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Articles » Crime Scene And
Physical Evidence
Forensic Palynology: A New Way To Catch Crooks
Stephanie Natale
The term "forensic palynology" refers to the use of pollen and spore evidence in legal cases (Mildenhall, 1982). In its broader application, the field of forensic palynology also includes legal information derived from the analysis of a broad range of microscopic organisms--such as dinoflagellates, acritarchs, and chitinozoans--that can be found in both fresh and marine environments (Faegri et al., 1989). However, in most sampling situations forensic palynologists rarely encounter these other types of organisms because most are restricted to fossil deposits. Studies of palynomorphs trapped in materials associated with criminal or civil investigations are slowly gaining recognition as valuable forensic techniques.
Palynology is relatively new, yet important, and can be very diverse. Because of some weaknesses of using forensic pollen data, this technique is still neither widely accepted nor used in most of the countries of the world. It is difficult to establish precisely when the field of forensic palynology began. Attempts made prior to he 1950's, whether successful or not, probably did not gain much public attention and therefore were not reported. Or, it is possible that if earlier attempts were made, the results may have been purposely hidden from the media in order not to alert criminals about the use of this new technique.
One of the earliest reported cases using forensic palynology occurred in Sweden, 1959. This case revolved around a woman who was killed in May, during a trip in central Sweden. During the court hearing, a number of experts, including a palynologist, were asked to examine dirt attached to the woman's clothing. The objective of those studies was to determine whether or not the woman was killed where she was found, or if she had been killed elsewhere and then dumped at the site where her body was discovered. Preliminary studies of the pollen in the dirt samples suggested that she had been killed elsewhere because the dirt lacked pollen from plants common in the area where the body was found (i.e. Plantago, Rumex and grasses). However, a later reinterpretation of the forensic pollen samples noted that the murder could have occurred in May because that was before the grasses and herbs in the region had pollinated. The two opinions were both entered as evidence in the court proceedings, but we do not know if the murder was ever solved. The importance of this case is that it is one of the earliest records in which pollen data were considered as important forensic evidence in a court case.
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palynology - The scientific study of spores and
pollen
Erdtman, G., Handbook of Palynology. Hafner Publishing Co., New York. 1969.
Faegri, K., Iverson, J., and Krzywinski, K., Textbook of Pollen Analysis, 4th Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, New York. 1989.
Mildenhall, D.C., Forensic palynology. Geological Society of New Zealand Newsletter,
58(25), 1982.
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