<P> James Marsh was the first to apply this new science to the art of forensics . He was called by the prosecution in a murder trial to give evidence as a chemist in 1832 . The defendant , John Bodle , was accused of poisoning his grandfather with arsenic - laced coffee . Marsh performed the standard test by mixing a suspected sample with hydrogen sulfide and hydrochloric acid . While he was able to detect arsenic as yellow arsenic trisulfide , when it was shown to the jury it had deteriorated , allowing the suspect to be acquitted due to reasonable doubt . </P>
<P> James Marsh was the first to apply this new science to the art of forensics . He was called by the prosecution in a murder trial to give evidence as a chemist in 1832 . The defendant , John Bodle , was accused of poisoning his grandfather with arsenic - laced coffee . Marsh performed the standard test by mixing a suspected sample with hydrogen sulfide and hydrochloric acid . While he was able to detect arsenic as yellow arsenic trisulfide , when it was shown to the jury it had deteriorated , allowing the suspect to be acquitted due to reasonable doubt . </P>
when was science first used to solve crimes
when was science first used to solve crimes
1832
1832