For Immediate Release

October 24 , 2007

New documentary features nebraska wesleyan's forensic science program

LINCOLN, Neb. —Did you know that a house adjacent to campus was the scene of a hate crime last fall? And the scene of a deadly argument in the home’s basement that resulted in a missing body? And the scene of four other homicides?

The house at 5451 Huntington Ave. is home to many crimes that are staged all in the name of learning. The Forensic Science Crime Scene House is also the subject of a new NET documentary titled, Murder House.

The television program takes viewers inside Nebraska Wesleyan’s unique training program for a new generation of crime scene investigators. Students earning their master’s degree in forensic science are required to take the Crime Scene House Practicum, which puts students at the scene of a homicide — fictional but realistic. They are given 10 months to collect, process, and analyze the evidence. Passing or failing relies on their ability to convince a mock grand jury that they have identified the correct suspect.

Work on the documentary began over two years ago when producers at NET gathered information on Melissa Connor, Associate Professor and Director of the Forensic Science Program, and her unique experiences as a forensic archaeologist in Iraq, Rwanda, Nigeria, and former Yugoslavia. Those conversations led to a plan to spotlight Nebraska Wesleyan’s unusual Crime Scene House. Filming began in October 2006 and concluded last summer.

The documentary’s focus on crime scene investigation is intertwined with a real criminal case: the Jessica O’Grady murder. The 19-year-old University of Nebraska-Omaha student went missing in May 2006. Her body has yet to be found, but her former boyfriend, Christopher Edwards, was found guilty last April of second-degree murder. Prosecutors relied heavily on DNA evidence found in Edwards’ bedroom and car.

The television broadcast of Murder House will air Thursday, November 8 at 9 p.m. on NET1 and again on Thursday, November 29 at 7 p.m. The program will air several times again on NET2.

Learn more about Murder House at www.netnebraska.org/murderhouse