When Dzuro got back from the field, he and his team watched the clips side-by-side and compared Dokmanović’s alibi video with the one filmed by Dzuro. They did not match up. When comparing the footage, the prosecution discovered that Dokmanović’s video did not show him going from Point A to Point B, as was claimed, but rather it showed him going from Point A to Point A. Essentially, the investigator figured out that Dokmanović must have made a U-turn. Interestingly, trees are just like fingerprints – no two trees have the same branch patterns. Using the pattern of branches, Tabbash was able to establish that the walnut tree at the end of the investigator’s video clip did not match the tree at the end of Dokmanovic’s video. In non-legal terms this is called a “smoking gun” moment. Screen grab from the end of Dokmanović’s alibi video. Rooftop Bus The Result While all of this did not prove that Dokmanović was at the farm when the killing happened, it undermined Dokmanović’s credibility and his alibi. Once the prosecution succeeded in proving that Dokmanović lied about his alibi, the judges found it difficult, if not impossible, to trust other statements he made under oath. Dokmanović took his own life nine days before his verdict was to be handed down. While a verdict was never issued, the family members of the men who were summarily killed that day on the farm know a piece of the truth thanks to a prosecutor, a tree scientist and a crime-scene videographer who went out and filmed the road and the trees on a sunny day long-after the massacre occurred. TAKE HOME POINTS We can learn a number of lessons from this story. First, never compromise your credibility because once it’s lost, it’s very difficult (if not impossible) to get back. Second, video alone did not prove Dokmanović falsified his alibi tape. Video combined with the technical analysis provided by an expert proved the lie. Third, verifying that a video shows what one side purports it shows is vital. Fourth, while filming the crime in progress is certainly valuable, filming in the aftermath of a crime can be just as critical. 100 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: FILMING SECURE SCENES V 1.0 FILMING How did they determine this? The key was in the trees. At the very end of Dokmanović’s alibi tape all that can be seen on the recording are buses, part of a roof of a house and the top of a tree. The prosecutor then brought in Professor Paul Tabbush, an expert in dendrology, or, in other words, a tree scientist.