Creating faces: Forensic artistry in police work
The following is part of a weekly series on unsolved homicides and suspected homicide cases in Fayette County and the surrounding area.
State police Trooper Charles M. Morrison wears many hats.
He is a seasoned veteran in fingerprint lifting and is skilled in blood and DNA evidence collection. He can make a mean mold-and-cast impression of a vehicle tire or shoe print, and he can suit up in bio-hazard gear and examine potentially toxic evidence. Or, he can operate a blood-drying machine and other state-of-the-art equipment while documenting and cataloging all his actions and discoveries.
Morrison basically does what television shows glorify — he breaks down cases to their very smallest details, examining the minutiae — a hair, a drop of blood — items that just a few decades ago would have proved of little value to solving a criminal case but now may be the clue that proves pivotal in an investigation.
Morrison is a photographer. He is a reporter. He is a scene reconstructionist. And, while he admittedly spends much of his time doing standard evidence collection and fingerprint work, every once in a while Morrison said he dons yet another hat. He is an artist.
“I have done two composites in my 11 years with the forensics unit,” Morrison said, as he checked on a potato chip bag suspended in a fingerprint lifting machine. “But, both of my composites were for suspects. This case is more unique.”
The case Morrison referenced is a 27-year-old cold case where police are still trying to identify a woman whose body was found following a fatal crash in Georges Township.
Trooper John F. Marshall, who oversees the cold case investigations at the Uniontown station, said the woman may have been hitchhiking when truck driver Joseph Daniel Richards of East Anollee, Ga., picked her up.
Marshall said around 4:30 a.m. May 2, 1986, Richards lost control of his truck on Route 119 near Shoaf.
Marshall said Richards died soon after the accident.
He said that police and emergency responders were unaware that Richards had a passenger until after the truck was removed, and the woman’s body was found underneath.
Other than a keychain and a pack of cigarettes, the woman had no belongings, and no one from Richards’ family could identify her. Police also had no luck when they canvassed the region with a drawing of the woman by local sketch artist Marvin Mayle of Hopwood, who is now deceased.
The woman has never been identified, and while Marshall said that there is no foul play suspected, the case has been added to his library of cold case files as another unsolved incident where closure is needed.
Until recent decades and advances in technology, there was a need, from time to time, for sketch artists to work with police to help solve crimes and find missing people.
Marshall said that in cases like the 1986 fatal crash, investigators would contact a local artist who would then use clues, evidence and witness and victim descriptions to piece together drawings of what a suspect or missing person looked like.
The science was far from exact, but it was was often pivotal in helping identify suspects and solving open cases, from homicides to robberies to missing persons.
As techniques advanced, so did the ability of investigators to try and create the most accurate representation of a person through computer graphics, photos and other digital enhancers.
Morrison works as the only forensic trooper at the Uniontown station and is considered his own detached unit from the forensic’s team based in Washington, where three other troopers are stationed.
As part of his duties, he is tasked with creating such sketches and composites when necessary.
Morrison is trained in using the software utilized by state police, COM PhotoFit Color III, which essentially gives the user hundreds of options of each facial feature, from the shape of the eyes to the color of the hair to the shape of the face, and then allows police to mix and match the body parts to meet the description.
As part of the forensic team, Morrison said he won’t often know the particulars of a case when he is assigned, but it is often the smallest and seemingly inconsequential details that can make or break a case.
He said that he solved one recent case using a cigarette butt and another recent homicide by examining an impression left on the victim’s body that police later matched to a pendant worn by the man convicted in the killing. He said taking note of such details is part of how he shapes facial composites too.
Morrison said that a legitimate composite takes between two to four hours, with witnesses and victims who are able to get very specific with details.
“If they are a true victim, they will scrutinize the eyes, the chin,” Morrison said.
Morrison said that with sketch work and composites, the key to capturing the right look is the witness or victim.
“They do their best work when they are calmer. They can take their time. The nose, the shape of the lips. The eyes. The ears. Building the shape of the head.
He said the program also allows for adjustments, noting that maybe 50 head shapes are elongated, but he has the ability to tweak the image and elongate it even further. He can also add in special features, like jewelry or masks, to make the images as accurate as possible.
He said his composite work has a 50 percent success rate.
“We got one of two,” he said smiling.
Anyone with information regarding the woman’s identity is asked to call police at 724-439-7111.
Tips can also be made to Fayette County Crime Stoppers by calling 1-888-404-TIPS.