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How dollhouse crime scenes schooled 1940s cops

Frances Glessner Lee’s dioramas helped bring a scientific approach to forensic science

Diorama of a crime scene

DOLLHOUSE CSI This miniature portrayal of Maggie Wilson’s death in 1896 is the handiwork of self-taught criminologist Frances Glessner Lee. Lee’s dioramas trained investigators to look at crime scenes through a scientific lens. 

Bruce Goldfarb/Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Maryland

By Helen Thompson

- More than 2 years ago

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In November 1896, Lizzie Miller stumbled upon a shocking sight: The discolored body of her neighbor Maggie Wilson half-submerged in a bathtub, legs precariously dangling over the side.