Cats and furensic evidence: They leave it behind at the scene of crimes and, well, everywhere they go.
If you are owned by a cat, cat fur comes with the territory. There’s no way around it. Even so-called hairless cats have peach fuzz. But, as it turns out, that cat fur may have an unexpected benefit –solving crime through furensic evidence. A cat could help solve the case if you are the victim of a crime. Likewise, if you commit a crime, your pet or even one you just walk by idly could help expose your misdeeds.
The presence of cats and other pets could inadvertently reveal perpetrators, accomplices, witnesses and victims. In this way, any cat may join McGruff the Crime Dog to “take a bite out of crime.”
Everywhere a cat goes, they leave behind hair that sticks to people’s clothes, skin, and everything else. Although it’s often seen as an annoyance, these hairs are little tagging devices for the specific cat and human DNA too. So-called “touch DNA” people leave behind can easily transfer to a cat and be linked to a person in many cases.
Even if you don’t touch a cat in the home, their habit of rubbing against objects means your DNA could end up on their fur and be found at a crime scene. Their constant habit of grooming with saliva, which also causes allergies for some, also makes cats a source of potential furensic evidence.
Furensic Evidence Exposes Owner’s Homicide
The first time furensic evidence from a cat helped solve a criminal trial in the UK was in 2013. It was the gruesome murder of a man named David Guy. The convicted murderer, David Hilder, was Guy’s neighbor who lived with a cat named Tinker. A few of the cat’s hairs were found on a curtain wrapped around the victim, whose dismembered body was discovered on a beach. That clingy cat hair helped bring justice for Guy.
10 Million Cats Tagging Everything Around Them
After Tinker’s hairs were sent to California for testing, the mitochondrial DNA was a match for Tinker. Then, the Hampshire Constabulary proved that Tinker’s genetic signature was uncommon by creating a UK cat database. A Ph.D. student Barbara Ottolini analyzed samples provided by vets across the country.
“This could be a real boon for forensic science, as the 10 million cats in the UK are unwittingly tagging the clothes and furnishings in more than a quarter of households,” said Jon Wetton, the UK geneticist who led the cat DNA project.
While mitochondrial DNA from cat fur can be useful, more desirable nuclear DNA is sometimes present in the hair’s root. Skin cells can sometimes stick due to static electricity and natural oils on the fur.
Studies in Australia found human DNA present in 80 percent of samples taken from 20 pet cats living in 15 households. The cats’ fur was swabbed and tested. While most of the human DNA came from people in the house, six of the cats carried DNA from unknown people only. A so-called hairless sphynx was one of the cats that carried a mystery person’s DNA. How the DNA got there was unknown, requiring more research.
Following the study, there was some concern that cats could accidentally tamper with a crime scene by introducing foreign DNA.
Video about Tinker by the University of Leicester News Centre:
Snowball the Cat Helps Solve Woman’s Murder
Previously, a cat named Snowball unwittingly helped solve the murder of a mother of five, Shirley Duguay, from Prince Edward Island. Her estranged common-law husband, Douglas Beamish of Canada, discarded a jacket covered in blood in the woods. Inside the pockets, investigators discovered 20 hairs from Snowball, who belonged to the Beamish family. One hair had a root containing nuclear DNA, purrfect furensic evidence.
The later convicted murderer had stopped to pet the cat before the crime. Then, the first-of-its-kind furensic evidence led to an 18-year prison sentence for Beamish. Not to mention, justice for the mom’s family.
A Snowball’s Chance of Getting Away with Murder
On a different note, Canadian officers had a tough time chasing Snowball, who was uncooperative (see video below starting at 13:15). But don’t worry; Snowball was not harmed after taking a ride in a police car to a veterinarian for a harmless blood sample. Comparing the sample to 20 cats from Prince Edward Island showed that only Snowball’s DNA matched the jacket precisely. It was a 1 in 70,000,000 chance it could have come from another cat.
Thanks in part to the case, an extensive DNA database created by international scientists ensured cat fur could be used more frequently and accurately as evidence. Veterinarians routinely collect samples of blood, cheek swabs, and tissue during spay and neuter procedures. So the database can easily grow, leading to the potential for furensic evidence to solve ever more crimes.
The Snowball case snowballed worldwide, leading to the hair, blood, and urine from dogs and cats used to help solve crimes in the UK, the US, and Canada. So, anywhere a pet goes, they could help solve a crime without lifting a paw.
“One in three criminals have cats and maybe one in four have a dog,” says Stephen O’Brien, a geneticist from the National Cancer Institute.
Below, a fascinating video about the “Purr-fect Match” Duguay case by FilmRise True Crime:
Mbwa na ushahidi wa forensic: Wao kuacha nyuma katika eneo la uhalifu na, vizuri, kila mahali wanapoenda. Ikiwa wewe ni mmiliki wa paka, manyoya ya paka huja pamoja na eneo hilo. Hakuna njia ya kuzunguka hilo. Hata paka wanaodaiwa kuwa hawana nywele wana manyoya ya rangi ya peach. Lakini, kama inavyotokea, kwamba manyoya ya paka inaweza kuwa na faida isiyotarajiwa <unk> kutatua uhalifu kupitia ushahidi forensic. Paka anaweza kusaidia kutatua kesi ikiwa wewe ni mhasiriwa wa uhalifu. Vivyo hivyo, ikiwa umefanya uhalifu, mnyama wako wa kufugwa au hata mnyama unayepita bila kufanya kazi inaweza kusaidia kufunua makosa yako. Uwepo wa paka na wanyama wengine wa kufugwa unaweza kufunua bila kukusudia wahalifu, washirika, mashahidi na waathirika. Kwa njia hii, paka yeyote anaweza kujiunga na McGruff Mbwa wa Uhalifu "kuchukua kuumwa nje ya uhalifu". Kila mahali paka huenda, wao huacha nywele ambazo huambatana na nguo za watu, ngozi, na kila kitu kingine. Ingawa mara nyingi huonwa kuwa jambo lenye kukasirisha, nywele hizi ni vifaa vidogo vya kuweka alama kwa ajili ya DNA ya paka na ya binadamu pia. DNA inayoitwa "uguso" ambayo watu huacha nyuma inaweza kuhamishwa kwa urahisi kwa paka na kuunganishwa na mtu katika visa vingi. Hata kama huwezi kugusa paka nyumbani, tabia yao ya kutikisa vitu inamaanisha DNA yako inaweza kuishia kwenye manyoya yao na kupatikana kwenye eneo la uhalifu. Mazoea yao ya daima ya kujichunga kwa mate, ambayo pia husababisha mzio kwa baadhi, pia hufanya paka kuwa chanzo cha ushahidi wa furensic. Uhakika wa Forensic Unathibitisha Uuaji wa Mmiliki: Mara ya kwanza ushahidi wa forensic kutoka kwa paka ulisaidia kutatua kesi ya jinai nchini Uingereza ilikuwa mnamo 2013. Ilikuwa mauaji ya kutisha ya mtu aitwaye David Guy. Muuaji aliyehukumiwa, David Hilder, alikuwa jirani ya Guy ambaye aliishi na paka aitwaye Tinker. Nywele chache za paka zilipatikana kwenye pazia lililozungukwa na mhasiriwa, ambaye mwili wake uliokatwa vipande-vipande uligunduliwa kwenye ufuo. Nywele hiyo ya paka ilisaidia kumletea Guy haki. Baada ya nywele za Tinker kupelekwa California kwa ajili ya kupima, DNA ya mitochondrial ilikuwa mechi kwa Tinker. Kisha, Polisi wa Hampshire walithibitisha kwamba chapa ya maumbile ya Tinker haikuwa ya kawaida kwa kuunda hifadhidata ya paka wa Uingereza. Mwanafunzi wa Ph.D. Barbara Ottolini alichanganua sampuli zilizotolewa na daktari wa mifugo kote nchini. "Hii inaweza kuwa baraka halisi kwa sayansi ya forensic, kama paka milioni 10 nchini Uingereza ni unwittingly tagging nguo na fanicha katika zaidi ya robo ya nyumba, ""alisema Jon Wetton, Uingereza mtaalamu wa maumbile ambaye aliongoza mradi paka DNA." Ingawa DNA ya mitochondrial kutoka kwa manyoya ya paka inaweza kuwa na manufaa, DNA ya nyuklia inayotamaniwa zaidi wakati mwingine hupatikana katika mizizi ya nywele. Nyakati nyingine chembe za ngozi zaweza kushikamana kwa sababu ya umeme wa statiki na mafuta ya asili kwenye manyoya. Utafiti uliofanywa nchini Australia uligundua kuwa DNA ya binadamu iko katika asilimia 80 ya sampuli zilizochukuliwa kutoka kwa paka 20 wanaoishi katika nyumba 15. Manyoya ya paka hayo yalichukuliwa na kuchunguzwa. DNA ya binadamu ilitokana na watu waliokuwa ndani ya nyumba hiyo, lakini paka sita walikuwa na DNA ya watu wasiojulikana. Sphynx asiye na nywele alikuwa mmoja wa paka waliobeba DNA ya mtu asiyejulikana. Haijulikani DNA hiyo ilifikaje huko, na ilihitaji utafiti zaidi. Baada ya utafiti huo, kulikuwa na wasiwasi kwamba paka wangeweza kuharibu eneo la uhalifu kwa kuingiza DNA ya kigeni. "Mwanamke mmoja wa Australia, ambaye anaitwa Snowball, ameshiriki katika uchunguzi wa mauaji ya mama wa watoto watano, Shirley Duguay, kutoka kisiwa cha Prince Edward.""" Mume wake wa ndoa, Douglas Beamish wa Kanada, alitupa koti lililokuwa limejaa damu msituni. Katika mifuko hiyo, wachunguzi walipata nywele 20 za Snowball, ambaye alikuwa wa familia ya Beamish. Nywele moja ilikuwa na mizizi yenye DNA ya nyuklia, uthibitisho kamili wa kitiba. Muuaji aliyehukumiwa baadaye alikuwa amesimama ili kumkumbatia paka kabla ya uhalifu huo. Baada ya uchunguzi huo, ushahidi wa kwanza wa kitiba ulimfanya Beamish afungwe jela kwa miaka 18. Bila kutaja, haki kwa ajili ya familia ya mama. "Kama vile ilivyo kwa ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball"" na ""Snowball.""" Lakini usijali; Snowball hakujeruhiwa baada ya kupanda gari la polisi kwenda kwa daktari wa mifugo kwa ajili ya sampuli ya damu isiyo na madhara. Kwa kulinganisha sampuli hiyo na paka 20 kutoka Kisiwa cha Prince Edward, DNA ya Snowball tu ndiyo iliyopatana na ile ya koti hilo. Kuna uwezekano wa 1 katika 70,000,000 kwamba inaweza kuwa kutoka kwa paka mwingine. Kwa sababu ya kesi hiyo, hifadhidata kubwa ya DNA iliyoundwa na wanasayansi wa kimataifa ilihakikisha manyoya ya paka yanaweza kutumiwa mara nyingi na kwa usahihi kama ushahidi. Madaktari wa mifugo hukusanya sampuli za damu, vipande vya mashavu, na tishu wakati wa taratibu za kuua viini na kuondoa viini. Kwa hivyo hifadhidata inaweza kukua kwa urahisi, ikisababisha uwezekano wa ushahidi wa forensic kutatua uhalifu zaidi na zaidi. Kesi ya Snowball ilisababisha utata duniani kote, na nywele, damu na mkojo kutoka kwa mbwa na paka zilitumiwa kusaidia kutatua uhalifu nchini Uingereza, Marekani na Canada. Kwa hiyo, mahali popote ambapo mnyama-vipenzi huenda, wanaweza kusaidia kutatua uhalifu bila kuinua mguu. "Mhalifu mmoja kati ya watatu ana paka na labda mmoja kati ya wanne ana mbwa", asema Stephen O'Brien, mtaalamu wa chembe za urithi kutoka Taasisi ya Kitaifa ya Kansa. Chini, video ya kuvutia kuhusu kesi ya "Purr-fect Match" Duguay na FilmRise True Crime: