Emi Polito, who was commissioned by the Mirror to compare the CCTV still of “Man X” to images of Milorad Ulemek in the case of Jill Dando, has given testimony in cases ranging from burglary to murder.
He has produced more than 100 forensic imagery analysis reports for police, defence lawyers and insurance companies.
Mr Polito is a former specialist CCTV officer at Essex Police where he gave evidence in a number of high profile cases including the murder of PCSO Julia James in Dover in 2021 and the Essex lorry deaths in 2020.
He also teaches law enforcement organisations around the world and has examined the shape and form, known as morphology, of individual features using specialist software.
An unidentified person, known as "Man X" was caught on CCTV following the gunman’s likely escape route after the Crimewatch presenter had been shot dead in 1999. It bore the hallmarks of a professional hit.
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Facial comparison expert Mr Polito has now found a number of similarities between “Man X” in the CCTV and twice-convicted murderer Ulemek, who is serving 40 years in a Serbian prison.
Ideally, the examination is conducted from as many viewpoints as possible but in this case the Mirror had only one low quality image of Man X.
Man X and Milorad UlemekThat was analysed first, without sight of the comparative material. This process was then repeated with the comparative imagery.
The findings are then compared and all differences and similarities are recorded and where required illustrated.
These differences and similarities are then evaluated for their significance with consideration given to the scope, quality and angle of view of the imagery.
The fundamental aim is to search for differences between the two images so that a candidate can be positively excluded.
Face recognition expert Emi Polito analysed the two imagesWhere no significant differences are found, any features evident on the unidentified person that correspond to those on the known person are “generally seen” as supporting evidence that the two people are one and the same, Mr Polito writes.
His report found that despite the limitations in the image of Man X it was suitable for a “meaningful, albeit limited, comparison” with pictures of Ulemek.
But he said it was important to note that a lack of matching viewpoints was a “limiting factor”.
Mr Polito said that should images of closely matching angles and good quality become available, it may be possible to come to a more definitive conclusion.
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He wrote: “I could find no significant differences that would permit the elimination of [Ulemek] as a candidate for Man X.”
Mr Polito gave “limited support” to the two people being the same person, the second lowest on a subjective six scale range from “no support” through to “powerful support”.
But he said he could not discount the possibility that someone of “similar general appearance” to Ulemek could be Man X.
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