matching: proportions, features, dimensions.”
The Zombie Factor
Though still photography of the crime scene will not, at this stage of the game, do much in our zombie hunt, the files from the research center’s digital surveillance camera will. Once the management of the research center is notified and permissions secured, the digital files can be downloaded onto laptops so the detectives can examine them to see if any of the crime was taped.
That’s where the first big break comes in. Though the slow pan of the camera, which is mounted on a pole over the guard shack, does not record anyone entering through the gates, the audio track does capture the sound of the guard noticing someone already inside the compound. We hear the guard call out for the intruder to identify himself. The only reply we hear is a low moan and then the sounds of the guard shouting and a scuffle. There is the sound of three gunshots and then more moaning—this time of a different pitch, which is determined by the detectives to be the injured guard moaning in pain.
The real payoff comes when the suspected attacker comes lumbering into frame as he staggers out through the gates and crosses the road. Footage of that kind would later help with identifying the suspect and backtracking him to his connection with the research facility.
----
Art of the Dead—Steve Hester
Death in Focus
“Artists see the world a little differently…some of them have the courage to look at the darker things—pain, madness, death…capturing the essence of each on canvas or in print, illuminating the mysteries for all the world to ponder.”
----
J UST THE F ACTS
Forensic Podiatry and Footwear Evidence
Forensic podiatry is the science of applying clinical podiatric knowledge to the task of identifying evidence associated with crime. Forensic podiatry was developed in the early 1970s, mostly in the United Kingdom and Canada, before filtering down to the United States. Because of the vast number of shoe manufacturers—from hand-sewn Italian loafers to cheap Dollar Store flip-flops—it is virtually impossible to maintain a complete and accurate database of all styles and brands. Therefore the experts in footwear evidence are more concerned with matching specific impressions or castings taken at a crime scene with shoes found in the possession of a suspect.
Forensic podiatry also extends to include identifying walking patterns, or “gait forms.” These patterns are determined from analysis of the shoe impressions and also from video evidence. The science also examines the foot impressions inside the shoe and matches it against the foot of a suspect to make an I.D.
Expert Witness
According to Dwane S. Hilderbrand, 5 CLPE, CFWE, CSCSA, “Footwear evidence and forensic podiatry are two completely different and separate disciplines. Footwear deals with the shoe, the outsole and podiatry deals with the human foot. Footwear deals with the impression left by a shoe in examining and comparing a shoe to determine if that shoe made the impression. Podiatry deals with bare feet.”
I asked Dr. Hildebrand that, considering all of the shoe manufacturers out there, from top-of-the-line footwear to cheap sneakers, how can an expert determine which brand of shoe left the mark? Or is it just a matter of matching patterns found at the scene with shoes in the possession of a suspect?
“There are a few methods,” he says. “There are computerized databases 6 on the market where a footwear impression from a crime scene can be searched through to determine its brand or model. There are some examiners that have trained themselves to recognize various logo and or trademarks to determine the brand name.”
Do footwear specialists typically visit crime scenes? Dr. Hildebrand says no. “Normally a footwear expert will not go to a crime scene. Crime scene investigators are trained to properly document, collect and preserve footwear evidence in
The Zombie Factor
Though still photography of the crime scene will not, at this stage of the game, do much in our zombie hunt, the files from the research center’s digital surveillance camera will. Once the management of the research center is notified and permissions secured, the digital files can be downloaded onto laptops so the detectives can examine them to see if any of the crime was taped.
That’s where the first big break comes in. Though the slow pan of the camera, which is mounted on a pole over the guard shack, does not record anyone entering through the gates, the audio track does capture the sound of the guard noticing someone already inside the compound. We hear the guard call out for the intruder to identify himself. The only reply we hear is a low moan and then the sounds of the guard shouting and a scuffle. There is the sound of three gunshots and then more moaning—this time of a different pitch, which is determined by the detectives to be the injured guard moaning in pain.
The real payoff comes when the suspected attacker comes lumbering into frame as he staggers out through the gates and crosses the road. Footage of that kind would later help with identifying the suspect and backtracking him to his connection with the research facility.
----
Art of the Dead—Steve Hester
Death in Focus
“Artists see the world a little differently…some of them have the courage to look at the darker things—pain, madness, death…capturing the essence of each on canvas or in print, illuminating the mysteries for all the world to ponder.”
----
J UST THE F ACTS
Forensic Podiatry and Footwear Evidence
Forensic podiatry is the science of applying clinical podiatric knowledge to the task of identifying evidence associated with crime. Forensic podiatry was developed in the early 1970s, mostly in the United Kingdom and Canada, before filtering down to the United States. Because of the vast number of shoe manufacturers—from hand-sewn Italian loafers to cheap Dollar Store flip-flops—it is virtually impossible to maintain a complete and accurate database of all styles and brands. Therefore the experts in footwear evidence are more concerned with matching specific impressions or castings taken at a crime scene with shoes found in the possession of a suspect.
Forensic podiatry also extends to include identifying walking patterns, or “gait forms.” These patterns are determined from analysis of the shoe impressions and also from video evidence. The science also examines the foot impressions inside the shoe and matches it against the foot of a suspect to make an I.D.
Expert Witness
According to Dwane S. Hilderbrand, 5 CLPE, CFWE, CSCSA, “Footwear evidence and forensic podiatry are two completely different and separate disciplines. Footwear deals with the shoe, the outsole and podiatry deals with the human foot. Footwear deals with the impression left by a shoe in examining and comparing a shoe to determine if that shoe made the impression. Podiatry deals with bare feet.”
I asked Dr. Hildebrand that, considering all of the shoe manufacturers out there, from top-of-the-line footwear to cheap sneakers, how can an expert determine which brand of shoe left the mark? Or is it just a matter of matching patterns found at the scene with shoes in the possession of a suspect?
“There are a few methods,” he says. “There are computerized databases 6 on the market where a footwear impression from a crime scene can be searched through to determine its brand or model. There are some examiners that have trained themselves to recognize various logo and or trademarks to determine the brand name.”
Do footwear specialists typically visit crime scenes? Dr. Hildebrand says no. “Normally a footwear expert will not go to a crime scene. Crime scene investigators are trained to properly document, collect and preserve footwear evidence in
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