Cat Fur Puts Criminals Behind Bars

[n2doc]

A DNA database has been established that uses cat fur as forensic evidence.

By Jennifer Viegas | Fri Mar 19, 2010 07:00 AM ET

Homeowners buy expensive alarm systems, tamper-proof locks and other items to protect their property, but a new study points to a less obvious crime-buster: cat fur shed by fastidious felines that might be living in the home.

An international team of scientists has just established an extensive DNA database that will permit cat fur to be used more often and accurately as forensic evidence.

Fur from a fluffy, white house cat has already been used in a murder trial. The accused, Douglas Beamish of Canada, had cat fur stuck to one of his pockets in a discarded jacket. The fur was genetically linked to victim Shirley Duguay's cat, Snowball. The evidence helped to convict Beamish of second-degree murder, leaving him with a 15-year prison sentence.

"The increasing popularity of the domestic cat as a household pet has unknowingly fostered the distribution of potential crime scene evidence across millions of households," according to Robert Grahn, lead author of the paper that has been accepted for publication in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics. "Cat fur obtained from a crime scene has the potential to link perpetrators, accomplices, witnesses and victims."

more

http://news.discovery.com/animals/cat-fur-forensics-crime.html

[liberaltrucker]

1. Cool!

Looks like kitteh gets the last LOL.

:)

[rurallib]

2. boy I got protection all over the house.

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. Yeah, and your car, workplace, clothes, friends homes and so on

Seems flimsy as a tool for evidence, given the pervasive nature of cat fur's spread in the area.

[Berry Cool]

5. You and me both.

No one will dare to take any of my stuff. Bella and Harley have it marked with their own form of "DNA evidence." Heh heh.

[rocktivity]

4. I remember seeing a show about this case

The cops said to took them half an hour to "secure" Snowball and take him in for "questioning." But they didn't stop with Snowball's DNA--they also sampled some from other cats in the area to prove that cat DNA can be as diverse as a human's.

:headbang:
rocktivity