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Abstract

Footwear impressions are one of the most common forms of evidence found at crime scenes (Stephens et al., 2020), but the usability of footwear impressions in clandestine graves has rarely been examined within the literature (Hunter & Cox, 2005). This project aims to establish how effectively different soil types preserve footwear impressions in simulated clandestine graves in order to fill the research gap surrounding this topic. Four locations with differing superficial soil types were confirmed using visual soil classification methods, pH testing and grain size analyses. Location 1 was found to be a sandy loam, Location 2 consisted of clay loam deposits, Location 3 had soil that was identified as sandy gravel, and Location 4 was a silty clay. A total of 16 clandestine graves or “test pits” (four at each location), sized at 40 centimetres in depth, 40 centimetres in length and 20 centimetres in width, were dug and the left shoe of a woman’s work boot was pressed into each one using a stamping motion, as adopted by Farrugia et al. (2012) and Stephens et al. (2020), before being buried. The test pits were then left for three months before excavation. Any remaining impressions were recovered using 2D photography and impression quality was graded using a scale based on the number of design pattern characteristics present, as adapted from Stephens et al. (2020) and the Scientific Working Group for Shoeprint and Tire Tread Evidence (SWGTREAD). Footwear impressions were graded before and after burial to establish how well they would be preserved. The findings of this research indicates that sandy substrates initially form the highest quality impression, closely followed by loamy and clay soils. While the gravelly soil generally formed mediocre footwear impressions initially, the results of the current study indicate that the gravelly substrate retained the highest quality impression overall. These findings could be attributed to any number of confounding variables at each location, such as the presence of rodents, insects and other bioturbation or human factors both from the property owners and the researcher. Future research could study the impact of decomposition on the preservation of footwear impressions, how well soils in different climates can retain impressions, or whether there is a difference between the impressions formed by different types of shoes.

Course: Forensic Investigation - MSc - P3494FTC

Date Deposited: 2024-11-19

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14518.html