Circumstantial evidence

[pbray]

When police in Finland found a mosquito inside a stolen car, they decided to analyze the blood found in the mosquito and used the DNA results to identify the suspect. The suspect, who has a record, is claiming that he simply hitched a ride in the vehicle.

The prosecutor must now decided if this evidence is strong enough to press charges.

Fingerprints on the steering wheel are one thing, but I think they're going to have a hard time making a case if all they have to go on is the mosquito. Though it does add something else to your forensics checklist when preparing to commit a crime.

Wearing gloves and a disguise is so passe. These days your preparations should include removing all body hair (or wearing a tyvek suit), bringing along bleach for destroying any trace DNA, making sure your cell phone is powered off and left home so it can't be used to track your movements, being aware of all traffic cameras and other monitoring devices as you travel to/from crime scene, and, oh yes slathering yourself in DEET to avoid incriminating mosquito evidence.

Comments

[reddiana.livejournal.com]

Easy defense would be that there's no way to prove that the mosquito sucked up his blood while he was in that car. Could have easily been while he was walking by earlier.

I just want to know the reaction of the DNA techs when they received the mosquito as evidence.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking someone over there watched too many episodes of CSI :-)

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

Aha! I just said that at the same time you did! Give me my brain back, darn it! ;^)

[reddiana.livejournal.com]

*g* I think you're right. I used to work in law enforcement and CSI (the real kind, not the show!) and some of the worst "offenders" were our own detectives!

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I saw the "DNA from a mosquito" trick on CSI Las Vegas.

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

That wouldn't surprise me -- you know that Grissom guy, he's really into bugs...

[icedrake.livejournal.com]

The guy's already admitted he was *in* the vehicle. But he claims he was there as a hitchhiker, and I can't wait to see how they manage to go from establishing presence at crime scene to complicity in crime.

(BBC story (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7795725.stm))

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of a case in the UK where police investigating the murder of a young woman seized upon DNA evidence proving that a suspect had been in her apartment. Then, of course, the case immediately started to fall apart when it was revealed that he'd been hired to work on the premises and had legitimately been in her apartment.

Another case where simply being present wasn't enough to prove involvement in a crime.

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

Those wacky Finns ... ;^)

If the Finnish authorities are prepared to pay for DNA analysis to catch car thieves, I'm guessing they've not got a lot of open homicide investigations. Which is great, of course ... but somebody over there obviously has way too much free time to watch CSI on satellite.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I believe Finland is known for long dark winters, so perhaps they were merely really, really bored.

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

Yes, they are known for those. (Also vodka, and ZOMG COLD!!!!, and high suicide rates. All of which I'm pretty sure are connected.) So boredom could certainly have been a factor ...

[ruthannereid.livejournal.com]

That is both really cool and really spooky.

[scbutler.livejournal.com]

I'd let him go. Very cool story.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

Mosquito?!

Um.... even if the mosquito also had the *victim's* blood inside it, all that would prove was that it had bitten both of them. That wouldn't even require placing him at the scene. 'Cause the thing about mosquitoes, see, is they can fly.

[icedrake.livejournal.com]

The problem isn't so much eliminating or containing DNA traces as making the containment easy to function (read: commit crimes) in and not obvious, so you're not picked up at a traffic light for driving while wearing a white "bunny suit."

I see a business opportunity in these troubled economic times.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

True, much thought is required.

Or very little thought, and committing your crime in an area where the local constabulary has little experience in violent crimes, in which case the odds that they'll muck up the scene and the evidence are fairly high.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

For instance, one strand of hair from an investigator, a lost eyelash, what-have-you, and...