Case of the Mad Irish Baker

1. Case of the Mad Irish Baker

2. Background • Body found in an alley, in a pile of trash, 1 block from O’Reilly’s Mad Baker • Body badly bludgeoned, a white handprint, and coated with some white substance • Body identified as Dermit McHenry, Mr. O’Reilly’s assistant • Estimated time of death 0435 Dead Body

3. Interviews • Newspaper delivery boy states he gave Mr. O’Reilly his paper at 0400 • At 430 am old man Berkery states he heard a loud argument in the alley behind the bakery on his daily morning walk

4. Interview with Mr. O’Reilly “I’m sorry Mr. O’Henry died, but let me tell YOU—I yelled at him for being late for the last time! I fired him at 0420 this morning when he tried to enter the shop via the alley!!! I was 3/8 the way through making my famous Irish Soda Bread when he walked in.”

5. Interview with Mr. O’Henry’s Wife “I can’t believe Dermit is dead! It’s that Mr. O’Reilly—he’s mad with jealously because Dermit’s Irish Soda Bread is simply the best in the city!”

6. Interview with Detective Jones “I collected the white powder trail to the deceased. I put it in an airtight container and handed it over to the evidence collector who brought it straight to the lab. I also swabbed some clear liquid from the face of the deceased and put it in paper, completed the chain of custody and sent it to the lab

7. Interview with Detective Johnson “I was undercover at the time, but I came to scene at 0445, put some white powder near the scene in my lunch bag along with some hairs I picked up with my bare hands and left the samples in the car for a bit while I interviewed suspects.”

8. Interview with Detective Kerns “I immediately noticed the unusual powder on the body, so I used latex gloves, collected the sample in an airtight container, marked the container with time and date, handed it to the evidence collector who signed for it and took it immediately to the lab.”

9. Forensic Science Analysis Results • White powder collected by the detectives revealed traces of flour, baking soda, and sugar • Traces of hair at the murder scene belong to Mr. O’Reilly • The clear liquid that was swabbed was saliva and was DNA tested

10. Forensic Science Analysis Results • DNA Results

11. O’Reilly’s Irish Soda Bread Recipe • 30 cups all-purpose flour • 10 tablespoon baking soda • 10/3 cup white sugar • 10 teaspoon salt • 10 teaspoon baking soda • 10 egg, lightly beaten • 20 cups buttermilk • 10/4 cup butter, melted

12. Who did it? And why?

13. Conclusion • Only the powder evidence submitted by Detective Kearns was admitted into court—the other powders were inadmissible due to poor chain of custody maintenance • Hair analysis was inadmissible due to poor chain of custody maintenance • DNA sample is positive for Mr. O’Reilly with a probably of 1 in 3.1 trillion the DNA discoveredis not his

14. Conclusion (Cont) • Mr. O’Reilly, who was held for 24 hours, learned from his lawyers that only one set of evidence was incriminating—the powder composition was exactly the 3 of the 3/8th recipe completion that Mr. O’Reilly stated during his interview • Mr. O’Reilly stated that the DNA must have been his spit from yelling at O’Henry—he admitted to being very angry and “in his face”

15. Conclusion (Cont) • Given the poor evidence collection, Mr. O’Reilly felt his case was going to get dropped due to insufficient evidence, but the District Attorney said he would prosecute anyway to ruin his business so that not even O’Reilly’s kids would benefit from the bakery’s business • Faced with the pressure from the DA, Mr. O’Reilly agreed to a plea bargain of 25 years in prison with a chance of parole in 15 years and a gag order by the DA’s office