Whodunnit? Increasing student and community engagement with a Murder Mystery event

Abstract

In Spring 2022, the University of Texas at Tyler hosted a Murder Mystery event for community members. The event featured a mock crime scene, activity booth area, forensics lab, with criminal justice professionals on site. Participants were able to interview witnesses and potential suspects, collected evidence, and tried to solve the mock homicide crime. Although this event was not financially self-sustaining, outcomes suggest that this event has a substantial positive effect on community education and outreach efforts. This also gave students an opportunity for hands on learning outside the classroom. This article outlines our efforts to plan such an event and provides advice for those interested in organizing similar events for their own campuses and communities.