How does Kean get away with murder?

By Kelly Contreras | Published by November 15, 2019

A killer course is set to bloom this upcoming Spring: How to Get Away with Murder. 

The course was developed by Dr. Maria Denise Gemmellaro, an assistant professor in forensic science who originally developed this course at Rutgers University. 

“A lot of real criminal cases are given a lot of attention but people do not focus on why such cases are given that attention,” Gemmellaro said. 

The class will analyze certain cases to decipher what stands out, including scientific evidence such as ballistics, entomological and DNA. In some cases, mishandling DNA would make the evidence inadmissible in court.

Students will learn how important analysis of a crime scene is in order to have any type of resolution in court.

Though How to Get Away With Murder is a biology course, other majors, such as criminal justice and psychology, could benefit from the course content, Gemmellaro said.

She will discuss the interrogation techniques that have been used to get a confession out of someone. “The class encompasses a few disciplines that could play a role in criminal investigations,” Gemmellaro said.

The course is BIO 4913 Section 02, “How To Get Again With Murder,” is worth 3 credits and is being offered from the Biology Department. There is a prerequisite requirement of at least 20 biology credits as well as the option of a petition. 

“If the students talk to me [and]  they tell me that they are interested, I am more than willing to wave that requirement,” Gemmellaro said. “There’s not going to be any heavy science in the course. It’s going to be the science that is discussed and interpreted in criminal cases that do not qualify as heavy.”

The course is currently offered as a special topic and Gemmellaro aims for it to become part of the curriculum for the forensic option within Biology and Chemistry majors.

The majority of the prep work for this course has already been conducted thanks to the grant Gemmellaro obtained to develop the course at Rutgers. However, due to the nature of the course, the syllabus is always “in development.” 

New criminal cases are added and therefore new types of evidence will be discussed.

Gemmellaro taught this course for the first time at Rutgers only for one semester towards the end of her Ph.D. She said it attracted students from several departments, including Criminal Justice, Biology, Entomology, Psychology and Business Administration.

Gemmellaro said that the reviews were only positive.

Eight students have already registered for the course for the upcoming Spring semester.

“Just don’t be shy. [If] they want to come and see me, I am happy to talk to them,” Gemmellaro said. “Even if they don’t have the 20 credits, they should have a chat with me and I will be happy to add them to the course if they decide to do so.”

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