Robin Howell (third from left), school resource officer at Bailey Middle School in Cornelius, arrested Coach Don Riehl (second from left) for the “murder” of the school’s mascot, Thunder.  Students at the school investigated the mock-murder during a murder mystery challenge while reading an Agatha Christie mystery novel.

“We all know kids want to be little CSIs,” Howell said, “so they learned about collecting evidence and developing an MO for the suspects.”

Out of six teachers who were suspected, students discovered Riehl was the culprit when they compared his handwriting to a handwriting sample found at the “crime scene.”