• Royce Triplett
    • African-American, age 44, 5’11”, 167 lbs.
    • Royce is a member of Martha’s church, and they both sing in the choir. Divorced twice, he and Martha have been out for coffee a couple of times, but when he has asked Martha out on a date, she turned him down because “he is too young for me.” Royce reportedly is not content just being friends with Martha, and there have been a few occasions when Royce has acted possessive towards Martha; several members of the choir report that when another male member of the choir asked Martha out for dinner, Royce was “not happy” about that and started to have conflicts with the other member of the choir until that person quit the choir. Royce has a history of domestic violence with his first wife but none with his second wife, although they did divorce because he was too controlling. He has been employed for the last 23 years as a locksmith and handyman; he owns his own business and can be considered to be doing well. Martha’s neighbor does not recall ever seeing him at her residence. He refuses to provide a DNA sample or to submit to a medical exam to check for injuries because “cops just want to clear cases by pinning them on the first black man they can paint as a suspect.” He lives approximately an hour away by car from Martha’s home. He claims to have been home alone at the time of the crime.
  • Kenneth Hubbard
    • African-American, age 25, 6’3″, 220 lbs.
    • Kenneth is unemployed and lives in his parents’ basement five blocks away from the park near where Martha lives. Considered a local eccentric, he spends most of his time hanging out at the park playing basketball or drinking. He has a prior arrest for assaulting his father in a fight that resulted in his barricading himself in his room until being talked into surrendering by a police negotiator. He was placed on a 72-hour mental health hold and diagnosed with depression and alcohol dependence. Approximately 3 weeks ago, Keeper had escaped from Martha’s backyard; Kenneth found him and had “sort of” adopted him, asking his parents (who did not know that Martha owned Keeper) if he could keep him as a pet. In the meantime, Martha had posted flyers around the neighborhood offering a reward for the return of Keeper. A few days later, Martha spotted Kenneth playing with Keeper in the park and reclaimed him. Kenneth was initially upset about losing Keeper, but since it was obvious whom he belonged to, he had no choice. About a day later, he found one of Martha’s flyers offering a reward for the return of Keeper. Kenneth went to Martha’s house to ask for the reward. Martha refused to give him one since he did not voluntarily return Keeper. She did agree to allow Kenneth to walk Keeper from time to time. Kenneth will not voluntarily offer a DNA sample because “that’s how the government tracks you.”
  • Marcus Maher
    • African-American, age 24, 5’9″, 153 lbs.
    • Marcus (street name: “Easy”) is a former member of a violent gang. Marcus has an extensive rap sheet for drug-related offenses, but none for the last year; he is currently on parole for a trafficking charge, and according to his parole agent, “has been behaving” until he failed to check in Wednesday, two days after Martha’s murder. 6 months ago, he had a conflict with Martha when she spotted him hanging around the park with some fellow gang members. Martha (who was walking Keeper at the time) confronted Easy and his buddies about dealing drugs in the park. They assured her that they were not (Vice and the Gang Unit both confirm that the park is considered neutral territory and off limits), and actually (according to Easy) hit it off. They even referred to her as “Big Mamma” and admired her courage. Easy has been inside Martha’s house. He was there with his girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter, who Martha occasionally babysits. Marcus’s whereabouts are currently unknown; according to his girlfriend, he was accused of being a snitch and is hiding out from his former gang. She denies that he had anything to do with Martha’s death. Marcus lives is a large apartment building with his girlfriend and child about a mile (12 blocks) from Martha’s home.

Consider the profile that you created. Upload a paper that answers the following questions:

  • Do any of the above suspects seem to fit your profile? Why or why not?
  • Of the 3 suspects offered above, which one do you judge to be the “best fit” for this crime? Explain in detail.
  • Does the suspect you selected have the potential, based on the known facts, to become a serial killer? Explain your answer.