Ajax forensic artist Diana Trepkov says artificial intelligence cannot replace the interviews, artistic judgment and compassion involved in producing images for cold cases.
Trepkov has completed hand-drawn work connected with 255 law-enforcement cold cases, including composite sketches, age progressions and facial reconstructions.
Local work includes Bowmanville case
Her Durham projects include age-progression images of Noreen Anne Greenley, who disappeared from Bowmanville in 1963 at age 13. Trepkov says such work depends on family traits, ageing patterns, evidence and careful witness conversations.
Cold-case sketches depend on memory
For the Reet Jurvetson case, Trepkov met two witnesses and used structured facial references while drawing a person-of-interest sketch for a CBC documentary. She has also created facial reconstructions associated with the lost Franklin Expedition.
Trepkov argues a computer-generated face can look convincing without being forensically dependable. Artists must understand the limits of memory, ask neutral questions and avoid unsupported detail. She is also an author and recently released Finding Herself Again.
