Scholars International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice (SIJLCJ)
Volume-4 | Issue-03 | 166-169
Original Crime Scene Report
Footprint Based Gait Analysis in a Homicide Case - Identified the Culprit as Wife of the Deceased, Also the Complainant: Challenging Forensic Podiatry Crime Scene Report
T. Nataraja Moorthy, M. Baskaran
Published : March 16, 2021
Abstract
Forensic science works on physical evidence and hence the forensic investigators are searching for physical evidence in the crime scenes to identify the perpetrator and to solve the mystery. The significance of some evidence appears unknown or unimportant at the time of collection from crime scenes but seemingly important as the investigation proceeds. Footprint is an important physical evidence found in many crime scenes such as homicide, burglary and sexual assault, but is simply ignored even in the initial stage of investigation, considering unimportant. Footprint based gait pattern analysis is currently used for person identification. Forensic podiatry is a sub discipline of forensic science in which specialized podiatric knowledge including foot and lower limb, used in the examination of foot-related evidence in the context of a criminal investigation. Footprint and gait analysis are most aligned with other pattern based form of evidence like blood pattern analysis. The gait pattern evidence found mostly in homicide and burglary Crime scenes are also simply neglected by the investigators because of knowledge Lack in podiatry science. The present crime scene report, as investigated by the corresponding author (Prof. T. Nataraja Moorthy, hereafter mention as “TN”) in India highlighted the value of footprint and gait pattern evidence in a peculiar homicide crime scene. A woman lodged a complaint with police station in India that her husband was murdered by unknown person but footprint based gait pattern analysis identified the culprit, nobody but the complained wife. She murdered her husband and concealed the fact, a case of “crime concealment”.