been drained of blood and scrubbed clean, as if to remove all evidence.Even her jet-black hair has been shampooed.
 

She has died from asphyxiation--a gag of some sort was shoved deep into her throat, then removed after death.
 

Identification is made by the FBI from finger-prints on file for a juvenile offense.She is 22 year-old Elizabeth Short, from Medford, Massachusetts.A wannabe actress, known for cavorting with California servicemen, called the Black dahlia for her black clothing, hair and jewelry.

A package arrives, accompanied by a crude note--its letters cut from newspapers: "HERE! is Dalhlia's BeLonNGings."Enclosed are Beth's birth certificate, address book, social security card, and a tattered newspaper article announcing her engagement to Army Major Matt Gordon, now deceased.
 

Those questioned include Beth's estranged father, Cleo; Navy Ensign Bruce Dawson; traveling salesman Robert "Red" Manly; bellhop Leslie "Butch" Dillon; and bartender Billy Daniels, who had served drinks to Elizabeth and a female friend shortly before the murder.
 

The Goal:

Uncover the:

(a)    killer

(b)   the motive

(c)    the weapon

(d)   the Black Dahlia's secret

Directions:

There are 18 clues you can get from visiting 18 different places.

Clues:

Solution
 
 

The Black Dahlia, recruited as a Russian spy while still in her teens, surely did not intend to fall in love with one of her prey--but the human heart knows allegiance to none but itself.And when Major Matt Gordon proposed, she accepted.

But when Gordon was killed, Elizabeth's plans for the future went into a tailspin.Upon learning that the Russians were responsible for her fiancé's death, Elizabeth went to the FBI and offered to become an informant.

But Boris Dashky soon became aware that the Dahlia had, in espionage lingo, been "turned" by the Americans; and the vicious Russian spy decided to make an example out of her--sending a stark message to his other young female spies and to American Intelligence.
 

·        Killer: Boris Dashky

·        Motive: Elizabeth revealed her secret to the FBI

·        Weapon: American Flag

·        Dahlia's Secret: She was a Russian spy.