CSI: New Rochelle High School, 'The Final Exam Is Murder'

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — If you wondered what was going on in the Nature Study Woods all day on Tuesday, it was the sometimes grisly, annual hands-on final exam for New Rochelle High School students.

On Tuesday, more than 200 New Rochelle High School students had to solve a "crime" in order to pass their Forensic Science classes, with the final exam taking place at a mock crime scene in the Nature Study Woods in New Rochelle.

Under the direction of science teachers Scott Rubins, Peggy Younger and Mireille Ptak, 40 students at a time posed as forensic investigators, photographers and evidence technicians to examine the mock crime scene.

Uniformed members of the New Rochelle Police Department acted as first responders at the crime scene and assisted teachers in evaluation of the students' work.

The next step for the students will be working in the laboratory to evaluate and examine the evidence that they collected before presenting their cases in the classroom, courtroom-style. Presentations will include their crime scene and evidence photos, the rationale for how they processed their scenes, their laboratory request documents, and their conclusions.

Several former students came back to assist on Tuesday, including some who currently work in law enforcement such as Putnam County Sheriff Deputy Victoria Crimmins (Class of 2015) and NRPD Officer Anthony Sabatino (Class of 2013).

The school district gave special thanks to the New Rochelle Police Department for their help and to the hard-working science teachers.

There is no truth to rumors that students earned bonus points for making the perfect one-liner, perhaps about the victim not being able to see the forest for the trees, before removing their sunglasses as The Who begins to play.