Tair Rada's murder: analysis of crime-scene photos

The tragic and brutal murder of 13-year-old Tair Rada (תאיר ראדה) in the bathroom of her Katzrin school in December 2006 shocked Israel. An immigrant construction worker, Roman Zdorov (רומן זדורוב), was detained two weeks after the murder, sentenced to life imprisonment, and exonerated only in March 2023 after a retrial ordered by the supreme court. An inspection of crime-scene photos in the public domain indicates that the scene was incorrectly interpreted by the police and that much can still be uncovered in this case, despite the long time that passed since the murder.

The only forensic evidence allegedly tying Zdorov to the crime scene is a police-expert interpretation of the following imprint, found on the victim's jeans, attributing it in part to Zdorov's shoe. However, other forensic experts have cast doubt on this interpretation, suggesting that the imprint may not have been made by a shoe at all. Perhaps you can think of some other object, more likely to leave such a signature:


An analysis of the publicly available crime-scene photos by a non-forensic scientist is shown below. It is best viewed in the following presentation, which you can scroll-through (e.g. using the arrows in its bottom bar, preferably in full-screen mode) or download to your computer:

If you prefer, here is a rushed 4:30 minute video, but it is of lower (choose 720p) quality and you may need to pause and rewind to catch the details: 

Conclusions: 

  • Two hand imprints on the tops of the side-partition walls suggest a short murderer. 
    • Our tests indicate a 155-160 cm height. 
  • Analyzing three imprints identified by the prosecution as shoeprints:
    • Only two of the signatures are consistent with a shoe: 
      • On the toilet cover: multiple impressions of a left shoe. 
      • On the Toilet tank: a right shoe, rotating clockwise.
    • The imprints are consistent with the same shoe, of 24-25 cm sole length, indicating a single, short killer. 
    • Tentative shoe identification: Adidas Response Cushion (verification needed).
  • A single object imprinted both the jeans and the top of the left (escape path) partition wall. 
    • The object was most likely a bloody 'Jansport' backpack, not a shoe.
    • In particular, unique zipper-strap imprints significantly raise the likelihood of a backpack.  
    • Crude reconstructions are more consistent and natural with a backpack than with a shoe.
  • Material experiments are needed to verify these conclusions and provide precise identifications of the killer's height, shoe size, shoe model, and backpack model.
    

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