Critical Thinking

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Ryan Bowen

Professor Millhouse

Math 120

February 27, 2006

Critical Thinking Project

Allistaire McConnely was found dead at Fairview Campsite #5 in Pocono State Park late in the afternoon. He was reported dead by three of his college friends, Peter Davenport, Andrew VanCourt, and Britt Kennedy. Every year the groups of friends take a hunting trip together arriving on Friday night and then leaving at around 10 AM on Saturday morning to hunt. The next day after the three friends met together at about 4:30 PM and returned to their campsite they found Allistaire dead with wounds to the head and arm. The problem is to figure out using the statements given by the friends and the evidence gathered at the crime scene who it was who killed Allistaire McConnely.

This year was different from their previous hunting trips for two reasons, the first was that one of their friends, Samuel Alabanche, was not along with the group because he was angry with Allistaire for not loaning him money to help pay off his debts. The other reason was because Allistaire was only along for the social activities and was unable to hunt due to a broken fibula he injured by falling down the stairs at his home. Their Friday night went as normal with the friends talking of their old college days at LCCC, Peter was not drinking alcohol because he is a recovering alcoholic and his prints were on water bottles only, Andrew was drinking Yuengling cans on Friday night and his finger prints were on those cans. From using the evidence given I first eliminated Peter as a

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suspect from the case. In Peter's first statement he admitted to going to the left to go to his car to visit Allistaire's wife, Leala, who they both admit to having an affair with one another. He then said he then made it back in time to kill a squirrel with his gun and meet his other friends by 4:30 PM. In his second statement Peter admitted that when he went to see Leala that she was not at home and after waiting around for a while he went back to the woods and killed the squirrel and met the others. Peter's statements were proven true by Leala who in her statement admitted to pushing Allistaire down the steps to cause his leg injury and because she felt bad about it she left her house in the early afternoon to visit Allistaire and when she left him he was alive and unharmed. The next person to see Allistaire was Andrew. After leaving the campsite Andrew circled back to attempt to kill Allistaire because he was angry at him for wanting to stop their scam. Andrew started to have second thoughts and after his first shot from his bow only winged Allistaire, he turned and left with Allistaire still alive and only slightly injured. The next people to see Allistaire were his killers, Violet the waitress at the cafÐ"© he used to frequent with Andrew, his friend Britt who was angry at Allistaire for not displaying his golf