The Muppet MurdersThe Muppet Murders

Background

Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy had a volatile relationship. Friends and neighbors reported that they often fought in public, and police reports show a history of property destruction by Miss Piggy. Often the movie and TV stars would be forced to pay thousands to restaurants or businesses for the repair of lamps, walls, windows, and on one occasion a giant statue of the letter ‘G.’

Despite this rocky history, there were never any reports of physical violence between them. When they turned up dead of an apparent murder/suicide, friends believed there was something more to the story. Forensic science would prove them right.

Background

Kermit and Miss Piggy had lived in a one bedroom apartment at 1402 Sesame Street for 3 years. It was considered a safe neighborhood -- mostly populated with teachers and their children. The neighborhood association meetings consisted of zoning issues and pest control (a problem with giant yellow pigeons dominated the agenda for about 6 months) but crime was rarely reported.

The Neighborhood

The CrimeThe Crime

Preliminary Scene Investigation

On January 11, 2011, at 2:07 am police responded to reports of two gunshots fired in the area. Police response time was 27 minutes -- they had never responded to a call in that neighborhood in the middle of the night before. Police forced open the dead-bolted door to find Kermit and Miss Piggy lying on the floor of the apartment, deceased. Kermit had a .45 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver in his left hand. The apartment showed signs of a struggle or a fight -- a table was overturned, the books were scattered off of the bookshelves, and there was a chair that appeared to have been thrown through the hallway window. At first glance it appeared that there had been a vicious argument, and that Kermit had snapped.

The Crime Scene SketchThe Crime Scene Sketch

The Scene

Miss Piggy was lying near the kitchen with a bullet wound in her forehead... there was blood spatter on the carpet next to the body, and a pool of blood by the head. This blood trailed to a smaller pool of blood about three feet away, and some of the spatter had been smeared indicating that the body had been moved since death.

Kermit’s body was laying near the wall. There were blood spatter stains on both walls behind him.

Questions Raised

Investigating Officer Detective Friendly

noticed that some parts of the scene did not make

sense for a murder/suicide.

Initial Inconsistencies

High-velocity blood spatter from the wall behind Mr. Frog was found at an angle that was inconsistent with a self-inflicted wound.

Glass from the broken window was found inside the hallway, rather than outside, indicating that it may have been broken from the outside.

Blood Spatter

Miss Piggy was shot in the center of the room, with the blood landing mostly on the carpet. There were two puddles, a small one near her waist and a larger one near her head. Absence of other wounds indicated that her head had been at the small puddle when she initially fell. The body was moved relatively quickly. Her wound ended up bleeding into the larger puddle, where she finally rested.

Question #1: What can we

reconstruct about the scene from the

positioning and shape of the blood spatter?

Question #1: What can we

reconstruct about the scene from the

positioning and shape of the blood spatter?

Position of Mr. Frog and the Trajectory of the Bullet

By studying the angle of incidence of several of the distinctly formed drops and extrapolating to their area of convergence, it was discovered that not only was Kermit standing when he was shot, but the trajectory of the bullet was traced to a very high angle, indicating that he was shot from above. If he had shot himself, he would have had to have been holding the gun at an abnormally high angle.

Question #2: Can we show that the bullet was fired by the

gun in Mr. Frog’s hand?

Question #2: Can we show that the bullet was fired by the

gun in Mr. Frog’s hand?

Firearms Analysis

The bullets were removed from both bodies and examined. They were both .45 caliber bullets.

The number of lands and their spacing indicated a Smith & Wesson -- the same make and model found in Kermit’s hand.

The gun found in Kermit’s hand was fired into a bullet recovery tank, and this test bullet was compared with the bullets found in the victims.

All three bullets were compared under a firearms comparison microscope. Enough detailed striations were discovered on the interior portion of the land impressions to conclude that these bullets were all fired from Kermit’s gun.

Question #3: Can we determine if the

gun was in Mr. Frog’s hand when it was fired?

Question #3: Can we determine if the

gun was in Mr. Frog’s hand when it was fired?

GSR Particle Search

Curious, Detective Friendly decided to test Kermit’s left hand for GSR particles, which are very fine particles of lead, barium, and/or antimony that are left behind from the firing process.

Four cotton swabs were dampened with diluted nitric acid and samples were taken from the palm and the back of each hand.

Elemental analysis revealed no heightened level of lead, barium, or antimony.

A scanning electron microscope was used in an attempt to locate GSR particles. There were none found.

Additional questioning of friends and relatives revealed that Kermit was right-handed, not left-handed...

A “powder pattern” of additional discharged gunshot material was not found near the wound, indicating that the muzzle of the gun was at least 3-5 feet from Kermit’s head.

Conclusion: Mr. Frog’s wounds were not self-inflicted.

Question #4: What can a close

examination of the broken window tell us

about the scene?

Question #4: What can a close

examination of the broken window tell us

about the scene?

Broken Window Analysis

The broken window was shattered into relatively large pieces. The outside face of the glass had not been cleaned in some time, so reconstructing the window and determining which side faced the street was relatively easy.

Reconstruction provided a surprising revelation: there was a gunshot hole in the window. Tangential and radial lines continued through the rest of the breaks, indicating that someone had shot through the window, then broken it completely. It appeared that the chair had been placed there later to make it appear as though the window had been broken from the inside.

Remarkably, the window was reconstructed well enough to discover a cone-shaped hole on the inside face of the glass, indicating that the gunshot had come from the outside into the apartment.

Conclusion:The crime was a double

homicide, not a murder/suicide

Conclusion:The crime was a double

homicide, not a murder/suicide

The SuspectsThe Suspects

The Suspects

After proving that the incident was not the murder/suicide it appeared to be, Detective Friendly began looking into the couple’s past for clues to a possible motive. Who would want this celebrity couple dead? Surprisingly, several names surfaced.

Count von Count

The first of the seedy characters lurking around Sesame Street was an odd noble by the name of Count von Count.

Count the Forgeries

Kermit at one time had been great friends with the Count. After one television appearance, however, Kermit had written the Count a check for his performance only to discover it had been altered.

Question #5: How was it proven that the Count had altered

the check?

Question #5: How was it proven that the Count had altered

the check?

Check AlteringKermit had written a check to the Count for $2000, but it had been cashed for $20,000.

When examined under a spectral comparator in the infrared spectrum, it was revealed that ink from a different pen had been used to change the $2000 to $20,000.

At trial, the Count was ejected from the courtroom for counting jurors and repeatedly causing thunder and lightning.

He was convicted on all counts and served 18 months in prison.

When asked how he endured his time in jail, the Count replied, “I counted the seconds.” Could he also have been plotting revenge?

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

The Frogs’ family practitioner, Dr. Honeydew, had recently come under fire when his assistant Beaker showed up at the local newspaper, covered in blood and scars and alleging sadistic abuse by the doctor. While investigators originally felt this could be a strong lead, they found it difficult to prove much of a connection to the Frogs other than routine checkups.

Organized Crime Links

By far the most promising link was Miss Piggy’s alleged romantic involvement with the most brutal and menacing character in all of Sesame Street:

Fozzy “The Bear” CorleoneFozzy “The Bear” Corleone

Fozzy and Ms Piggy

Fozzy “The Bear” had met Ms. Piggy when she was on a photo shoot for Playboar Magazine in December of 2004.

Their on-again, off-again relationship was common knowledge around Sesame Street.

They had reportedly broken up, once again, about two weeks before the murders.

Fozzy’s alibi checked out -- he was onstage at the time of the murders. Many witnesses remembered pummeling him with tomatoes.

The Suspects: Conclusion

While interviews with friends and neighbors provided plenty of suspects, the lack of a clear alibi forced investigators to return to the crime scene once again.

Question #6:How can we salvage the faint footprint in order

to glean some information about the characteristics of the

killer?

Question #6:How can we salvage the faint footprint in order

to glean some information about the characteristics of the

killer?

Footprint

After closer examination of the carpet, several dusty “smudges” were found that seemed promising for possible identification.

A metalized Mylar sheet was laid over each smudge. Then an electrostatic lifting device was used to apply a charge. The dust particles that formed the smudge were attracted and transferred to the Mylar sheet.

Surprisingly, this process seemed to exclude all previous suspects: the killer had only three toes.

Question #7: Since none of the

killer’s blood was visible at the scene, is there a

process for determining if his/her blood had been present at some point?

Question #7: Since none of the

killer’s blood was visible at the scene, is there a

process for determining if his/her blood had been present at some point?

Blood

Although no blood other than Mr. Frog’s and Ms. Piggy’s had been found at the scene, investigators felt they should search a little more.

Luminol was applied to the crime scene near the broken window. Luminol is a powdery compound containing nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Luminol takes advantage of a chemical reaction between hemoglobin in the blood and several of the chemicals contained in luminol. This process generates light as the reactants break down in a process known as “chemiluminescence...” It is the same process that fireflies and glow sticks use.

The luminol powder was mixed with hydrogen peroxide and a hydroxide, along with other catalysts. The iron in the hemoglobin reacts with the material and produces a strong blue-green glow.

Investigators discovered that a great deal of blood had been cleaned from the carpet in front of the window, as well as from the bathroom floor, and the cabinet where the cleaning products had been kept.

Further investigation revealed that cleaning products were missing from the bathroom cabinet and there was an empty slot on the towel rack -- presumably the killer had cleaned the crime scene and taken the cleaning products and the towel with him.

Question #8:What processes could we

use to examine the killer’s DNA?

Question #8:What processes could we

use to examine the killer’s DNA?

DNA Analysis

Pulling up the carpet near the window revealed fresh bloodstains on the floor boards, underneath the carpet.

The blood was allowed to dry completely. Then the blood was scraped from the floorboards and packaged in a paper folded into a “druggists’ fold.”

The blood was sent to the lab for analysis. A technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to copy small, specific segments of the DNA for analysis. Then several specific markers called short tandem repeats (STRs) were collected for analysis. 13 of these STR are typically chosen to database because they provide a high degree of individuality.

The lab reports were very surprising. Not only were there no matches on file in the database, but the killer was not even of an identifiable species.

Renewed Search for the killer

Investigators began asking friends and neighbors if there was anyone in the area of an unidentifiable species.

A homosexual couple named Bert and Ernie -- also film and television stars -- had lived across the hall from the Frogs for many years. They had been very helpful in the investigation, and when investigators turned to them for help finding a killer of an unidentifiable species they both immediately thought of a co-worker.

Gonzo the Great

Gonzo the Great was a stuntman on the Muppet Show, where Ms Piggy and Mr Frog had worked for years.

Those involved with the show had been trying to identify his species for years, with no luck. Eventually they settled on identifying him as a “whatever.”

He was in considerable pain over his recent estrangement from his wife, Camilla the Chicken.

While all of these were true, few people believed Gonzo capable of the murders.

The arrestThe arrest

The Arrest/Evidence Obtained

Gonzo was arrested at 10:05 am on May 12, 2011. When police raided his home they found two important pieces of evidence:

a diary that had covered the time of the murders.

some yellow fibers in the trunk of his car that were similar in color to the towel that was missing from the crime scene.

Gonzo’s Diary

The diaries found in Gonzo’s house revealed a shocking history of deep-seated resentment -- all stemming from an incident that had occurred years earlier on the Muppet Show. Gonzo had planned on catapulting himself into the balcony, but a technical glitch caused the catapult to send both Kermit and Ms Piggy flying through the air instead. Gonzo felt that they had stolen his spotlight.

In the diaries this incident grows into a psychotic, all consuming desire for revenge.

The pages from Jan 8 (two days before the murder) to Jan 13 (two days after the murder) contained no entries.

Gonzo claimed that the diary was a forgery, planted to frame him.

Question #9:How can we prove that the diary was, in fact, written by Gonzo the

Great?

Question #9:How can we prove that the diary was, in fact, written by Gonzo the

Great?

Handwriting Analysis

A handwriting expert compared known samples of Gonzo’s correspondence with the diary.

The skill level of both samples was found to be the same: poor.

Style, spacing, grammar, and spelling were all found to be similar.

The formation and slant of the letters were very similar, as well as the way in which the letters were connected.

The spacing between the letters was consistent.

Conclusion: Gonzo was the author of the diary.

Question #10:Can the fibers in the trunk be conclusively placed at the crime

scene?

Question #10:Can the fibers in the trunk be conclusively placed at the crime

scene?

Fiber Analysis

The yellow fibers found in the trunk of Gonzo’s car were taken to a lab for analysis. They were examined under a microscope and all contained the characteristic “twist” used to identify cotton.

Next, the dye colors were examined with a mass spectrometer. The colors that were found in the trunk were indistinguishable from fibers taken from the towel inside the Frogs’ apartment.

Conclusion: a towel exactly like the ones found in the Frogs’ bathroom had been in Gonzo’s trunk at one time.

Trial and Imprisonment

Gonzo the Great was tried and convicted for the murder of Kermit the Frog and Ms. Piggy.

The strongest evidence at trial was:

DNA at the scene

Footprint at the scene

Fibers in the trunk

The hateful diary

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and is serving his time in a chicken coop in Connecticut.

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