eyewitnesses
People who saw
Eyewitnesses are people who personally see an event happen, especially a crime or accident.
Their testimony carries special weight in legal proceedings because they observed directly rather than hearing secondhand: Police are asking eyewitnesses to come forward.
The plural appears often because investigators seek multiple observers to corroborate accounts.
Sworn statement as evidence
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- cross-examinationOpposing party questions witness
- sworn statementLegally binding written testimony
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
corroboration · subpoena · affidavit · identification · lineup · prosecution · defense · credibility
Mind's retention capacity
- recallMemory retrieval act
- accuracyDegree of correctness
- perceptionMental interpretation of stimuli
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
suggestibility · false memory · distortion · stress · trauma · confidence · uncertainty · misidentification
One who observes nearby
- onlookerPerson who observes
- observerOne who perceives events
- suspect identificationDetermining who committed crime
- police sketchForensic facial reconstruction drawing
composite · description · perpetrator · incident · scene · mugshot · recognition · recall
Ordered historical record
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
- primary sourceUnmediated evidence from events
- memoirWritten personal recollection
- diaryPersonal daily record
account · testimony · archive · record · survivor · Holocaust · atrocity · war crimes
Point of origin
- accountRecord of dealings
- reporterOne who gathers news
- interviewFormal questioning session
- breaking newsNewly unfolding events reported
correspondent · footage · documentation · quote · attribution · citizen journalist · verification · story
testimony
Sworn statement as evidence
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- cross-examinationOpposing party questions witness
- sworn statementLegally binding written testimony
courtroom · corroboration · subpoena · affidavit · identification · lineup · prosecution · defense · credibility · perjury
memory
Mind's retention capacity
- recallMemory retrieval act
- accuracyDegree of correctness
- perceptionMental interpretation of stimuli
bias · suggestibility · false memory · distortion · stress · trauma · confidence · uncertainty · misidentification · reconstruction
bystander
One who observes nearby
- onlookerPerson who observes
- observerOne who perceives events
- suspect identificationDetermining who committed crime
police sketch · composite · description · perpetrator · incident · scene · mugshot · recognition · recall · statement
chronicle
Ordered historical record
- documentationWritten proof or instructions
- primary sourceUnmediated evidence from events
- memoirWritten personal recollection
diary · account · testimony · archive · record · survivor · Holocaust · atrocity · war crimes · tribunal
source
Point of origin
breaking news · correspondent · footage · documentation · quote · attribution · citizen journalist · verification · story · coverage
- watcherswatcher, birdwatchers, watchman, lookout, sports fans
- sourcesbook, encyclopedia, source, journals, magazine
- Assassinationsassassination, assassin, Kennedy assassination, Lincoln assassination, MLK assassination
eyewitnessesparticipants
Those actively involved
perpetrators · actors · principals · instigators · accomplices
eyewitnessesfabricators
Creators of falsehoods
false witnesses · absentees · liars · speculators · perjurers
- eyewitness accountTestimony from direct observer
- eyewitness reportStatement from someone present
- eyewitness testimonyEvidence from direct observers
- eyewitness testimoniesStatements from direct observers