True Crime Mini-Con
Sat | Oct 21 | 10:30am

Come join us for a full day of true crime! We'll have experts in forensics and body language, K9 Search and Rescue, local historians, authors, and podcasters! Tickets are $5. Register Here!

Agenda:
10:30-10:50am Check-in
11:00-11:50am Breakout #1
12:00-1:00pm Exhibits
1:00-1:50pm Breakout #2
2:00-2:50pm Breakout #3
3:00-4:00pm Exhibits
4:00-4:50pm Afternoon Keynote
5:30-7:00pm After Hours Meetup

During each Breakout Session we’ll have presentations spread out across the building. In between sessions, presenters will have a table in our exhibit hall where they can share about their specialties with information, brochures, and freebies for attendees and patrons visiting the library. We'll also have a crime scene to solve, book displays to browse, an activity in our makerspace, and swag bags for everyone. 

Confirmed Session Descriptions: 

Breakout Session #1 | 11:00 - 11:50am

Defense Against Crime

In this jam-packed, dynamic seminar, Master Myers will present the psychology, physiology, and prevention of assault. Attendees will learn how their body works against them, how to counteract it, and how to escape common grabs. Bonus for science-lovers, plenty of anatomy and physics will be included! Presenter: Rose Myers

How to Research Historical Crimes

Using the example of the unsolved murder of Dr. Helene Knabe, participants will learn the process and means to do historical research into any cold case crime. By the end of this interactive presentation, participants will understand:

• What historical research is.
• Difference in primary and secondary resources.
• Research tools available.
• Triangulation and saturation in research.
• Responsibility and ethics in crime research.

Presenter: Nicole Kobrowski

Delphi - Myths, Truths and Lessons

In February of 2017, two teen girls were murdered in the rural community of Delphi, Indiana. Nearly six years later, a suspect is in custody but case details are sparse and rumor is the currency of the day. This session explores the case, as well as valuable lessons learned about online predators. Presenter: Richard L. Snay

The True Crime Story Behind “Too Good a Girl“

Seventeen-year-old Tipton High School student Olene Emberton disappeared after a Saturday night date on Oct. 16, 1965. Two days later, her body was found alongside a remote country road. Lacking clues, witnesses, motives, suspects, and even a cause of death, the case was never solved. Olene’s classmate and true crime author will talk about the Emberton mystery and “Too Good a Girl,” the book it inspired. Presenter: Janis Thornton

Breakout Session #2 |1:00 - 1:50pm

Indiana K9 Search and Recovery

Indiana K9 Search & Recovery provides missing persons search and recovery services to law enforcement agencies and community members. As trained, civilian K9 teams, the volunteer handlers and search dogs specialize in human remains recovery, scent-specific trailing, area search and water recovery. If you miss this session, check out our next one at 2pm. Presenter: Leah Snyder

The Charley Project: How One Person Runs the Internet's Largest Private Missing Persons Database

The Charley Project profiles over 15,000 “cold case” missing people mainly from the United States. Though it doesn’t actively investigate cases, it is a publicity vehicle for missing people who are often neglected by the press and forgotten all too soon. Presenter: Meaghan Goode

While exploring his genealogy, a retired lawyer and writer discovered a murderer in his family tree – his great-uncle. Years of research followed, uncovering Indiana’s most notorious turn-of-the-century murder, a story of lust, sex, betrayal, revenge, and insanity. Mr. Terrell will discuss the twists and turns as he tracked down this true crime story that became a personal quest and resulted in his book, “The Madness of John Terrell.” Presenter: Stephen Terrell

DNA Doe Project: We're Just Getting Started

Learn about the DNA Doe Project, the process of forensic investigative genetic genealogy as a law enforcement tool, and how everyone can help. It will cover some of the basics of how they identify unidentified human remains using a few case examples, and their goal of reuniting Jane and John Does with their families and communities. Presenter: Lisa Needler

Breakout Session #3 | 2:00 - 2:50pm

Indiana K9 Search and Recovery

Indiana K9 Search & Recovery provides missing persons search and recovery services to law enforcement agencies and community members. As trained, civilian K9 teams, the volunteer handlers and search dogs specialize in human remains recovery, scent-specific trailing, area search and water recovery. Presenter: Leah Snyder

Indiana State Police Laboratory - Forensics

This session will go over a brief history of the Indiana State Police Laboratory, and then speak on the laboratory services provided, including DNA, Latent Prints, Digital Forensics, Drugs, Documents, Crime Scene, Firearms, Microanalysis, and requirements to become a Forensic Scientist. Presenter: Andrew Koeling

The LaSalle Street Murders

Discover how a twenty-year old cold case became the subject of a best-selling novel, when the author realized that she had essentially been co-writing the book with the killer. Meet the prolific writer and investigator who brought the infamous case back to life and learn how to turn your own life story into a book. Presenter: Carol Sissom

Afternoon Keynote | 4:00 - 4:50pm

The Murder Sheet Presents: Old-Fashioned Investigative Journalism in a New-Fangled Format

This keynote will delve into the process of crime journalism, highlighting anecdotes that get into the important impact a small true crime podcast can have doing investigative reporting on the crime beat. Presenters: Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee