Malicious Destruction of Plantation (MDOP) and 3D Footprint Identified the Perpetrator: A Rare Case Report

Abstract

The use of foot impression evidence in criminal investigations dates back to 1862 when Jessie McLachlan’s footprint placed her at the scene of a woman’s murder for which McLachlan was subsequently convicted [1]. Statistical analysis of footprint data collected Sergeant Kennedy has found “the odds of a chance match” for a footprint in the general population of is one in 1.27 billion [2]. Footprint analysis is considered as a biometric technique used to obtain multiple information in crime scenes [3]. Foot impressions are still found at crime scenes, since offenders often tend to remove their footwear either to avoid noise or to gain better grip in climbing walls, etc., while entering or exiting the crime scene [4]. The footprint provides the size dimensions of the foot’s plantar surface actually touching the floor or hard surface, which produces a two-dimensional footprint impression. The foot outline provides the size parameters of the fleshed bare foot and also represents the boundaries of the foot’s impression in soft soil, mud, or any other substance that produces a three-dimensional footprint impression [5]. Foot impressions can provide more information to the investigators than finger prints during crime scene investigation [6]. Footprints can be used to determine stature [7,8], gender [9] and body weight [10,11]. Recently a scene of crime case study was reported wherein 2D crime scene footprint solved a disputed suspicious death of a woman who found partially hanged in her residence [12]. The present case report shows the identification of an offender who maliciously destroyed the grapevine plantation in a village and the fact was brought to light through 3D footprint found in the grapevine yard.