The Crime Scene features fictional crime cases in a unique combination of interactive fiction and gaming. Each week, Yoknapatawpha County detectives post evidence from the current case. You are invited to participate in the investigation by reviewing the presented evidence and offering your theories and questions to the detectives and other web sleuths.

It's easy to start at anytime in the investigation. Instant access is available for $3.95 for 30 days, $29.95 for a year or free with a purchase from the detective store. Join Now!

What's the Difference between Paid and Free Participation?

[Paid] Case Detectives, our paid members, see new evidence before anyone else. As a Case Detective, you can interact directly with our detectives through our members-only Question/Answer page. You and other Case Detectives can post questions and our detectives will provide answers to help you solve the case. Case Detectives also have exclusive access to the Evidence Search Engine, which allows you to quickly locate all evidence items related to a particular topic. In addition to these special member features, Case Detectives have access to all information, the Viewer Comment Area, and the e-mail newsletter presented to the free viewers.

[Free] Case Viewers, our non-paying viewers, pay nothing to examine the available evidence files or to post theories and questions in the viewer comments area. Evidence is not issued to Case Viewers until after Case Detectives have reviewed it and not all information is available for free. If you sign up as a Case Viewer, an e-mail newsletter will notify you when new evidence is released. Registration is not required to participate.

How Do I Become a Case Detective?

You may become a Case Detective at any time during an investigation by following the "Join Here" link provided at the top of each case page. We accept credit cards, Paypal and mail orders. Instant access is available when you pay online with our secure server. If you feel the hours of entertainment you receive from the Crime Scene are not worth the money you paid, we will refund your money. Details here.

Sign up for free or paid membership here. To begin your investigation return to the main case page here.

How Do I Start?

To participate, examine the case evidence. In evidence categories of Interviews, Evidence, Biographies, and Press, some of the items you'll see include evidence photos, coroner reports, witness interviews and surveillance video. Links to each category are provided on the main case page and at the top and bottom of each case page. Click on these links to move between categories and view the different pieces of evidence. New information appears each week.

I've Reviewed the Evidence. Now What?

Writing opportunities

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Interested in writing for Crime Scene?

Crimescene.com has been investigating murder and mayhem in Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, since 1995.

Our writers create the interview transcripts, witness biographies, evidence reports and all the other documents that go into making a Crime Scene case.

Think you have what it takes to join our team?

The writers we're looking for:

• Can write in different styles from interviews/scripts to news coverage to detailed evidence reports.
• Are proficient at collaborating with other writers and experts to develop case scenarios.
• Enjoy writing both as part of a team and independently.
• Have excellent English grammar, punctuation and spelling skills.
• Are adept at research, including providing relevant source info to fact checkers when asked.
• Excel at completing assignments efficiently and meeting deadlines.
• Have a reliable internet connection to access case resources and staff discussions, all of which are exclusively online.

If you're interested, email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and tell us what you can bring to the table. Please include two writing samples (e.g., a short scene from a screenplay or script, a short excerpt from a novel or short story, etc.).

Crime Scene writers are paid for their work. Compensation is DOE.

Staff

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Our group of writers collaborate to plan and create the cases presented at Crime Scene.

Joel

Joel Garblik - Forensic Odontology Joel has published, spoken and lectured on various aspects of forensic medicine and crime scene investigation. His concentration in forensic odontology makes him a unique and welcomed addition to our crimescene cases. Aming his other skills are: Expert in clinical dentistry, dental procedures, oral anatomy and pathology. Joel also has expertise in scene documentation, analysis of crime exhibits pertaining to the jaws, teeth and oral structures. He is presently a lecturer in several topic areas involving forensic dentistry, victimology, forensic mental health and forensic science

Tamra S. White - Writer Tamra was born in 1959 in a small town in southwestern Indiana. Friends and family call her Tami. She has lived in Indiana for most of her life, though she did spend a short time in Butler, Missouri as a teenager. Tami has been employed as a waitress, restaurant manager, assembly line worker, USPS rural carrier, and a pharmacy tech. She is married and has three children and a granddaughter. After the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Tami wrote a poem entitled “Lovely Lady” to be entered in a contest. It was selected, as a winning entry, to be published in 2001. Tami arrived at Crimescene.com during the “Murder at Rowan Oak” case as an observer and posted occasionally as “Madame X.” When “The Severed Hand” case was first published she couldn’t resist joining the site as a member on 8-7-03. An avid fan of the mystery genre, her favorite authors are Sue Grafton and James Patterson. Favorite shows include CSI, Crossing Jordan, Bones, Medium, Castle , Big Brother and Hell’s Kitchen. She worked several cases before she was asked to come onboard as a writer, an offer she happily accepted. “What could be better than doing what you love AND getting paid?” she decided. The very first case Tami wrote for was the “Elvis” case. She certainly enjoys writing for her boss, Tom, claiming that, “Each and every case is a new adventure.”

Tamra

Spotted in Las Vegas, 2003

Catherine - Writer Have a question for Catherine? Email her here. Vitals: MWF, 5'8", hair brown, eyes hazel, corrective lenses needed for driving; mole on left cheek; scar on right breast Spotted in: San Francisco, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, Dodge City, Manchester, Hilo, Mombasa, Yellowstone, Seville, Las Vegas, Cesky Krumlov; travels compulsively Education: University of Dublin, Ireland; Columbia University, New York Influences: David Lynch, Margaret Atwood, James Ellroy, The X-Files, Ruth Rendell, Dashiell Hammett, Dorothy Parker, The Usual Suspects, MFK Fisher, Anais Nin, Bram Stoker, Edgar Allen Poe, Tim Cahill, Hunter S. Thompson, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, In Cold Blood, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Franz Kafka, George Lucas (episodes IV-VI, not I-II), Casablanca, The Blair Witch Project Crimes: Valerie Wilson; Purity Knight; Macy Lamar; Andrea Stover; Andrew Fine; James Swarthmore

Dottie - Writer What is a sweet, little 70-something doting grandmother of six doing spending all her waking hours plotting murder and mayhem? If you ask Dottie M., she'll tell you she discovered Crime Scene in October 2000, three months after her introduction to computers, and she was hooked. In February 2001 when she spotted Crime Scene's plea for writers, she asked her husband of 51 years what he thought. "After the hundreds of murder mysteries you've read, you should be an expert. Go for it!" So she did. Dottie marched out the skills honed over years of writing for a multitude of community organizations, and took the plunge. She traded her hours of reading mysteries and watching TV favorites such as Court TV, Forensic Files, and Medical Detectives for writing about murder and the people it involves. When she and her husband retreat for the summer to their second home in the Eastern Sierras -- a getaway from their Southern California residence -- writing for Crime Scene will join her usual activities of working jigsaw puzzles, reading mysteries, painting in oils, fishing for trout and, of course, doting on grandchildren.

Dottie

Melissa, sighted at a jazz club in Paris while doing undercover work

Melissa - Forensics Have a question for Melissa? Email her here. Melissa Jacob hails from Lake Jackson (or Lack Action, as some of the locals call it) in the great state of Texas. She earned a pharmacy degree from the University of Texas in 1993, and went on to receive a Ph.D. in Pharmacognosy from the University of Mississippi in 1999. She is currently working in antimicrobial drug discovery from natural sources at the National Center for Natural Products Research. Melissa is insatiably interested in forensics, murder mysteries, and all things "serial killer." Those interests led her to the Crime Scene web site first in 1996 and again in 1999, when she joined the Crime Scene staff. When she isn't manipulating microbes, Melissa dreams of becoming a piano player in a sing-along bar, while writing murder mysteries on the side.

Mick - Multimedia Mick was born in 1962 in a little nowhere town in the Lower Rhine Valley, where he spend his childhood too. After finishing his school years he became a locksmith, worked in a hospital, drove an ambulance and worked in a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts. In 1985 he settled down in Duisburg. There he studied Political Science and Art at the Gerhard Mercator University. Film was his focus point in art. In his university years he released some short films and started to work with a local theatre group. He did the stage design, the illumination and some work on special effects. In the 90s, he worked on many films in several departments (camera, script/continuity, directors assistance, f/x). Today he works as a Flash developer in an advertising agency in DY¨sseldorf, Germany. Mick read about Crime Scene in a German internet magazine and became a fan at once. In 1997, he did some graphic work on the Knight and Lamar cases. In February 2000, he visited Oxford MS and spent some nights on Tom's couch. During this time, he did the makeup for the Beauchamp and the Michaelis cases. For the Michaelis and Hitzig cases, Mick created the TINAG and TINAG II games.

Mick in his studio

Scott - Writer Thomas Scott McKenzie was raised on a thoroughbred horse farm in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Since receiving a master's degree in Creative Writing from The University of Mississippi, he has lived in the Washington, D.C. area. He has been published in Articulate, The Panhandler, The Aethlon: Journal of Sport and Literature, The Dead Mule, and others.

Stephen - Past Head Writer, Current Writer Have a question for Stephen? Email him here. Over two hundred and fifty of Stephen's stories and poems have been selected to appear in more than a hundred publications. He teaches Mystery Short Stories for Writers College and writes the bi-monthly column, "Murder Ink," for Writing World. For more information, you can visit his website at www.stephendrogers.com.

Stephen

Suzanne - Past Head Writer Have a question for Suzanne? Email her here. Suzanne has been an avid mystery fan since she first learned to read, cutting her teeth on Nancy Drew books and later expanding her horizons to include such authors as Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly, Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series, Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, and a myriad of other equally well-known and lesser-known fiction writers, plus many other books on police procedure, criminal profiling, true crime, and so forth. She typically reads 50+ books -- fact or fiction crime/mystery and other genres -- each year, so she's always looking for new and interesting books and authors. When she's not reading or working on Crime Scene cases, Suzanne can often be found watching crime-based television, both factual (Autopsy, Forensic Files, New Detectives, etc.) and fictional (CSI, Crossing Jordan, all the Law & Order series, etc.). After visiting the Crime Scene site for about a year as a viewer, Suzanne joined the Crime Scene staff in 1999 as Head Writer. In the ensuing years, she has worked on more than 15 Crime Scene cases as a writer, an editor or both, and looks forward to continuing to do so in the future.

Todd - Past Head Writer Have a question for Todd? Email him here. From a tour de force through wealthy suburbia’s wholesome appearances and sordid realities to tanks and infantry, from mystery to military, Award-winning Author and screenwriter T.A. (Todd) Stone has made his mark on the print and e-book worlds. Stone is the author of the “profiling procedural” and 2002 Digital Literature Institute Best of Fiction Winner, 2002 INDIE Mystery Winner, and 2002 EPPIE finalist CLOSE TO HOME (Hard Shell Word Factory) and the NY Times Review of Books acclaimed military techno thriller KRIEGSPIEL (Lyford Books/Presidio Press). His second military thriller THE BEST DEFENSE was published in May 2003 by NovelBooks Inc. He is a member of the Author's Guild, Mystery Writers of America, EPIC (the Electronically Published Internet Connection), the National Writers' Union, the Crime Writers’ Guild, and is a graduate of his local Citizens Police Academy. When not writing fiction, Stone writes marketing communications materials for a major telecommunications manufacturer, teaches copywriting at a local community college, and presents at writers’ conferences throughout the Midwest. An avid motorcyclist, Stone is a former Army Airborne/Ranger Infantry officer whose military assignments included duty as an Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He has his undergraduate degree from Indiana University and his MA in English from Northwestern University. He lives with his family in a perfectly normal suburb outside Chicago, IL. He can be reached through his web sites www.closetohome.org or www.tntstone.com, or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Todd

Tom

Tom Arriola - Crime Scene Creator Have a question for Tom? Email him here. Tom Arriola was raised in Montana and received an M.F.A. in theatre directing from the University of Mississippi in 1994. After graduation, Tom began the Crime Scene on January 15, 1995. The success of the site led to a job offer to create one of the internet's first interactive soap operas, Ferndale. This wacky story was set in a mountain retreat, where a fictional psychological experiment placed patients in front of an internet audience. In 1997, Tom returned to Oxford, Mississippi to continue the Crime Scene's development. Tom currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where he enjoys spending time with his teenage daughter. Since 1995, he has staged nearly 30 murders. He is the nicest mass murderer you'll ever meet. Tom credits the success of Crime Scene to the excellent staff who toil behind the scenes to create the cases. Their hard work to makes these cases seem realistic and the Crime Scene could not exist without their dedication and skill.

Terms of Service

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Copyright Information
The Crime Scene Evidence site is the longest running web story in existence. It has been online since January 15, 1995. The Crime Scene is operated by Tom Arriola. Please direct questions to him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 623-565-8573

All content, graphic design, artwork and layout are copyright © Crime Scene Productions, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. The information presented here may not, under any circumstances, be resold or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from Crime Scene.

Crimescene.com Terms of Use
By using this site and/or submitting your original work or material to this site you agree to the terms and conditions of use listed on this page.

General
Crimescene.com was created to provide a pleasant online service. We reserve the right to do whatever is required to maintain a high level of quality. Crimescene.com is in no way responsible for any postings by users and/or indecent material. The responsibility for such postings and/or material falls solely on the user posting it. Please respect your fellow on-line users and use courtesy and follow the guidelines below at all times. Failure to abide by these terms may result in termination of access to any or all areas of crimescene.com.

• Please refrain from harrassing or making obscene comments to other users or in general.
• Please refrain from spamming, SHOUTING or posting large picture files on the site.
• Do not post off-topic information or use Crimescene.com as medium for advertising your product, business or site(s), etc.
• Do not post indecent material, including pornography. Crimescene.com is not responsible for such content. The responsibility of such material falls on the user posting it.
• Do not upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any content that is unlawful, harmful,
  threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of
  another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable.
• Do not impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a crimescene.com official, discussion area moderator,
  or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.
• Do not disrupt the normal flow of dialogue or otherwise act in a manner that negatively affects other users' ability to
  engage in exchanges.
• Do not interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or disobey
  any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service.
• Do not "stalk" or otherwise harass another.
• Do not collect or store personal data about other users.

Public Content Posted To crimescene.com
Crimescene.com has full rights for editing and rewriting of public content posted to crimescene.com as necessary. crimescene.com reserves the right to not display or post any material we deem inappropriate or unacceptable. No age, gender, race or geographical limitations of any sort will be imposed. By posting material to crimescene.com, you agree that crimescene.com can display, modify, transmit, distribute or delete your material without needing prior or further consent from you. Material may be removed by crimescene.com at any time at our sole discretion. Authors certify that this material (written and images) is their own original material (unless otherwise stated) and does not violate any copyrights. Authors agree to forego any payment or compensation for the submitted material.

With respect to Content you elect to post for inclusion in publicly accessible areas of crimescene.com that consists of photos or other graphics, you grant crimescene.com the world-wide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license to reproduce, modify, adapt and publish such Content on the Network solely for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting the Network, or, in the case of photos or graphics, solely for the purpose for which such photo or graphic was submitted to the Network.

With respect to all other Content you elect to post for inclusion in publicly accessible areas of crimescene.com, you grant crimescene.com the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed.

Paid Membership

Paid membership gives access to advance information for current case and future cases for a time totalling the length of your paid membership. There is no minimun guarantee of service. Membership is available in several increments. 

Refund Policy

Refunds for memberships are available at the following rate. 1) If requested within the first 10 days a full refund is granted. 2) If requested after 10 days a pro-rated refund will be given for each remaining full month. No refunds after 60 days.  Refund requests must include a username and password.

DISCLAIMER
THE MATERIALS IN THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, CRIMESCENE.COM DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CRIMESCENE.COM DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE MATERIALS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THIS SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. CRIMESCENE.COM DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE MATERIALS IN THIS SITE IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. YOU (AND NOT CRIMESCENE.COM) ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION. APPLICABLE LAW MAY NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Privacy Policy

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Privacy Statement for Crime Scene

Crime Scene has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for this website: crimescene.com. We use your IP address ONLY to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Web site. Crime Scene's registration form requires users to give us contact information (like their name and email address). The customer's contact information is used ONLY to contact the visitor when necessary. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below. Crime Scene contains links to other sites. Crime Scene is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites. Our online surveys ask visitors for contact information (like their email address). The customer's contact information is used ONLY to contact the visitor when necessary. We run contests on our site in which we ask visitors for contact information (like their email address). The customer's contact information is used ONLY to contact the visitor when necessary. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below. Public Forums Crime Scene makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.   Security Crime Scene has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control.   Choice/Opt-Out Crime Scene provides users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us at the point where we request information about the visitor. Crime Scene gives users the following options for removing their information from our database to not receive future communications or to no longer receive our service. You can click here to unsubscribe You can send mail to the following postal address: Crime Scene, 3440 N 16th St #4, Phoenix, AZ 85016 You can call the following telephone number: 623-565-8573 Correct/Update Crime Scene gives users the following options for changing and modifying information previously provided. email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Contacting Crime Scene If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of Crime Scene, or your dealings with Crime Scene, you can contact   Tom Arriola Crime Scene 3440 N 16th St #4 Phoenix, AZ 85012 Voice 623-565-8573 Fax 602-274-7280 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Crime Scene FAQ

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The Crime Scene features fictional crime cases in a unique combination of interactive fiction and gaming. Each week, Yoknapatawpha County detectives post evidence from the current case. You are invited to participate in the investigation by reviewing the presented evidence and offering your theories and questions to the detectives and other web sleuths.

What's the Difference between Paid and Free Participation?

	Unregistered Viewers	Case Officers	Case Detectives
View case evidence	Yes	Yes	Yes
Get case updates every Monday, Wednesday & Friday	Yes	Yes	Yes
Get case updates every weekday			Yes
Access case evidence as soon as it's available			Yes
Participate in discussion with other web sleuths		Yes	Yes
Comment on case documents		Yes	Yes
Receive weekly Case Newsletter by email		Yes	Yes
Use the Evidence Search Engine			Yes
Ask questions and get answers from our investigators			Yes

Case Detectives [Paid]

• See new evidence before anyone else.
• Interact directly with our detectives through our paid subscribers-only Question/Answer page. Post questions, and our detectives will provide answers to help you solve the case.
• Get exclusive access to the Evidence Search Engine, which allows you to quickly locate all evidence items related to a particular topic.

In addition to these special features, Case Detectives have access to all information presented to the free viewers, as well as the Community, the Forums, and the weekly email newsletter.

Case Officers [Free]

Case Officers pay nothing to examine the available evidence files or to post comments on case documents and to participate in the Community and the Forums.

Evidence is not issued to Case Officers until after Case Detectives have reviewed it and not all information is available for free.

If you sign up as a Case Officer, you'll receive a weekly email newsletter to update you on the latest case developments and newly available case information.

Unregistered viewers [Free]

Registration is not necessary to view the evidence, but is required to post comments on case documents and to participate in the Community and the Forums.

How Do I Become a Case Detective?

You may become a Case Detective at any time during an investigation by clicking the Join Now! link provided in Subscribe section of the menu at the top of each case page. We accept credit cards and PayPal.

Instant access is available when you pay online with our secure server. If you feel the hours of entertainment you receive from the Crime Scene are not worth the money you paid, we will refund your money. Details here.

Sign up for free or paid subscription here. To begin your investigation, return to the main case page here.

How Do I Start?

To participate, examine the case evidence. Information is organized in categories of Interviews, Evidence, Biographies, and Press. Some of the items you'll see include evidence photos, coroner reports, witness interviews and surveillance video.

Links to each category are provided on the main case menu and on the right side of each case page. Click on these links to move between categories and view the different pieces of evidence.

New information is posted every weekday for Case Detectives, and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for Case Officers and unregistered viewers.

I've Reviewed the Evidence. Now What?

Once you've examined the case files, use the Community and the Forums to communicate with your fellow web sleuths. Pose your questions, view others' theories, and share your thoughts about the case.

Do you have a theory about how or why the crime was committed? Who should be the prime suspect? What clues should the detectives follow next and what evidence do they need to gather?

Crime Scene investigations are propelled by input from the viewers, so everyone's contribution is helpful.

Where Can I Post My Input?

There are three levels of participation - as a Case Detective (Paid Subscription), as a Case Officer (Free Subscription) or as an unregistered viewer. Only Case Detectives and Case Officers can post their input.

To discuss theories with other Crime Scene participants, Case Detectives and Case Officers can comment on case documents, as well as post in the Community and the Forums.

In addition, Case Detectives can submit questions in the paid subscriberss-only Question/Answer area and get answers from our investigators.

How Do I Win?

No one wins the Crime Scene. It is a community of web sleuths who enjoy sharing ideas and theories. Everyone wins the Crime Scene as the participants' collective efforts refine theories and narrow down clues to ultimately reveal the culprit.

Where is this Yoknapatawpha County?

Yoknapatawpha County was created and immortalized by the legendary William Faulkner. The fictional county includes Faulkner's own hometown of Oxford, Mississippi and surrounding areas.

Thanks for your interest and welcome to the Crime Scene!

Det. Murphy