36477 alibi jewellery theft activity

Breaking News:
A member of the public, Charlie, called the police at 11.30pm to report a
break-in in a second floor apartment. He was walking past and heard dogs
barking, so he called the police. When the police arrived on the scene they
found the apartment had been broken into and owner’s jewellery had been
stolen. The apartment owner’s two small dogs were shut in a bathroom and
barking. The apartment’s owner left the house at 8pm to spend the night with
friends in a nearby city.
Three suspects from the neighbourhood have been brought in to be interviewed by the police. They are
Sam, a neighbourhood man, Charlie, who reported the robbery, and Jack, the neighbour on the third floor.
The suspects all say that they have alibis. You are the police, and you must interrogate them to find out if
they committed the crime.

Vocabulary
alibi:
witness:
video surveillance:
investigation:
suspect:
evidence:
criminal:
guilty:
innocent:


Interrogation Sheet
Sam:

Charlie:

Jack:

Sam
Only give the information in bold. If the police ask you the questions in brackets (…) you can
answer their questions. If the police ask something not in your information, you must say you
don’t know or understand.
8.00 – 8.20
You left home to drive to a dinner party
(Who were you with?)
Your girlfriend
(What were you wearing?)
A green jacket
(Who did you see?)
A man running in the park wearing red shorts
8.20 – 9.45
You were at the dinner party
(Who were you with?)
Your friends and girlfriend
9.45 – 10.30
You drove to the supermarket to buy more wine
(Who were you with?)
You were alone
10.30 – 11.15
You were at the dinner party
(Who were you with?)
Your friends and girlfriend
11.15 – 11.45
You went home, then went for a walk
(Who were you with?)
Your girlfriend

(What did you hear?)
Dogs barking


Charlie
Only give the information in bold. If the police ask you the questions in brackets (…) you can
answer their questions. If the police ask something not in your information, you must say you
don’t know or understand.
8.00 – 8.50
You went for a run in the park
(Who were you with?)
You were alone
(What were you wearing?)
Red shorts
(Who did you see?)
A man walking with a “Springfield” bag
8.50 – 9.15
You went home to shower then walked to the cinema
(Who were you with?)
You were alone
9.15 – 11.15
You were watching the film
(What film did you see?)
You saw Titanic
(Who were you with?)
You were alone
(Describe the film)
Your favourite part was when the main characters got married.
11.15 – 11.30
You were walking home

(Who were you with?)
You were alone
(What did you hear?)
You heard dogs barking


Jack
Only give the information in bold. If the police ask you the questions in brackets (…) you can
answer their questions. If the police ask something not in your information, you must say you
don’t know or understand.
8.00 – 8.30
You were walking home from shopping in the city centre
(Who were you with?)
You were alone
(What did you buy?)
A shirt from “Springfield”
(Who did you see?)
A man wearing a green jacket
8.30 – 10.30
You were drinking at a bar
(Who were you with?)
Your friends
10.30 – 11.15
You went outside the bar to call your ex-girlfriend
(Who were you with?)
You were alone
11.15 – 11.30
You were walking home from the bar
(What did you hear?)
Dogs barking

Clue 1
Jack had a blood – alcohol level of 0.15% (high) when police tested him at
11.45pm.

Clue 2
Sam took 45 minutes to drive 7kms to buy wine from the supermarket.

Clue 3
Video surveillance proves Jack was at the bar with his friends from 8.30 –
10.30pm.

Clue 4
Police reports show there was a traffic jam in the area from 9.30 – 10.30pm.

Clue 5
Phone records prove Jack had a conversation with his ex-girlfriend from 10.32 –
11.14pm.

Clue 6
Sam’s friends confirm he was at a dinner party with them from 8.20 – 9.45 and
10.30 – 11.15pm.


Questions students can ask:
What were you doing at (time)?
What time did you start (activity)?
What time did you finish (activity)?
Who were you with?

What were you wearing?
Who did you see?
What did you hear?
What did you buy?
Describe...
Make sure the students understand that they need to complete blocks of time in order to follow the
suspects’ movements accurately.
The clues are optional – the students could simply discuss who they think is guilty or make a
decision based on activities. The game is produced to that the second suspect (Charlie) is the
criminal – the clues prove the other suspects all have alibis during their activities, but there is no
clue to prove Charlie was at the cinema. This is backed up by the suspect inaccurately describing
the film (the main characters don’t get married) and because he sees the film in 2 hours – but
Titanic is around 3 hours long.