Captain Bill Sabatini of the Flagship Niagra was found “murdered” at PRSSA’s Muder at the Maritime event.: contributed photo

The captain of the Flagship Niagara, Bill Sabatini, was found dead at the Maritime Museum on Saturday, March 21, during the Murder at the Maritime event.

The detective on scene had little evidence and because of this, turned to the event’s 150 attendees for help solving the murder case.

There were 10 suspects, including his fictitious wife, played by junior communications major, Dalma Bordon, and the executive director of the Flagship Niagara League, Shawn Waskiewicz.

The attendees had an hour and a half to figure out clues, which often related to historical exhibits in the museum.

They also had a chance to talk with potential suspects.

They were then asked to answer “who, when, and how” Sabatini was murdered.

In the end, several teams determined correctly that the captain was murdered by Waskiewicz on the Gun Deck with a piece of rope.

The members of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) helped to plan and run the event along with members of Flagship Niagara League.

PRSSA decided to coordinate a murder mystery event as a fundraiser instead of their annual Frozen-Putt-A-Thon.

“We have done the same fundraiser for the past three years and wanted to do something fun and interesting this year,” said PRSSA president, Jade Gelsimino.

“We decided to do a murder mystery because we knew it would attract people and, honestly, who doesn’t love a mystery?”

The event’s attendees, all enjoyed the evening as they participated in a life-size game of Clue.

“I enjoyed the event. My favorite part of the night was the museum itself,” said sophomore Intelligence Studies major Alex Dorado who attended the event.

“I had never been to the maritime museum and I enjoyed myself. I liked the historical parts—the part about the Wolverine or the War of 1812.”

The funds raised at the event will be split between both Flagship Niagara League and PRSSA.

PRSSA plans to use the funds to go to the National PRSSA Conference in Atlanta in the fall.