NC WANTED received a tip pointing out the similarities between these sketches. Raleigh police are now looking into whether the Boca Raton murders are related to Jenna Nielsen's unsolved homicide.
At first glance, these sketches may look like the same man. The descriptions are similar: a young white or Hispanic male with a medium build and a ponytail; but there is a large difference in descriptions given for the man's height.
One is wanted for questioning in the slaying of a pregnant Raleigh woman behind Food Mart last summer. The other is a suspect in three homicides at a mall in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Boca Raton suspect also appears to be developing a bizarre signature in his killing method by abducting women at the mall, binding them and putting goggles over their eyes before shooting them. The Jenna Nielsen suspect, however, killed his eight months pregnant victim by delivering one fatal stab wound.
But witness descriptions are not always accurate. Also, serial killers can adapt their killing methods over time, gaining confidence as they elude authorities.
This brings attention to the importance of sketches in ongoing investigations. NC WANTED decided to research the art and science of forensic art.
A high-profile example is the person of interest sketch in the Jenna Neilsen case. It has been featured nationally on FOX network’s America’s Most Wanted, and locally on billboards throughout our area.
Law enforcement agencies in North Carolina frequently use digital imaging software to come up with a composite image of a suspect, mixing and matching the software’s database of physical features. But sometimes the software falls short.
That’s where sketch artists like John Sorie come in. Sorie, an officer with the Fayetteville Police department, drew the Jenna Neilsen person of interest sketch last year. He studied forensic facial imaging at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia and is one of the only sketch artists in the state.
“[The police] had somebody who had seen that person of interest and they went as far as they could with their computerized composite thing,” Sorie said about the Jenna Nielsen sketch. “The witness said it just wasn’t getting it, but there was nothing else they could do because what they had was what they had.”
So Raleigh police called Sorie. He said agencies don’t use sketches “nearly enough” and he believes the police needed a sketch artist to capture the subtleties of the person of interest’s appearance that aren’t possible with computer software.
If a computer program only has two dozen sets of eyes, two dozen noses and two dozen mouths to choose from, he explained, someone with drawing skills needs to fill in the gaps.
But composites do present challenges for law enforcement agencies. They are based on witness descriptions, and often witnesses will only remember certain stand-out details rather than a whole face.
“Most people remember a few things about this person they’re trying to describe. Usually eyes or a big nose stand out,” Sorie said. The sketch artist then has to fill in the blanks.
“It varies a lot from person to person. Some people are just better at it than others or the look they got at somebody was good enough,” said Jim Sughrue, spokesman for Raleigh police. “Some people will say, you know, ‘I’ll never forget that face.’”
The victim or witness then ranks the sketch on a scale of 1 to 10 on how close of a likeness the sketch shares with the suspect they’ve described. If the sketch doesn’t get an 8 or 9 ranking from the victim or witness, police will typically not release the sketch.
“The composite is only as good as the accuracy of the eyewitness and the ability of the interviewer to pull that information out of the witness,” said Melanie Thomas, former assistant director of the State Bureau of Investigation who currently serves as an expert consultant for NC WANTED.
The SBI no longer uses computer software to make a composite and hires a sketch artist from another agency if a composite is needed.
Even when the witness approves the sketch, police do sometimes worry the image could be misleading.
“Like any piece of information, it can always have the negative possibility that somebody who has seen something else in the area that might be important won’t call saying “Well, the person I saw didn’t look like that” or didn’t look like that to them,” Sughrue said.
He pointed out that sketches are only used occasionally, in cases where there are no suspects identified and perhaps a lack of other evidence.
Sorie agreed. He said the sketch should only be used as a tool to generate leads.
“It’s merely supposed to be a representation. The person of interest or suspect looks like this drawing and that’s all you have to go on,” said Sorie.
If you have information on unsolved homicides in North Carolina, call NC WANTED toll free at 1.866.43.WANTED (1.866.439.2683) or click on "Report a Tip" Your identity can be kept confidential.
