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EVIDENT Case File - The South African Case

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The Fight for the Freedom of Fred van der Vyver
On March 16th, 2005, Inge Lotz, a student at Stellenbosch University in South Africa was brutally murdered in her apartment. The cause of death was blunt force trauma. She also sustained multiple stab wounds.
The search of the crime scene on March 17th, 2005 revealed an impression left in blood on the bathroom floor. The impression was photographed during the initial crime scene processing. No attempts were made to enhance the impression at that time. That original image is seen at right.
Fred van der Vyver, the boyfriend of Inge Lotz was questioned concerning the murder. He presented an alibi placing him at work in Cape Town at the time of the murder. This abili was ultimately verified with surveillance video and electronic documentation. On April 15th, 2005 a search was conducted at van der Vyver's apartment. This search yielded among other things a pair of Hi-Tech athletic shoes. They were examined for the presence of blood, of which none was found.
On April 28th, 2005 the blood impression was again photographed prior to processing with Amido Black blood enhancer. The March 16th image is seen here with the April 28th image. There have been obvious alterations to the impression, including the addition of an "appendage" seen extending from the lower right.
A South African Police Services (SAPS) examiner testified that the questioned impression was made by the heel of the right Hi-Tech shoe belonging to Fred van der Vyver. In his testimony he alleged that the "appendage" and other design elements were in direct correlation with the design elements of the shoe.
The examiner also testified that grains of sand imbedded in the heel of the right shoe produced unique characteristics in the blood impression. However, he could not explain why the shoe lacked any trace of blood. This testimony was closely scrutinized by the court.
Fingerprint expert Pat Wertheim was actively working with the van der Vyver defense team concerning fabricated fingerprint evidence when he contacted Michael Grimm Sr. on May 24th of 2006. Mike Sr. was asked to examine the blood impression and provide his opinion as to the examination results of the South African examiner. The evaluation provided by Michael Grimm Sr. determined that the conclusions of the South African examiner were erroneous and the results were based on a fabrication of the blood impression. Mike Sr. also examined autopsy images of the vicitim and determined that patterned injuries present on the vicitms head were not the result of contact with the alleged murder weapon, a novelty hammer. These examination results were provided to the South African court.
On November 29th, 2007 Fred van der Vyver was found "innocent" by the South African court. Further, the court determined that the South African Police Services (SAPS), as well as the prosecution, had acted without credibility regarding the evidence in the case.	Michael Grimm Sr. and Fred van der Vyver in Cape Town, South Africa

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