Drone aerial imagery for the simulation of a neonate burial based on the geoforensic search strategy (GSS).

Drone aerial imagery for the simulation of a neonate burial based on the geoforensic search strategy (GSS). J Forensic Sci. 2021 Feb 12;: Authors: Rocke B, Ruffell A, Donnelly L Abstract A woman reporting the homicide and burial of an infant in 2004 prompted the creation of an experimental simulated neonate grave shortly before the real search commenced. The real case, documented here, did not use aerial imagery, but used ground-penetrating radar (calibrated to the test site described here) to identify two locations that were probed for gas release and the deployment of victim recovery dogs. We suggest technological advances in remotely sensed aerial imagery that have developed since 2004 will demonstrate their use in focusing such searches by informing a Geoforensic Search Strategy (GSS) and suggesting locations accessible by a perpetrator to identify a burial location using the still-existent analogue site. To test this, in the spring of 2020 a DJI Mavic Pro drone was flown over the control site containing the simulated 2004 burial. Aerial image processing included the creation of orthomosaics, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Visual Atmospheric Resistance Index (VARI), and photogrammetry. Conventional ground-based geophysical surveys using ground-penetrating radar, guided by this new type of information integrated into the GSS, confirmed that anomalies seen in drone data were the 16-year-old burial. We test this stra...
Source: Journal of Forensic Sciences - Category: Forensic Medicine Authors: Tags: J Forensic Sci Source Type: research