NCJ Number
205141
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 49 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2004 Pages: 312-316
Date Published
March 2004
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article presents a case study in which forensic palynology was used to assess the alibi of a murder suspect in New Zealand.
Abstract
Forensic palynology is the study of fossil and modern spores and pollen applied to legal problems. The case presented in the article involves a murder suspect who claimed the eyewitness who placed him at the murder scene was mistaken and the clothes he was purportedly wearing at the time of the murder had never been in the geographic region where the murder occurred. In order to win a conviction, the police had to prove the suspect was at the murder scene on the morning of the killing. Investigators at the murder scene noted the vegetation around the body and in the vicinity. Police collected clothing and other items from the suspects’ home that looked similar to reports of what the murder suspect was wearing at the time of the murder. Spores and pollen samples were taken from the clothing and other items of the murder suspect and analyzed by forensic palynologists. The analysis involved the examination of the presence or absence of a specific pollen type. The pollen evidence suggested that the suspect had been at the murder scene; the type of pollen found on the clothing of the suspect matched the type of pollen found at the murder scene. Based on this evidence, the defense was forced to change their story and admit that the murder suspect was in the vicinity of the murder scene on the date in question. Thus, the potential importance of forensic palynology applications in criminal justice work is underscored. The author asserts that forensic palynologists should be allowed to visit crime scenes to survey the vegetation found at crime scenes and to collect samples relevant to criminal cases. Figure, table, references