Multiple Evidence Types Hit

Multiple evidence types help secure conviction of a suspect in Fatal hit and run of a Deliveroo employee.

Thiago Osorio Ferreira Cortes, a Deliveroo employee was cycling along Northwall Quay when he was hit by a vehicle and fatally injured. The vehicle fled the scene. A Ford Focus car was found abandoned with damage to the windscreen, roof and bodywork. It was technically examined to recover trace evidence to help determine if it was the offending vehicle. Thiago Cortes’ clothing was examined for damage, paint and glass. His clothing also provided source fibres that could be looked for in any recovered vehicle.

Glass fragments matching the outer pane of the windscreen of the Ford Focus car were recovered on the clothing of Thiago Cortes as was blue effect paint matching the paint from the passenger wing of the Ford Focus.

Fibres matching Thiago’s jacket and red T-Shirt were found when fragments of the broken windscreen were examined.

The steering wheel and handbrake controls of the recovered car were swabbed and DNA profiled to help determine the likely driver of the vehicle. Several items were recovered from the interior including a packet of cigarettes with highly patterned packaging. During examination for the presence of finger marks, it became clear that conventional methods were inadequate to capture the details of the fingerprint against the patterned background. A sophisticated new digital imaging system was used and it produced sufficient detail to identify the recovered mark. The DNA profile obtained from the steering wheel and the fingerprint from the cigarette box were from the same source.

A nominated suspect was identified and tracksuit bottoms and top believed to worn at the time of the fatal hit and run were recovered and examined. Glass fragments matching the inner pane of the windscreen were found. The DNA profile and fingerprints from the car matched this nominated suspect’s.

At the trial, the suspect pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and was sentenced to two
years detention.