The Case of the Druid Dracula:

Clicker Case Version

by
Norris Armstrong, Terry Platt, and Peggy Brickman

Adapted from Brickman (2004). The Case of the Druid Dracula. National Center for Case Study
Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. 1
 The Crime
In a quiet corner of Wales in the village of
Llanfairpwll, 90-year-old Mabel Leyshorn was
murdered. Her murder had been not only
brutal (her heart had been hacked out), but
also creepy. It appeared as if the Mabel’s
blood had been collected in a small kitchen
saucepan and tasted. The murder showed
other signs of the occult: a candlestick and a
pair of crossed pokers had been arranged
near the body.
- from BBC’s Crimewatch December 2001
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 The Crime Scene
Further investigation indicated that this was
no supernatural villain at work: the murderer
had worn tennis shoes which had left
distinctive footprints under the glass door that
had been shattered by a piece of broken
garden slate. Moreover, the windowsill had
bloodstains on it; with any luck, the evidence
recovery unit hoped to use it to help
determine who had committed the crime.

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CQ1: What is your blood type?

A: A
B: B
C: AB
D: O
E: Don’t know

4
 Evidence in the Courtroom
• Blood was previously used for blood typing
• Now used as source of DNA

Sources of DNA?
Uses for DNA fingerprinting
• Primarily rape cases
• Paternity testing
• Historical/missing persons investigations
• Military “dog tag”
• Convicted felon databases

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 chromosome
DNA in the
Cell

double stranded
DNA molecule

Target Gene

individual
nucleotides 6
 Example: Amelogenin Gene
• Tooth enamel development
• Copies on X and Y chromosome
• X copy is different from Y copy
--- indicates missing bases
X copy is shorter than Y copy

5’CCCTAGGGTCTATAACGCCTAGTGTGTTGATTC 5’
Y:
3’GGGATCCCAGATATTGCGGATCACACAACTAAG 3’

X: 5’CCCTAGGGTCTA---------GTGTGTTGATTC
GTGTGTTGATTC 3’ 5’
3’GGGATCCCAGAT---------CACACAACTAAG
CACACAACTAAG 5’ 3’
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 Gel Electrophoresis: Sizing DNA
Fragments
(-) Negative electrode

bp?

bp?

(+) Positive electrode

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CQ2: The DNA fragment indicated is
approximately ____ base pairs in size.

A: 300
B: 350
C: 580 bp?
D: 600
E: 700

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Why do the two DNA
fragments indicated
differ in how bright
they appear?

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 DNA Structure
5′ end 3′ end
Two DNA chains
•Complementary

•Antiparallel

3′ end 5′ end

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CQ3: Below is one strand from part of the
amelogenin gene. What is the nucleotide
sequence of the other strand?
5’-CCCTGGGCTCT-3’

A: 3′ -ACTGTTAGATT-5′
B: 3′ -GGGACCCGAGA-5′
C: 5′ -GGGACCCGAGA-3′
D: 3′ -CCCTGGGCTCT-5′
E: 5′ -CCCTGGGCTCT-3′
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Copying DNA (Replication)

A- T A -T A- T DNA strands are separated

T-A T -A T- A
C- G C -G C- G Each single strand is used
G- C G -C G- C as a template to make a
G- C G -C G- C
complementary strand
A- T A -T A- T
C-G C -G C- G
T-A T -A T-A Two identical DNA
molecules are produced

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 Enzymes Perform Replication
• Helicases unwind DNA double helix.
• Single Stranded Binding Proteins hold
separated DNA strands apart.
• Primase makes a starting point (primer).
• DNA polymerase connects new
complementary bases.
• Ligase attaches pieces together.

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Enzymes Perform Replication

Replication fork

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 CQ4: How would DNA replication be
affected if ligase were not available?
A: The template strands would not be able to
separate.
B: Replication would result in many small segments
of DNA instead of a complete molecule.
C: Complementary RNA would be produced but not
complementary DNA.
D: The DNA strands would separate but replication
would not be able to start.
E: The DNA strands produced by replication would
not be complementary to the template strands.
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Amplifying DNA with PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)

Target region

Thermal cycle

In
In32
32cycles
cyclesatat100%
100%efficiency,
efficiency,1.07
1.07billion
billion
copies
copiesof
oftargeted
targetedDNA
DNAregion
regionare
arecreated
created
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CQ5: You need many copies of the amelogenin
gene, which you will make using Polymerase
Chain Reaction (PCR). You will need to follow the
steps of replication. Which of the following would
allow you to begin?

A: Add short stretches of single stranded DNA

complementary to the sequence at either end of
the gene.
B: Add DNA polymerase enzyme.
C: Break the covalent bonds that hold the double
helix together.
D: Break the hydrogen bonds that hold the double
helix together.
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CQ6: Which of the strands of DNA could
act as a primer for the DNA sequence
shown below?
5’-CCCTGGGCTCTGTAAATGTTTCTAAGTG-3’
3’-GGGACCCGAGACATTTACAAAGATTCAC-5’

A: 3′ -ACTGTTAGA-5′
B: 3′ -AAATTTGGC-5′
C: 5′ -CCCUGGGCU-3′
D: 5′ -GGGACCCGA-3′
E: 5′ -CCCTGGGCT-3′
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 Automated gels

110 bp
101 bp

MW Amelog.
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CQ7: The blood left at the crime scene was from
a male. Which of the following DNA profiles
could have come from the suspect?

A:

B:

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CQ8: Is this enough to convict a suspect?

A: Yes
B: No

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Additional Markers
Short Tandem Repeats (STRs)
---TCAT---
•Chromosomes 11 of suspect 1: ---TCAT---

•Same pair in suspect 2:

• Different people have different numbers of

repeats on their chromosomes
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 Positions of TPOX

other STR
regions
CSF1PO

TH01

Each person
is unique
AMEL

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 Druid Dracula: DNA testing
• With kits just add DNA sample with primers
for amelogenin (XY) different STR regions.
• Amplify and electrophores.
• Allele ladder shows all varieties in population.

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26
CQ9: What is the chance that someone
might have 5 and 7 repeats for the STR
THO1 just by accident?

STR THO1
frequencies
allele A: 1/200
5 1/200 B: 1/206
6 1/4 C: 1/600
7 1/6 D: 1/1200
8 1/7
9 1/6 E: 1/2600
9.3 1/3
10 1/100
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 Hardman’s Arrest
• Standard police work identified Matthew Hardman as
a suspect. Preliminary DNA testing provided enough
evidence to arrest Hardman on suspicion of murder.
• During the arrest, a knife was found in his coat
pocket. Subsequent DNA testing revealed two
sources of DNA on the knife, one from Hardman and
one matching the victim. The possibility of a random
match was one in 73 million.
• A search of Hardman’s dwelling produced magazines
and evidence of accessing internet sites featuring
how to become a vampire. 
• Matthew Hardman was found guilty of murder on
August 2, 2002, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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