Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina, 84215 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
Department of Forensic Medicine and Medical Expertises, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin, Comenius University, Kollárova 10, 03601 Martin, Slovak Republic.
Sci Justice. 2024 May;64(3):322-332. doi: 10.1016/j.scijus.2024.04.004. Epub 2024 Apr 19.
In cases where multiple footprints are found at a crime scene, it is unusual that all are static, and some are likely dynamic. Depending on how the footprint was made, we distinguish between dynamic and static footprints. A distinguishing feature that has only recently been associated with dynamic footprints is the fact that dynamic footprints differ from static footprints by the presence of additional markings around the back of the heel and the tops of the toe prints, the so-called ghosting phenomenon. The present study aims to analyse the ghosting phenomenon on dynamic footprints - its occurrence in relation to sex, laterality, and different areas of footprints as well as length features. Additionally, it aims to investigate the assessment of the ghosting phenomenon on dynamic footprints when estimating stature for biological profiling in the forensic field. The study sample comprised of 170 young adults aged 18 - 30 years of both biological sexes. Stature was measured and dynamic footprints were obtained where the ghosting phenomenon was analysed together with length measurements of the same footprint with and without ghosting. In the first and second toes of footprints, the ghosting phenomenon occurred most frequently in both sexes and in the sex-mixed group. Sex differences were not significant in ghosting occurrence on right and left footprints (p > 0.05), except for the area of the left fifth toe (p = 0.045). All the footprints' lengths with ghosting were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than those without ghosting. Statures calculated from footprint length measurements with ghosting predicted stature more accurately than statures calculated from the same footprint length measurements without ghosting. In the case of finding dynamic footprints at crime scenes, it is necessary to correctly identify and evaluate ghosting of the footprint. This comparison can be helpful in interpreting how ghosting should be taken into account when estimating a person's stature.
在犯罪现场发现多个足迹的情况下，所有足迹都是静态的情况并不常见，有些可能是动态的。根据足迹的形成方式，我们将其分为动态足迹和静态足迹。最近才与动态足迹相关联的一个特征是，动态足迹与静态足迹的不同之处在于脚跟后部和脚趾印痕顶部周围存在额外的标记，即所谓的鬼影现象。本研究旨在分析动态足迹上的鬼影现象——其在性别、侧别以及足迹不同区域和长度特征方面的出现情况。此外，还旨在研究在法医领域进行生物特征分析时，评估动态足迹鬼影现象对估计身高的作用。研究样本包括 170 名年龄在 18 至 30 岁之间的年轻成年人，包括两性。测量了身高并获取了动态足迹，同时分析了鬼影现象以及具有和不具有鬼影的同一足迹的长度测量值。在第一和第二脚趾的足迹中，鬼影现象在两性和男女混合组中最常发生。鬼影现象在左右脚印上的性别差异无统计学意义（p＞0.05），但左第五脚趾的面积除外（p=0.045）。所有带有鬼影的足迹长度均显著高于（p＜0.001）没有鬼影的足迹长度。从带有鬼影的足迹长度测量中计算出的身高比从相同的足迹长度测量中计算出的身高更准确地预测出身高。在犯罪现场发现动态足迹的情况下，必须正确识别和评估足迹的鬼影。这种比较有助于解释在估计一个人的身高时应如何考虑鬼影。
