Posted on Tuesday, 27th October 2009 by Interloper
DNA samples taken from a dead leech have helped to solve an eight-year-old crime here in Australia.
Eight years ago, a 71-year-old woman living in a rural Tasmania was attacked by two assailants. The men tied her to a chair and hit her repeatedly with sticks before making off with a grand total of AUD $550 (around USD $500).
No evidence was found at the crime scene except for an engorged leech on the floor. As the victim did not have any leech bites, police collected the dead annelid and took a DNA sample from the blood it contained.
Now, some eight years after the crime was committed, a match for the the DNA was finally found when police picked up a man for drug offenses and administered a routine DNA test.
And thus, the legend of the crime-solving leech was born.
Posted in News | Comments (0)
