The Metropolitan Police has said it has located the original CCTV footage of a potential suspect in the murder of BBC presenter Jill Dando and is using the “latest CCTV enhancement techniques” to analyse it. The move follows a Mirror investigation that identified Serbian paramilitary soldier Milorad Ulemek, 58, as bearing a striking resemblance to a man captured on the footage, dubbed Man X.
Witness spotted 'running man'
A 23-year-old woman came forward after seeing a man in a suit and tie “running for his life” close to Jill Dando's Fulham home as the BBC star lay dying on her doorstep on April 26, 1999. Less than a month later, she sat in Kensington Police station studying dozens of people caught on camera as they shuffled through ticket barriers at a Tube station, where officers were focusing because a man, or men, seen running or sweating in a suit by witnesses was last spotted getting off a 74 bus at 11.55am.
Suddenly the witness sprang to her feet. “That's him,” she said, pointing at the screen, before asking the detective: “Have you seen this?” She was adamant that it was the running man, but it was his behaviour that had really shocked her.
Man's odd behaviour on CCTV
Wearing a dark suit, light shirt and distinctive tie with horizontal stripes, the man went to a machine in the tiled entrance hall and bought a ticket before placing it into the third barrier from the left. According to the woman's witness statement, made on May 25, 1999, this was timed on the recording at 34 seconds after midday. But instead of heading to one of the two staircases leading to the platforms, the man stopped, turned on his heel, and returned through an exit barrier two seconds later. He was white, clean shaven and appeared to be in his 30s, with a prominent nose and a distinctive M-shaped hairline.
Less than a month after Jill's murder, detectives appeared to have made a huge breakthrough with the CCTV of a potential suspect. But officers on the Operation Oxborough probe discounted the woman's evidence, did not invite other key witnesses to look at the CCTV, and did not create an “action” – police speak for a new line of enquiry – to track down the man until nearly 12 months later.
Technology has 'advanced considerably'
Forensic video analyst Emi Polito told the Mirror that Man X and Ulemek have a similar mouth, chin, hairline and right sideburn, while the general shape and sizes of their noses and right ear were the same. Transport for London told the Mirror this week that the original CCTV was “multiplexed VHS in 24 hour time lapse”.
Troy Lawrence, Executive Director of forensic video analyst certification body LEVA, explained that this system allowed film from several cameras to be recorded on a single tape, capturing only one frame per second compared to the 25 to 30 frames per second video we have today, meaning analysts have far fewer images to work with. Mr Lawrence said that technology has “advanced considerably” over the past 25 years, particularly with the move from analogue to digital video. “As a result, analysts today have access to tools and techniques that were either unavailable or considerably less sophisticated when the recording was originally examined,” he said.
Enhancement techniques and limitations
Mr Lawrence said experts will be separating the interwoven images from the different cameras to group all the pictures from the ticket hall camera together in one sequence. An important first step is to obtain the best possible digital capture of the original source. He added: “Analysts could then work from a forensic copy to examine individual frames and apply appropriate processing techniques intended to clarify information that is actually present in the recording.” This could include reducing unwanted visual interference, adjusting brightness and contrast and sharpening images so they are easier to see.
A process known as stabilisation can reduce unwanted movement so that a subject can be viewed more consistently from one recorded image to another. And a technique called frame averaging uses multiple images together to potentially make objects, people and clothing easier to see. Mr Lawrence added: “With a recording made at only one frame per second, however, there may be considerably fewer suitable consecutive images available for this type of processing, particularly if the subject is moving.”
He said: “Ultimately, the value of any enhancement is constrained by the information captured in the original recording. Modern technology may allow an examiner to visualise that information more effectively than was possible 25 years ago, but enhancement cannot reliably recover detail that was never recorded in the first place.” He added that rather than making an absolute finding on whether the man in the footage is Ulemek, the examiner will evaluate how strongly the evidence supports this proposition.
Other evidence and case history
Mr Lawrence said CCTV analysis can support a case but it is never enough on its own. “The video is only one piece of evidence in this case and much of the work will rely upon the other investigative leads, physical and biological evidence, available to the investigators,” he said. The Oxborough files show there are a number of unidentified fingerprints, palm marks and a footprint from the murder scene and surrounding area that could be compared to Ulemek's prints. And his DNA has never been tested against samples taken from Jill's body and clothing. Evidence that he was in the UK at the time of the murder could also be sought, both at home and in Serbia. It is understood that none of these lines of inquiry are currently being followed.
Having failed to find the running man or men, detectives homed in on Barry George, a local man with severe learning difficulties. George, now 65, was convicted of Jill's murder and spent eight years in prison but was cleared in 2008 after a retrial. The case was moved to “inactive” in 2015 after a forensic review. Ulemek is serving a 40-year sentence in Serbia after being convicted of helping plan the assassinations of former President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and of Prime Minister Zoran Didic in 2003. George is facing trial over historical sex charges.
