Forensic odorology as indicial evidence in criminal proceedings

Abstract

In criminal proceedings, it is essential that the courts have all the possible evidences to be able to undermine the Fundamental Right to the Presumption of Innocence. Often, due to the scarcity of direct evidence, judges have to use signs to support the guilt of the person being investigated. In this sense, the presence of fingerprints, DNA tests, witnesses or facts observed during the eye inspection are necessary for the judges to reach legal certainty about the guilt of the subject. However, currently, no attention is being paid to the characteristics of human odor, which remains at the crime scene and allows dogs to quickly identify it. In this line, forensic odorology, through the odorological expert report, can become one more piece of evidence that, together with the plurality of indications required by Spanish jurisprudence, allow reinforcing the unidirectional and indirect nature of the evidence evidence.