Compu-Sketch is computer software that contains a library of more than 40,000 artist-rendered physical features and uses pull-down menus to simply define specific features and accessories. A built-in witness module helps stimulate memory, assuring a most accurate sketch.
Compu-Sketch is going to be featured on Court TV’s “Forensic Files,” 9 pm on April 18, 2007. Here’s a sample of what Compu-Sketch can do:
In 1994, Darryl Kuehl brutally murdered a retired Idaho schoolteacher and buried him in the crawlspace of his own Sandpoint, Idaho house. Thanks in part to Compu-Sketch, a Windows-based composite sketching program manufactured and marketed by ASI (then called Digital Descriptor Systems, Inc.), Idaho State Police were able to identify and soon apprehend their suspect.
Nearly 13 years later, Compu-Sketch will once again play a role in this case. This time it will make its appearance as the Idaho State Police retell the story of the Paul Gruber murder on Court TV’s “Forensic Files”.
Immediately after the murder, Kuehl took on the identity of his victim, took his car, boat and television set, and even sent birthday cards to family members, hoping they would think he was still alive. Family members soon became suspicious. Compu-Sketch was used by the Idaho State Police to generate an image of the suspect, who was arrested for the murder some 20 months later. He remains in prison on a life sentence.
The case has long drawn interest, so much so that producers decided to dedicate an episode of “Forensic Files” to it. Because Compu-Sketch was such an integral part of solving the case, ASI was contacted to once again use the system, which the state police no longer had available to them.