A HEADACHE TO DIE FOR

Part I—Some Headache
Questions will require some research on your part to answer. Questions should be answered based upon your knowledge of crime scene investigation and autopsy procedures.

1.Why does the fbi have jurisdiction over the Sue Frost poisoning case?
2. When did product tampering become a crime handled by the fbi? .
3.Which previous case led to product tampering becoming a crime that falls under fbi jurisdiction?
4. Where did this case (referred to in Question of product tampering occur? .
5.Who was ultimately convicted of the crime referred to in Question?
6.What should be the next step(s) in the investigation of the case called “A Headache to Die For?”
7.Why would the death certificate for Stella Penny’s husband, Bart, not have shown cyanide poisoning as the cause of death?
8.Why was it important for the fbi agents to determine if there was a possible connection between Sue Frost, a banker, and Bart Penny, a construction worker?

Part II—A Suspect

1.Why was it considered unusual or peculiar to fi nd that all capsules containing cyanide also contained an algicide? . 2.How could the algicide (which is sold in a pellet form) and the cyanide wind up in the same capsule?
3.Why did the fbi think it was odd for Stella to have two contaminated bottles of Excedrin in her home?
4.Which factors led the fbi to begin considering Stella more as a suspect than a grieving widow?

Part III—The Case Begins to Unfold
1.Why did the fbi do a background check on Mrs. Penny?
2.Was any of the evidence gathered by the fbi sufficient to arrest Mrs. Penny for murder? Why or why not? .
3.Why would Stella call the doctor who signed her husband’s death certificate asking if he was sure he made the right call?
4.What would you suggest as the next step(s) in the investigation?

Part IV—Daughter Talks

1.What should the agents do to get additional evidence to indict Mrs. Penny? (Hint: think about what the daughter told the fbi agents that her mother told her she had done.) .
1.Speculate on why her daughter did not say anything to the police initially but later contacted them and informed them of her mother’s desire to see her husband dead

Part V—Library Visit

1. Why was physical evidence needed to build a substantial case against Mrs. Penny?
2.What are latent fingerprints?.
3.How do you lift latent fingerprints from a book?
4.Could Mrs. Penny have avoided being caught and convicted for her husband’s murder? How?
5.Would you describe this as potentially a perfect murder “gone bad” due to frustration and greed on the part of Stella Penny? Explain.
6.This case occurred before the passage of the Patriot Act. Even so, libraries are not in the habit of making the records of their patrons readily available to law enforcement agencies.
7.How do you think the fbi obtained the information regarding Stella Penny’s library activities?
8.How has the passage of the Patriot Act affected collection of such information by the fbi and other federal agencies?