The Case of the Lunch Lady

Pay close attention to the suspects, clues, alibis, and red herrings! You are the Detective Pay close attention to the suspects, clues, alibis, and red herrings!

Clues… 1. Mrs. Jenkins was the lunch lady at Ferguson Elementary school. 2.Mrs. Jenkins has been working in the school cafeteria for 29 years. 3.On Tuesday morning, Mrs. Jenkins complained about the smell of sour milk in the refrigerator. 4. During the second lunch on Tuesday, Mrs. Jenkins collapsed in front of the kindergarten class.

Clues… 5. The school nurse was called and was able to revive Mrs. Jenkins. She had fainted. 6. Principal Adams told her to go home, but Mrs. Jenkins refused. She wanted to stay at work to finish the lunches. 7. Principal Adams and Mrs. Jenkins did not get along. They went to high school together a long time ago. 8. Mrs. Jenkins was not a friendly woman. She was not well liked by many of the staff and students.

Clues… 9. On Wednesday morning, Mr. John, the custodian found the cafeteria freezer door open. 10. When Mr. John went to close the door, he was shocked to see Mrs. Jenkins laying frozen in the freezer. 11. The police were called and found that Mrs. Jenkins had a large gash at the top of her head. 12. The police estimated her time of death to be approximately 4:30 pm, on Tuesday afternoon. 13. After checking the attendance sheet in the office, the only people who signed out after that time were the principal, janitor, and three teachers. 14. Mr. Frank, a third grade teacher was questioned. He stated that he was in the copy room and did not see Mrs. Jenkins. 15. Kindergarten teachers, Mrs. Stall and Mrs. Simmons, said they saw Mrs. Jenkins on the second floor after school. 16. The second floor has the main office, copy room, and the third and fourth grade classrooms.

Clues… 17. After further investigation, police found a small piece of wood near Mrs. Jenkins’s head in the freezer. 18. When police questioned Principal Adams, the detective noticed a broken ruler in her trash can. She stated that she did not like Mrs. Jenkins, but would never hurt her. 19. On Tuesday, many kindergarten students went home early due to stomachaches. 20. The janitor stayed late at school to sanitize the kindergarten classrooms.

Clues… 21. After sanitizing the classrooms, Mr. John went downstairs to mop the lunchroom floor. 22. Principal Adams had an emergency meeting at 4:30 pm. She didn’t arrive at the meeting until 5:00 pm. 23. At the meeting, Principal Adams learned that there had been a report of missing lunches at the school. 24. Principal Adams had planned on having a meeting with certain staff members on Wednesday, as only certain staff had keys to the lunchroom.

Your Solution… Complete for homework if not done in class. On your sheet, write down who the culprit is and their motive. Explain how you know. Feel free to use lined paper if you need more space. Before you go: Exit slip