This podcast episode offers an explanation of how investigators can obtain information about shoes or footwear and tires that were used to stomp or run over victims due to the transfer of skin cells onto the inside of the victim’s clothing.
This eighth and final episode of the Just Science podcast’s season on Case Studies features Brian McVicker’s discussion on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Laboratory Footwear Tire Group testing of the efficacy of ninhydrin to develop impressions of footwear and tires on fabric. Podcast host, Jaclynn McKay talks with McVicker about his education and career history that led to his current role at the FBI laboratory, analyzing evidence, issuing reports, reviewing casework, and testifying as needed. As the technical leader, he provides technical oversight of the footwear tire discipline and handles quality assurance matters; he also is the research tech program manager for the footwear discipline. The two podcasters discuss how and why footwear and tire impressions might be developed on the inside of clothing worn by victims, and why developing those impressions is important to investigation, and what information can be obtained from impressions. McVicker also describes his ninhydrin validation study and the process of how the chemical reagent is typically used in investigations. Finally, he talks about some areas he would like to see expanded on in future research studies, including areas of footwear and tire research.