20 October 2009Police in Australia matched blood taken from an engorged leech found at a robbery scene to a suspect - seven years after the crime.
The leech was found shortly after officers arrived a the rural property in Tasmania, whose elderly resident had been robbed by two men, reports the Hobart Mercury.
It was the only piece of evidence found during a full forensic examination of the house, so officers decided to take a DNA profile from the blood inside it.
Det Insp Mick Johnston said: "As there was no evidence of any leech bites from the victims or the police present we thought it was a good chance to have come from one of the offenders.
"We took it from the scene because it didn't belong there."
Seven years later, the blood was found to match that of Peter Alec Cannon, who had been arrested and charged with drug offences.
Cannon, 54, pleaded guilty in court to the 2001 aggravated armed robbery.
Crown prosecutor John Ransom said: "The leech was found next to the safe and it had this man's blood in it."
Detective Inspector Johnston said he had never heard of a leech being involved in a crime scene before.
"It is the oddest way of convicting anyone I have ever been involved in. I have not been able to find any similar cases anywhere in the world - nothing like this at all," he said.
http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Blood_from_leech_nails_suspect
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