Crime Scene Library 2023

Welcome to Crime Scene Library 2023, an all-day event for true crime lovers! Please note: Portions of some presentations may be too graphic for younger or more sensitive participants.

Sessions

9 - 9:15 a.m.

• Welcome | Pate Room
  • Pick up your Evidence Collection Kit (containing your schedule of events, note-taking materials and a few gifts) and raffle tickets for the door prizes at the back of the room. Stick around for announcements and an introduction to the day's speakers and events.

9:30 - 10:45 a.m.

• Modern-Day Forensic Science: Latent Fingerprint Processing & DNA Extraction | Pate Room
  • Get hands-on and process your own fingerprints! Two retired Federal Special Agents - FBI National Academy graduates will teach you about fingerprint processing as they guide you through processing your own fingerprints on various surfaces and viewing them through specialized forensic light sources.
• Reversing Injustice: How Wrongful Convictions Happen and Take Decades to Fix | Local & State History Room
  • Wrongful conviction of the innocent can happen to anyone, but the most vulnerable in our society—the young, the uneducated and the intellectually disabled—are at the greatest risk. Chris Mumma, Executive Director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, presents the case for how we can and must do better to prevent and reverse this injustice.

11 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

• The Trial of Ann K. Simpson | Pate Room & The Oval Ballroom
  • In 1849, in Heritage Square's Oval Ballroom, Mrs. Ann K. Simpson allegedly poisoned her husband’s dessert with arsenic, killing him in front of two witnesses. Join Christopher Thrasher, Ph.D., Instructor of History and Political Science at Fayetteville Technical Community College, at the Oval Ballroom (just a short walk from the library), where he will discuss the case of the first woman to be tried for murder in Cumberland County.
  • A library staff member will meet participants in the Pate Room and lead the way to the Oval Ballroom.
• Paralegals & Trial Preparations in Criminal Cases | Local & State History Room
  • Paralegals assist in many aspects of the legal process, including preparing criminal cases through evidence collection and working with witnesses, prosecutors and the criminal defense team. Methodist University’s Legal Studies Department will explain paralegals' vital role in American justice.

1:30 - 3 p.m. | Keynote

• Why Are We Fascinated With Crime? | Pate Room
  • Author, lawyer and professor Cathy Pickens says our fascination with true crime is more than morbid curiosity or adrenaline-seeking entertainment. Instead, our fascination comes from a complex set of motivations, ranging from a love of puzzle-solving to a neurobiological need to mentally rehearse for danger. Our fascination is nothing new. From the time stories could be shared—by word, by print and eventually by television, radio and now blogs and podcasts—we’ve wanted to know and understand the nature of crime and criminals. As Edna Buchanan, Pulitzer Prize-winning crime journalist, said, “Bad guys are never boring, or all bad... That’s what makes them so dangerous.” And that’s what we want to understand.

3:15 - 4:30 p.m.

• Podcasting Is the Future! | Pate Room
  • Amanda Lamb, a veteran true crime journalist at WRAL-TV, has written true crime and fictional murder mysteries, but her newest venture is What Remains, a true crime podcast that explores the science that helps solve the oldest cold cases. She will discuss this new media genre and its appeal to true crime enthusiasts.
• Bed Bugs Solve Crimes: New DNA Vectors and Their Role in Criminal Investigation | Local & State History Room
  • DNA retrieved from bed bugs is just one of the intriguing new studies being considered for use in solving crimes. Khalid Lodhi, Professor and Director of Fayetteville State University’s Forensic Science Program, discusses the new applications of DNA research in criminal justice investigations. 

4:30 - 5 p.m.

• Wrap-Up & Prize Drawings | Pate Room
  • Return to the Pate Room for final thoughts and door prize drawings! Winners must be present to claim their prize.

Extras

9:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

• Interactive Crime Scene | Conference Room 1
  • Have you ever wondered what it's like to investigate a crime scene? Fayetteville Police Department's Forensic Unit has staged an interactive crime scene for you to practice your investigative skills and learn the techniques actual CSIs use on a daily basis. 

9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• True Crime/Mystery Book Sale | 2nd Floor
  • Find some new favorite books at this pop-up Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library, Inc. Book Sale.

For more information about this program, please call (910) 483-7727 ext. 1515.

Crime Scene Library 2023 was made possible by the Friends of the Cumberland County Public Library, Inc.