"Hot Car Death"

Discuss all Forensics & CSI related issues here.
Post Reply
User avatar
ddustin
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 956
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:28 pm
12
Full Name: David Dustin
Company Details: Federal Bureau of Investigations
Company Position Title: Visualization Information Specialist
Country: USA
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Location: Quantico, VA
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 11 times
Contact:

"Hot Car Death"

Post by ddustin »

Dustin Forensics worked on this case.
We did all the 3d work and gopro videos
We were for the prosecution.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/14/us/justin ... index.html
Some of the details are here.

http://www.dustinforensics.com/justin-ross-harris-case/
David
Director of Industry Solutions | Public Safety
Rikore
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 353
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2015 6:48 pm
8
Full Name: Bruce Yager
Company Details: Rikore Geomatics
Company Position Title: Department Head
Country: USA
Linkedin Profile: No
Been thanked: 7 times

Re: "Hot Car Death"

Post by Rikore »

Great work David
User avatar
vislaw
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:42 pm
13
Full Name: Mark Johnson
Company Details: Visual Law Group
Company Position Title: Principal and Chief Creative Officer
Country: USA
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Location: San Jose, California
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 6 times
Contact:

Re: "Hot Car Death"

Post by vislaw »

YouTube has both days of David's testimony (start here:
youtu.be/) and I highly recommend it to anyone who may be testifying as an expert in a case involving scanning. One of the approaches that I found particularly valuable involved David's scanning of the courtroom before trial. This allows him to present the process of 3D laser scanning in a context immediately familiar to the jury and to reinforce their acceptance of its accuracy. Brilliant.

What a pleasure to be here at the IASFM conference and to be able to go to dinner with David yesterday after the verdict came in so we could hear his account of the trial and ask questions. My thanks to David, Eugene and everybody else willing to share their knowledge and experience.
User avatar
ddustin
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 956
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:28 pm
12
Full Name: David Dustin
Company Details: Federal Bureau of Investigations
Company Position Title: Visualization Information Specialist
Country: USA
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Location: Quantico, VA
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 11 times
Contact:

Re: "Hot Car Death"

Post by ddustin »

Thank you for the very kind words Mark.
David
Director of Industry Solutions | Public Safety
DavidL
I have made 90-100 posts
I have made 90-100 posts
Posts: 91
Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 1:11 pm
8
Full Name: David Lander
Company Details: Thames Valley Police Authority
Company Position Title: Crime Scene Surveyor
Country: UK
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Has thanked: 19 times
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: "Hot Car Death"

Post by DavidL »

This was a fascinating watch. Valuable in many ways but particulary in relation to reconstructing a person's viewpoint. Given that we can never say what the exact head/eye positioning of a person is, I think it's fair to expect and be prepared for a bit of a grilling from the defence. Thank you for sharing this.
User avatar
ddustin
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 956
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:28 pm
12
Full Name: David Dustin
Company Details: Federal Bureau of Investigations
Company Position Title: Visualization Information Specialist
Country: USA
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Location: Quantico, VA
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 11 times
Contact:

Re: "Hot Car Death"

Post by ddustin »

David,
Valid point indeed.
All we maintained is that it was line of sight.
I will tell you that I was one of 2 or 3 people (and certainly the closest in height to the defendant) that sat in that driver's seat with the life sized male child model in place. There is really not any scenario I can imagine where I believe I would miss the head of that child over the top of the car seat.

The defense made a big deal about the white socks on the life sized child model.
Evidently the day of Cooper's death, he had on blue and white socks and perhaps blue shoes.
The defense accused the prosecution of intentionally using white socks to make them more visible.
I don't believe that to be true.

Incidentally, the defense objected strongly to everything we did and had filed "motions" to have all of it excluded at trial. The Judge ruled in favor of the prosecution.
David
Director of Industry Solutions | Public Safety
ClarkCoSheriff

Re: "Hot Car Death"

Post by ClarkCoSheriff »

I just finished watching all three parts of David's testimony and I have to say it was time well spent. I think it was an excellent example of describing the scanner's operation and the fact in crime scenes, we are never exactly sure what happened. As crime scene investigators, we don't always have the luxury of roadway evidence like crash investigators do. We are frequently having to make a "best guess" in many scenarios. I think an important point to remember, as David illustrated is to not make definitive answers which will box you into a corner when we don't know the exact answer.

Anyone who is planning to testify or has testified would be well-served by watching the videos.

Great job, David and congratulations on the verdict!
Post Reply

Return to “Forensics & CSI”