Wednesday, October 21, 2009

leech brings man to justice

'It is the oddest way of convicting anyone I have ever been involved in. I have not been able to find any similar cases anywhere in the world -- nothing like this at all.' --Detective Inspector Mick Johnson

Back in September 2001, two men broke into the home of Fay Olson, 71, who lived in rural Tasmania. The men tied her up and robbed her of $550.

The investigating officers noticed that there was a leech (aka bloodsucker) beside the safe at the scene of the crime. Because it was such an odd find, the leech was taken to the lab and tested for DNA. The blood inside the leech didn't match Ms. Olson, her friends or any other investigating officer.

The unmatched DNA remained on file until last year, when it showed a match to DNA taken from Peter Alec Cannon, 54, who was arrested for drug offenses in 2008. When confronted with the blood-in-leech evidence, Cannon confessed to the robbery back in 2001.

No word on how the leech got on Mr. Cannon or how it got left at Ms. Olson's house. Mr. Cannon's accomplice has not been found.

http://snipr.com/smi4g [www_metro_co_uk]

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