March 27, 2012 - Fingerprints Solve a Case

– 1905

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nIsnit hard for you to remember that there was a time when there was nonsuch thing as DNA evidence? Well, I think it’s hard to remember thatnfingerprint evidence had to be invented, too!

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nOnnthis date in 1905, the first murder case was solved throughnfingerprinting. The police had been taking fingerprints for a fewnyears, and a court had admitted fingerprint evidence in a petty-theftncase a few years ago. In the current case, police believed that twonshopkeepers were killed in a robbery, and they dusted the cash drawernfor fingerprints. There was one print that did not match either ofnthe shopkeeper victims. Could it belong to the killer?

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nThendetectives consulted the tiny file of fingerprints that Scotland Yardnhad gathered in the past few years. None of those prints matched. Itnwas looking like fingerprint evidence wasn’t going to be helpful innthe case.

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nThenpolice did what they’d always done—what they still do—which is toninterview people near the scene of the crime, hoping somebody hadnseen something. They discovered a local milkman who had seen twonyoung men near the murder site. Based on the milkman’s description,nthe police narrowed down the search to the Stratton brothers, andnthey finally tracked them down. n

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nUnfortunately,nthe milkman couldn’t be positive the Stratton brothers were the mennhe’d seen.

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nFortunately,nthe police had another way to get an ID—they fingerprinted the twonbrothers. And, lo and behold, Alfred Stratton’s right thumb was anperfect match for the print on the victims’ cash box!

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