Forensic meteorologist's part in criminal case

While much of the work of forensic meteorologist deals with civil litigation, there are occasions when criminal cases are involved.

You may recall a case about ten years ago in Tompkins County pertaining to the slaying of the Harris family.

On December 22, 1989, in the Town of Newfield, Dolores and Warren Harris, along with their children were murdered. Michael Kinge, the prime suspect in the killings, was killed by police in a shootout in February as they prepared to arrest him. Later, Shirley Kinge, the suspect's mother, was accused of aiding her son in his attempt to avoid capture by the authorities. She stood trial on burglary, arson and other felony charges connected with the murder of the Harris's.

As it turned out, weather conditions played a pivotal role in this trial. My colleague, Keith Eggleston, proved instrumental as an expert witness for the prosecution.

The night the Harris family was slain was so cold that witness Claudia Sutton was surprised to see a bicycle track along the side of the road leading to the family's home.

��I thought this was odd simply because it was so cold and snowy,�� she said. Sutton, who lived near the Harris's, said that she saw the tire track and then the bicyclist, who was wearing a hooded parka at about 4:30 p.m., on December 22. The bicyclist was believed to be the murderer, Kinge.

Three important meteorological issues were addressed in the trial: daily observations with respect to snow cover and 24 hour snow fall; hourly values of temperature and wind speed; and time of sunset.

Keith testified to the fact that it was indeed extremely cold on December 22 with temperatures ranging between three and 12 degrees, that it had been snowing very lightly and that there was a steady wind of around 12 miles per hour. There were between two and four inches of snow on the ground.

The consistency of recent snowfall became a very important issue because if the snow was ��wet,�� it would have been less likely to have been blown by the wind. In this scenario, the bicycle tire tracks could have been relatively old and not necessarily of the defendant. Conversely, if the snow were dry and light, the tire tracks would have had to have been fresh.

Based on an analysis of humidity and temperature it was determined that the snow was dry. Very dry. It was estimated that it would have taken 50 inches of this snow to melt into one inch of water. On the other hand, wet snow has a ratio closer to ten to one.

Once it was established that the snow was dry, additional information was needed with respect to the wind. Sufficiently strong sustained winds or wind gusts could have led to blowing snow. Once again, if there was some wind, the 4:30 time approximation would not have led to long duration tracks. But if the winds were very strong, the question of how there could be any tracks at all would gain prominence since significant blowing snow could have quickly covered them.

Keith determined that there was some blowing and drifting taking place but that the winds weren't so strong as to preclude the formation of tire tracks over a relatively short period of time.

When cross-examined the defense queried Keith about the sources of his data. How accurate are they? Where were they obtained? How are they interpreted? Reasonable questions to be sure. But the sources were all official and the defense was unable to tarnish the impeccable analysis and testimony given by my colleague.

There was one final question pertaining to the time of sunset, since the witness claimed to see the bicyclist late in the afternoon. While the sun was still a few minutes away from setting, the effects of mainly cloudy skies and the local hilly terrain were believed to diminish the ambient lighting. But the expert testimony also showed that there was still sufficient lighting to see the tracks in the snow from a short distance.

The reasoned and articulate testimony by the meteorologist was convincing and crucial in the prosecution of this matter.

Kevin Williams is president of Weather Track Inc., and director of meteorology at WHEC-TV channel 10, WHAM and WVOR.

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