Social Sciences-Have you ever heard of the Vidocq Society?

Assignment Description Have you ever heard of the Vidocq Society? It is an elite members-only crime-solving club, founded in 1990, that aids law enforcement by solving cold cases. Similarly, Dr. Michael Arntfield at Western University founded the “Western University Cold Case Society.”

This Cold Case File is based on one given by Dr. Arntfield to his students. You will choose a real-life, unsolved case from the list below. These cases may be inactive or “cold,” but are still officially “open” and unsolved within a law enforcement agency in Canada or the US. You will undertake significant research and engage in criminal investigative procedures in order to build a professional Cold Case File. You will use a variety of media ranging from class readings, books and articles, library, newspaper articles, crime reports found online, etc. Your goal? To develop a workable theory on your case. Your Task You will choose one cold case from the seven detailed below.

You will then conduct research on your case in order to build your report. Potential sources that are freely available online and which you may want to consult about your case include: •books, journal articles, newspaper articles •news stories, possibly contemporary to the crime •podcasts •websites, blogs, databases •birth and death notices •social media – Twitter; Facebook pages dedicated to victims often provide information on the victim *YOU MAY NOT REACH OUT TO ANY FAMILY MEMBERS OR FRIENDS OF THE VICTIMS, OR ANYONE CONNECTED TO THE CASE* You will then sift through, categorize, and investigate information relating to the case. Your goal is to develop a workable theory on your case, including hypotheses on possible patterns or motives.

Thoroughly investigated reports will offer a profile of the killer and/or theories as to their identity. Some of our class readings may come in handy here. You may also put forward new leads in your cold case. To Submit You will submit a Cold Case File. In this report, I want you to analyze what work has already been done on the case, identify what else could be done, and what could be done better. You will bring your fresh perspectives to cases that are now considered “old.” Your Cold Case File must: •be 8-12 pages in length, including a title page and a References page •be written in full sentences •be double spaced •include images •include a minimum of 5 sources, listed in a References page, formatted in APA •include a variety of sources, for example, newspaper articles, books, and websites. You may want to divide your report into workable sections. Sections to include may be: •Profile of the victim – what do we know about them? •

Details of the crime. •Known suspects (if any) and their connection to the victim (if any) •Sources that support the investigation (i.e. a particularly detailed Facebook post, or, a newspaper article. People unfamiliar with the crime should be able to read your report and know which sources to consult) •New leads or directions you think should be investigated •A profile of the killer.

Whenever take an idea, or a passage from another author, they must acknowledge this by properly referencing their sources. In our class, we use APA. All citations and references should be APA formatted. you are not allowed to use AI. List of Cold Cases The Murder of Dana Chisholm Dana Chisholm was born in 1969 and grew up in North Carolina. After graduating high school, she moved to Washington D.C. sometime in 1993/1994 and got a job at the Hudson Institute. On Friday, February 24th, 1995 Dana told a colleague that she might not make it into work on Monday because she wasn’t feeling well. On Monday February 27th, Dana was found murdered in her apartment. She was 4 weeks pregnant. A suspect has never been named in her murder, but there are numerous theories as to what happened. The Disappearance of Maisy Odjick and Shannon Alexander On September 6th, 2008 friends Maisy Odjick and

Shannon Alexander were last seen in the town of Maniwaki, Quebec. Law enforcement originally listed the teenagers as “runaways” and consequently their disappearance was not investigated seriously for more than a month. Their families and friends, however, found their disappearance to be very concerning and organized searches in the Maniwaki area. In 2017, police received a tip that the girls’ bodies could be found near Kitigan Zibi, a First Nations reserve in Quebec, but Maisy and Shannon have never been found. The Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott Dorothy Jane Scott was last seen on May 28th, 1980. She had driven some co-workers to the hospital in Orange, California, and appears to have been abducted in the hospital parking lot. Her remains were found on August 6th, 1984 about 15km from the hospital. It seems that the killer has tried to contact her friends and family members by phone, often leaving disturbing and violent messages for them. No official suspects have ever been named. The Murder of David Buller David Buller was a 50-year-old artist and professor in the Visual Studies department at the University of Toronto.

Buller was murdered in his office, in the middle of the day, on January 18th, 2001. Seeing as it was January and the start of a new term, January 18th was probably a busy day on his office floor with many students and professors coming and going. His body was found at 6:30am the next morning by the cleaning staff. There is no evidence that someone broke into his office, and his family thinks Buller was murdered by someone he knew.

The Murder of Sonia Varaschin This cold case was a student suggestion thatincluded among the Cold Cases for the first time. On September 5, 2010, the remains of Orangeville nurse Sonia Varaschin were found in a wooded area off a sideroad in Caledon. Days earlier, her car had been found abandoned in downtown Orangeville. Investigators found a substantial amount of blood in her house, and presume the suspect used her car to move her body.

As recently as August 2024, OPP made an appeal for information about her murder, and posted a $50,000 reward for any evidence leading to an arrest in the case.

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