Crime and Crooks

Why are human feet washing ashore on the beaches near Vancouver? I've followed coverage of the detached feet that first appeared 11 months ago and total five with the first left foot found this week. This fifth foot presents the first opportunity to match a pair with DNA results. Authorities have not confirmed any links yet, other than all the feet wore socks and tennis shoes. Read further details of the Canadian feet investigation if you like. I'm discussing the evidence from a crime analyst's perspective.

Cases fall into three simple categories: foul play, natural causes and accidents. When bodies or their parts are discovered with unknown origins, it's standard to classify the case as criminal, like the British Columbian authorities did, until proven otherwise. Many blog entries and even a few hard news sources imply that the feet are evidence of murder or serial killings by someone with a foot fetish. I disagree.

People with fetishes keep their object of obsession precisely because of the fetish. A foot fetish murderer would not toss feet into the water and move on. Take Jerome Brudos, the shoe fetish slayer. He kept feet in his garage freezer and enjoyed trying high heels on them unbeknownst to his wife and children, until his fetish turned to breasts. He switched to amputating victims' breasts and making paperweights out of them. Talk about a cracked egg, huh?

Murder is still certainly a consideration. With five feet, we have potentially four or five victims. DNA can be extracted from bone since most soft tissue is compromised from the water and what lives in it. Authorities say the samples don't match any reported missing persons, and you can bet the database is national with cooperation from surrounding nations.

What's next after a DNA dead end? Detectives will closely examine the shoes - brand, wear and tear, size, sole, color, style and serial number. Just like any other industry, shoe manufacturers are very targeted in their product marketing and distribution. You'd be surprised how police can narrow down the source of the purchase just by these attributes. Wear patterns on the rubber soles will not be damaged by the water, giving detectives a good estimate of when the shoes were purchased allowing them to work backwards with shoe sellers, matching product to buyers, hoping the victims paid with credit or check. Police confirm two shoes were size 12 and one foot was in a men's Reebok . They no doubt determined if it was a running, walking or basketball shoe in a flash.

This is why I would be surprised if these individuals were murdered. Unless they are in a rush to dispose of bodies or want to leave calling cards, killers often strip victims of clothing and shoes or redress them in foreign clothing. Victims are often found nude for this reason, or because the crime has sexual overtones.

If someone had the time to weight bodies down to dispose of at sea, they'd also have a chance to remove as much evidence as possible, like shoes and clothing, especially a buoyant material like rubber. An accidental submersion makes more sense to me. Natural disasters as far back as the 2004 tsunami and as inconspicuous as boating accidents have been mentioned. Experts will study tide patterns and comb nautical agency logs for distressed or missing vessel reports.

Boats do sink without allowing for distress calls and people do go missing unnoticed. You'd be surprised how many individuals and families simply keep to themselves. How about missing employees or unpaid mortgages? Well, certain lifestyles can exclude these kinds of clues that something is wrong.

A few more theories are long shots, but investigators consider everything for elimination. "Go fast" boats are speed boats modified to transport narcotics across oceans. Coast Guard sharpshooters do fire from helicopters to knock out engines of boats smuggling cocaine. The Vancouver waterfront is of course not a major narcotics thoroughfare. Cultural research reveals the Islamic punishment for thievery of amputating hands and feet, but these feet reportedly do not show signs of forced removal.

I am drawn to the 2005 ferry crash in West Vancouver. Divers found no victims, but so many boats were plowed over that perhaps several lives were indeed lost. In any case, my eyeballs are pealed for developing information on this case. With the limited information I have, I believe the presumed deaths were accidental. What do you think?