Clever Theft Case Solved by Combining Shoeprints and Video Evidence

1. Basic Case Information

On August 4, 2025, a local police station received a report of a burglary in Room 1101 of a residential complex. When officers arrived at the crime scene, they found that the doors and windows were intact, but the interior was in complete disarray, and the power had been cut off. Jewelry and electronic devices valued at over 30,000 RMB were missing. Aside from a few shoeprints, no other physical evidence was found at the scene.

Earlier, on July 20, 2025, Room 502 in the same building had also been burglarized. The stolen items in that case, mainly watches and jewelry, were valued at over 70,000 RMB, and the doors and windows were also intact. Because of the striking similarities between the two incidents, investigators analyzed both cases and decided to combine them for joint investigation.

At the August 4 crime scene, it was evident that the perpetrator had a certain level of counter-investigation awareness. No fingerprints, DNA, or other trace evidence could be collected, only two shoeprints were recovered, one in the master bedroom and one in the living room.

2. Case Investigation Process

By querying the forensic shoeprint database, they identified the prints as belonging to aspecific model of white sneakers from a certain brand. After detailed analysis and comparison, it was confirmed that the shoeprints at both crime scenes wereleft by this same type of shoe. Photos of the identified sneakers were then sent to the video investigation team, so they could search surveillance footage from around the residential complex to find any suspects wearing this type of shoes.

No useful clues were found in surveillance footage from July and August, and it seemed as though no one wearing these white sneakers had ever appeared nearby. However,the video investigators did not give up, they expanded their search to footage from May and June. Finally, in June’s surveillance video, they discovered a man wearing the same white sneakers.

The footage showed a young man entering the elevator of the residential building wearing those white sneakers and later exiting at the underground parking level. The video investigation officers immediately relayed the detailed information to the case investigation team.

The investigators then contacted the property management office to inquire about the man. It turned out that he was a tenant of the community and had been living there for over a year according to rental records. Then the police entered the man’s apartment to conduct an investigation.

In the suspect’s bedroom, officers found the same pair of white sneakers. The shoes were handed over to forensic technicians for comparison with the shoeprints collected at the crime scene. After meticulous analysis, it was confirmed that the left shoeprint at the scene matched the left shoe of the suspect’s sneakers.

Confronted with the physical evidence and the forensic identification report, the suspect’s psychological defenses gradually collapsed, and he eventually confessed to committing the burglaries.

The suspect was an unemployed drifter who, whenever he ran out of money, would look for targets in nearby residential communities and commit burglaries from time to time. Through further analysis and comparison of the shoes found in the suspect’s home, investigators linked him to five additional burglary cases. Thus, a whole series of theft cases was successfully solved.

3. Case Summary

Compared with traditional investigations, the resolution of this case was more efficient and required less manpower. By identifying the shoe model from shoeprints left at the crime scene and combining this with video surveillance analysis, scattered clues were transformed into a complete chain of evidence. This new investigative method of “shoeprints + video” seamlessly integrates traditional forensic examination with modern technology in a cost-effective and highly efficientway. It is especially crucial in cases where physical evidence is scarce, and in this instance, it ultimately became the key means for solving the case.

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