1. A twist of fate: the first use in England.
A fifteen year old school girl, Lynda Mann was abducted in Narbourough, England. The next day, her body was discovered raped and murdered. Three years later, another young woman met the same fate near Lynda’s resting place. Richard Buckland was arrested and confessed to the second murder only. An untested technique was applied; ‘genetic fingerprinting’ through DNA analysis. Surprisingly, there was no match in either murder, so the test was repeated. Ultimately, Buckland was proven innocent. As to why he confessed, he claimed he had been pressured by police.
5,500 men from the local area were then tested. Colin Pitchfork persuaded a friend to test in his place, but when he bragged about fooling the investigators, he was overheard and reported. His genetic profile matched the semen samples from both girls, and in 1987 he became the first murderer convicted by DNA