Man jailed for raping sleep-walking teenager – BBC News
‘A man who raped a woman when she sleep-walked into a kitchen has been jailed for five years.’
BBC News, 26th April 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: forensic science
Evidence from the grave – I – Law & Religion UK
‘The permanence of Christian burial and the application of Re Blagdon Cemetery [2002] Fam 299 has been a continuing theme on L&RUK, and has also been explored in Leading Works on Law and Religion. This is the first of three posts in which we consider exhumation for the purpose of examining the remains of monarchs, mass murderers, and for medical research. Most recently, in Re St. John’s Cemetery Elswick [2018] ECC New 4, the court granted a faculty for a temporary disinterment for the purposes of obtaining a DNA analysis from bone fragments to be taken from the remains, in relation to a criminal conviction of the petitioner’s husband.’
Law & Religion UK, 13th March 2019
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
Gun in Paul Cleeland murder trial ‘did not kill victim’ – BBC News
‘A forensic report on a murder in 1972 has proved the gun relied on at trial did not kill the victim, lawyers claim.’
BBC News, 11th March 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Mother has four-year-old son taken from her after failing drug test taken from strand of hair – The Independent
‘A mother has been forced to give up her four-year-old son after failing a hair-strand drug test and losing a controversial court battle over his care.’
The Independent, 20th January 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Sexual assault forensics centres failing some victims – BBC News
‘Young victims of sexual assault are not being forensically examined within a critical time period at some privately-run referral centres, a BBC investigation has found.’
BBC News, 8th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Most police forces fail to meet fingerprint evidence standards – The Guardian
‘Less than 10% of police forces have met basic quality standards for fingerprint evidence, the government’s forensic science regulator has warned.’
The Guardian, 7th January 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Viktorija Sokolova murder: Teenage killer convicted after fingerprint was lifted from video in ‘legal first’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Video footage of a fingerprint helped convict a teenage boy of the “inexplicably” violent murder of a 14-year-old in what is believed to be a legal first.’
Daily Telegraph, 14th December 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Man found guilty of 1986 Brighton ‘babes in the wood’ murders – The Guardian
‘A convicted paedophile has been found guilty of the “babes in the wood” murders at the end of a retrial that drew on scientific advances in forensics 32 years after two schoolgirls were killed.’
The Guardian, 10th December 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
More than 40 drug driving convictions overturned in probe over ‘data manipulation’ at forensics lab – The Independent
‘More than 40 drug driving prosecutions have so far been quashed over the manipulation of data at a forensics laboratory charged with testing samples from across the UK.’
The Independent, 6th December 2018
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Former postman wrongfully convicted of attempted rape to sue police force over forensic failings – The Independent
‘A former postman who was wrongly convicted of attempted rape is suing West Mercia police after it emerged that the force had failed to detect another man’s DNA on the victim’s clothing.’
The Independent, 28th November 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Criminals may escape conviction due to lack of resources for forensics, says Lord Chief Justice – Daily Telegraph
‘Criminals may be escaping conviction because of a lack of resources for forensic investigations, the Lord Chief Justice warned yesterday.’
Daily Telegraph, 20th November 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Man on trial a second time for 1986 murders of Brighton schoolgirls – The Guardian
‘A paedophile accused of killing two nine-year-old girls more than three decades ago has gone on trial for a second time as prosecutors seek to draw on scientific advances in forensics on top of evidence from an original trial.’
The Guardian, 16th October 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
The forensic pathologist who got PTSD: ‘Cutting up 23,000 dead bodies is not normal’ – The Guardian
‘Richard Shepherd’s career saw him work on some of the most high-profile cases of the past 30 years, such as Harold Shipman and Stephen Lawrence. But it came at a terrible personal cost, he says.’
The Guardian, 26th September 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
How familial DNA trapped a murderer for the first time – BBC News
‘The pioneering technique used to identify a British widow’s sadistic killer has led to hundreds of crimes being solved around the world. How was familial DNA searching used to catch a murderer for the first time, 15 years ago, and more recently the suspected Golden State Killer?’
BBC News, 23rd September 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Croydon cat killer: Mystery solved by police after three years amid 400 mutilations – The Independent
‘Police have revealed the identity of the so-called Croydon cat killer. Experts ruled foxes or other wildlife were likely behind the mutilations of several hundred cats that died in the south London borough and beyond, the Metropolitan Police said. There is no evidence of human involvement in the grisly incidents, the force said following an investigation lasting nearly three years, adding that it had informed the RSPCA and campaign group South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty (Snarl) of its findings.’
The Independent, 20th September 2018
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Shaken Baby Syndrome – legal developments – Six Pump Court
‘This note is intended to set out how medical opinion in relation to and the Court’s approach to “shaken baby syndrome” have developed.’
Six Pump Court, 22nd March 2018
Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk
How paedophile’s hands led to his conviction – BBC News
‘In July 2014, police in Manchester arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of filming himself raping a child. In the video, the face of the perpetrator was hidden but his hands were visible.’
BBC News, 15th August 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Smoke and mirror’ tactics of drink-drive defence teams criticised – The Guardian
‘The “smoke and mirror” tactics of defence lawyers in drink-driving cases have been criticised by the government’s forensic science regulator, who has launched an investigation into the work of a number of expert witnesses.’
The Guardian, 18th June 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Police mishandling digital evidence, forensic experts warn – The Guardian
‘Police officers are trampling over vital forensic evidence, are under-trained, and often do not know what they are looking for, MPs investigating digital disclosure problems have been told.’
The Guardian, 15th May 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Scotland Yard suspends forensic scientist amid fears 21 rape cases could be compromised – Daily Telegraph
‘More than 30 criminal investigations – including 21 rape and sex assault cases – are being urgently reviewed after Scotland Yard admitted one of its forensic scientists could have botched vital examinations.’
Daily Telegraph, 8th May 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
