Car fire or murder? How Dubai Police use forensic engineering to solve crime

The death of a man in a car fire was later identified as murder, after Dubai Police discovered traces of petroleum products beneath the vehicle during forensics examination.

Investigators had initially relied on accounts of the man's wife suggesting accidental death.

But, lab examinations of the samples collected from the crime scene revealed that the fire had been deliberately started to destroy evidence of the crime.

During the Dubai Police Podcast, Lieutenant Colonel Dr Engineer Mohammad Ali Al Qasim, Head of the Forensic Engineering Section, explained how forensic engineering combines scientific analysis, advanced technology and crime scene reconstruction to solve a crime.

The investigation ultimately exposed the murder and led to the conviction of the wife and her lover.

In another case, investigators used 3D scanning, genomics, DNA analysis and digital forensic techniques to identify a decomposed body found in the desert.

Lieutenant Colonel Al Qasim said forensic engineering also helped reconstruct the victim’s face, and establish the gender, age group and possible nationality.

The reconstructed image was circulated among the criminal investigation departments, helping officers narrow their search, identify the victim and eventually locate and arrest the killer.

In a third case, Lieutenant Colonel Al Qasim highlighted how scientific evidence collected after a victim was found hanging from a shower curtain rail in a villa allowed investigators to rule out suicide. 

Forensic engineering tests revealed inconsistencies and established that the scene had been deliberately staged to conceal a murder.

Further investigation led to the identification and arrest of the perpetrator.

The full podcast will be available on Dubai Police YouTube channel and podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.