Police sketching to most people is just another routine criminal investigation job but to Lois Gibson it’s not. She is a highly skilled artist who holds the Guinness World Record for the most successful sketch artist. Owing to her talent more, than 1,000 crimes have been solved during her 30-year career. These images show just how accurate she can be in her depictions of the characters caught using her detailed sketches.
This sketch of Dana Wilson, accused of kidnapping a newborn baby in 1995, is a close match Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
This likeness of Charles Raiford was so good that he turned himself in after it was released in 1990 Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
It’s as if she had earlier contact with the criminals before penning down the images. The perfect images though, are of people Ms. Gibson has never seen and are just description from terrified victims.
Sketch: Lois Gibson drew this image of rapist Donald Eugene Dutton after he escaped from prison in 1991 Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
This sketch helped convict Brenda Lee Blake of robbery in 1993 Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
The talented draftsman spoke with the Huffington post She attributes her lifelike images of criminals to a good ear for detail and great interpretations as victims describe them. While most victims are too traumatized to remember a hundred percent of the criminal’s looks, Ms. Gibson helps them remember the last thing they would ever want to remember.
17-year-old Robert Hidalgo carjacked a woman who gave his description to Ms Gibson Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
In 2002, Jeffrey Lynn Williams was executed for killing a woman and raping her nine-year-old daughter, who gave his description to Ms Gibson for help with this sketch Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Ms. Gibson was viciously assaulted at age 21 to the point of near death and this is the reason she chose a sketching career. She started off as a street artist and playboy model part-time. She later moved to Huston and knowing what it’s like to want justice done, volunteered her services to the police. Her first two sketches working with the police did not bring the criminals to justice but the third did and Ms. Gibson is still at it.
Ms Gibson’s picture of Michael Hamberger in 1988 put him in prison, where he remains today Image source:www.dailymail.co.uk
A chance encounter with Naim Rodriguez gave a witness enough information to help Ms Gibson craft this lifelike drawing of him Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Huston police chief, Charles McClelland Jr told the Huffington post that she was one of the best in the sketching business and praised her incredible talent. He said that even though crime victims can barely remember most of the details when questioned by detectives, Ms. Gibson comes up with an accurate description after talking to the victims for approximately three to five hours.
Ms Gibson, 62, has been working for Houston police for 30 years and is a leader in her field Image source: www.dailymail.co.uk
She is now one of the two dozen full time forensic professional artists in the US and currently draws about two sketches per week for the Huston police. She is a well-known top expert in the world and at Northwestern University in America, where she is a college professor. She has gotten invites from places like Romania to train forensic artists. [source: www.dailymail.co.uk]
