An example of the use of forensic palynology in assessing an alibi. 2004

Dallas C Mildenhall
Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, PO Box 30 368, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

A man was found shot in the back on Mount Holdsworth in the Tararua Ranges north of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Police investigations pinpointed one individual who had been seen in the area, knew, and had the means and motive to kill the victim. His alibi was that an eyewitness was mistaken as he never had been in the area and the jacket he was reported to have been wearing had been purchased in The Netherlands and brought to Wellington, where it never had left the city. Furthermore the distinctive board shorts that he was reported to have been wearing had been purchased in a small coastal New Zealand town after the victim had been murdered. Pollen of Nothofagus menziesii, a mountain plant, on the clothing suggested that the alibi was untrue and that the clothing had been in mountains in the vicinity of Mount Holdsworth or a similar mountain scene where Nothofagus menziesii was growing.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D011058 Pollen The fertilizing element of plants that contains the male GAMETOPHYTES. Male Gametes, Plant,Male Gametophytes,Microspores, Plant,Plant Microspores,Pollen Grains,Gamete, Plant Male,Gametes, Plant Male,Gametophyte, Male,Gametophytes, Male,Grain, Pollen,Grains, Pollen,Male Gamete, Plant,Male Gametophyte,Microspore, Plant,Plant Male Gamete,Plant Male Gametes,Plant Microspore,Pollen Grain
D003020 Clothing Fabric or other material used to cover the body. Clothes,Garments,Military Uniforms,Nurse Uniforms,School Uniforms,Uniforms,Garment,Military Uniform,Nurse Uniform,School Uniform,Uniform,Uniform, Military,Uniform, Nurse,Uniform, School,Uniforms, Military,Uniforms, Nurse,Uniforms, School
D005554 Forensic Medicine The application of medical knowledge to questions of law. Legal Medicine,Medicine, Forensic,Medicine, Legal
D006708 Homicide The killing of one person by another. Murder,Killing,Wrongful Death,Death, Wrongful,Deaths, Wrongful,Homicides,Killings,Murders,Wrongful Deaths
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D029964 Fagus A plant genus of the family FAGACEAE. Beech,Beechs

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