Zombie CSU (20 page)

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Forensic Art

Forensic art is widely used in the identification, apprehension, or conviction of suspects. This science includes a variety of disciplines including composite art, image modification, age progression, postmortem reconstruction, and demonstrative evidence. Of these, composite art is the most commonly used form of forensic art.

The forensic artists use witness statements and other information (including fuzzy video images) to create a reasonable likeness of a suspect. Having a likeness greatly increases the likelihood of identifying and then apprehending a suspect because the old saying really is true: One picture is worth a thousand words.

Artistic ability is only part of what it takes to be an effective forensic artist; of equal importance is the skill of interviewing a witness to bring out even the smallest details. Witnesses are seldom experienced with being able to usefully recall details, but with the right interview technique an almost miraculous process occurs where the image from the witness’s spotty memory becomes a reality on the sketchpad.

Expert Witness

Becoming a qualified forensic artist takes more than art school, according to best-selling thriller novelist and artist Jonathan Santlofer
¹⁵
: “The trend seems to be that the best forensic artists take the Quantico intensive forensic art program where they learn everything from anatomy to profiling. I’d say that the best are also psychologically trained or have an understanding of how to make a witness trust them and feel comfortable. My forensic artist protagonist, Nate Rodriguez, also has a sort of sixth sense when it come to sketching a face; he really gets inside the witness’s head and sees what they see!”

I asked Santlofer how and when forensic artists are invited into a police case. “When a witness or victim has seen a perpetrator and a sketch needs to be made,” he says. “Many forensic artists see more cases than any homicide cop will ever see in a lifetime sometimes producing as many as five sketches a day.”

When asked how much computer work is involved in forensic art, Santlofer remarked, “There are many (commercial forensic art) computer programs but the major complaint against them is that they are expensive and difficult to master. And of course there are only a set number of features available as opposed to the total spectrum that a forensic artist can create with pencil or charcoal. I’m for the old fashioned method because it creates a bond between the artist and the witness. It’s really hard to warm up to a computer program.”

The Zombie Factor

So, how would forensic art help police catch a zombie, or identify one so that police could backtrack to the possible source of the infection?

“If the zombie had been seen but not caught,” advised Louis Michael Sanders, a forensic artist from San Diego, “then a forensic artist would likely be called in to sit with the witness and interview them in order to create a likeness of the suspect. If the police are unable to find the suspect by canvassing the area immediately following an attack the availability of a police sketch will greatly increase the chance of locating that suspect. It can be sent via Internet, fax, TV broadcast, and photocopy handout. The police can blanket the area with these pictures and then everyone—official police and civilians alike—become spotters. Especially when you have a zombie staggering around someone is sure as hell going to see him. That’s when the cavalry come a-running.”

Forensics expert and author Andrea Campbell adds, “Advanced decomposition and re-creation depends on a couple factors. If there is enough of a skull, we can glue the jaw back on, take our skin tissue depth charts, cut vinyl pegs to match 26 key points on the skull and work up several pounds of clay to meet those levels, creating a 3-dimensional bust. Then the eyes are set (we set acrylic eyeballs, very life-like and expensive), lids placed carefully; features such as the nose, lips and ears are fashioned (ears are especially difficult) and, add some messy Zombie hair (I do prefer clay hair versus a wig) and we have it. That’s called Forensic Reconstruction Sculpture.”

She explains, “If the zombie’s face is eaten away, we can rely on video, computer-aided, or photographic superimposition. This includes techniques for positioning, matching relative size, adjusting for distortion, features used for comparison, and defining the limits for a possible match. In other words, proportion is the key. What happens here is that a photograph of the victim antemortem (‘after death’) is positioned over a skull that is rotated to the approximate identical position in the photograph. This overlay goes through a series of steps to blend the photo and the skull into one matching image.”

Santlofer says, “If there was no one who had ever seen the zombie then the best way would be to unearth the zombie’s skull, let bugs gnaw off the flesh then put it in an acid bath. After that a forensic artist would get to work reconstructing the zombie’s face out of clay on top of the skull. It’s a slow process of figuring out tissue depth and careful measurement of bone. My guess is that a zombie’s head would be a lot less fleshy than a living breathing healthy human being so that would have to be taken into account.”

Forensic artist Louis Michael Sanders says, “Outbreaks involving violence of this kind—savage attacks, biting, infection—these would get a lot of attention very quickly. Very, very quickly, and there would be a lot of resources applied to the situation. Long before the authorities either realized or released information that the dead were rising they would know that the disease caused disintegration of the skin and disfigurement
similar
to that of postmortem decomposition. Now, your scenario of an attack near a suburban medical research facility would at least
suggest
a connection between the location of the attack and the nature of the business itself. On-the-job contamination would immediately be suspected. Many companies these days have employee records on their computers that include photo IDs. One of the first things that would be done would be to get someone of authority to check employee records for someone who fits the description of the attacker. If we’re talking a white male of such-and-such a height and weight, that will eliminate a lot of the employees—all of the women, the shorter and thinner employees, the ethnic employees. If the remaining photo images were given to detectives they, with or without the assistance of a forensic artist, could make a connection.”

What if the zombie in question already had significant facial decomposition?

“That’s not that much of a problem,” Sanders says, “because there are certain things that won’t change. It’s the same when considering a suspect wearing a disguise, or even one that has had
some
facial reconstruction. Generally the ears will be the same, and if not exactly the same due to damage or surgery, then their exact position on the head relative to cheekbones, eyes, and other referential points. It’s a matter of math and geometry to come up with certain markers that we can rely on. Plus, a forensic artist can take a photo or description of a zombie and fairly easily de-zombify them to get an approximation of that person’s pre-infection face. If we can reconstruct the faces of three thousand year old mummies a zombie is a snap.”

Campbell agrees. “We can also take the original photo of an employee who fits the basic description and
zombify
him. This technique for aging is often referred to as ‘fugitive updates,’ when the police have a mug shot that is 5 or 10 years old and the case is renewed, the artist needs to ‘age’ the photo in a drawing. Knowledge of cranial facial growth is necessary.”

Sanders sums it all up by saying, “Considering that finding the ‘patient zero’ is key to saving the planet, this is one of those times where forensic artists could well be the heroes of the piece.”

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Forensic Toxicology

Toxicology is the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms; and forensic toxicology takes that a step farther to see how it applies to crime. The forensic toxicologist uses analytical chemistry to locate and identify foreign and presumably hazardous chemicals and substances in the body. These substances, or toxins, can be anything that poses a threat to health or life. Toxins include poisons, cleaning products, spoiled food, insect bites, pesticides, medicines, industrial chemicals, and many others; and these may have been inhaled, ingested, introduced via a wound, or absorbed through the skin.

Many of the zombie stories raise the possibility of contamination by toxic waste to be the cause of zombie reanimation. Discovering the identity of a toxin of this type is complicated. Not only will the zombie be uncooperative (just try to get one to pee into a cup), but many substances change once they are in the human body. If the zombie was created by a person becoming contaminated by one or more chemicals, then by the time that human had undergone the process of mutation or change the original substance may no longer be detectable; or may no longer be detectable as the culprit.

As you’ll see, there is some scientific evidence to support the
possibility
of a toxic zombie; but the problem is that this toxic effect would not be transmissible through a bite.

Expert Witness

According to Dr. Charles Amuzzie, a consultant associated with the African Society for Toxicological Sciences, “Do not confuse toxic effects with side effects. They are not the same thing. A side effect is not life threatening. Itchy skin, dry mouth, blurred vision—these are side effects. When you are talking about life-threatening symptoms you are talking about toxic effects, and these are most often produced by a dangerous metabolite of the substance being activated by an enzyme. Or perhaps by biotransformation, which is when enzymes cause a chemical alteration of a substance within the body. There are three kinds of toxic reactions:
Genotoxic
, which create benign or malignant tumors (called neoplasms);
Pathological
, which cause injury to the liver; and
Pharmacological
, which adversely affect the central nervous system (CNS).”

He points out that, “Toxic effects are destructive to the CNS, and for your zombie scenario you are probably looking for something that super-activates the CNS. A toxin can certainly kill, but it will not resurrect the dead.”