This is Leicestershire --
University of Leicester scientists have used cat DNA to help convict a killer.
David Hilder (pictured) was found guilty of manslaughter after experts linked his cat's fur with feline hair found on his victim's dismembered torso.
Dr Jon Wetton, from the University of Leicester's department of genetics, created a DNA database of 152 cats as part of his investigations into the case.
This helped him prove Hilder's pet cat, Tinker, had left traces of DNA in animal hair on victim David Guy's body. The killer was given a life sentence last month.
Now, the Leicester academic hopes the feline catalogue of DNA can be used by police across the country to solve crimes.
Dr Wetton said: "This is the first time cat DNA has been used in a criminal trial in the UK. We hope to publish the database so it can be used in future crime investigations.
"This could be a real boon for forensic science, as the 10 million cats in the UK are unwittingly tagging the clothes and furnishings in more than a quarter of households."
Mr Guy's torso was discovered on a beach in Southsea, Hampshire, in July 2012, wrapped in a curtain on which eight cat hairs were found.
Scientists examined the cat's mitochondrial DNA, a type of DNA contained in small structures within cells and passed down the maternal line.
This showed a match with Tinker's DNA.
Hampshire police wanted to establish whether this cat DNA was rare in the UK and in the area of the crime.
Dr Wetton got involved to create a database of the DNA of 152 cats. He said: "Having produced a similar database for dogs during my previous employment with the forensic science service, we proposed creating a cat database from scratch."
The team was able to get samples from a company, which handles analysis of blood samples from pets for vets across the country.
This included 23 cats from Southsea and another 129 from the rest of the country.
Only three of the samples obtained matched the hairs from the crime scene, proving it was an uncommon type of DNA.
Dr Wetton said: "Within each cat hair are two types of DNA, individual-specific 'nuclear DNA' detectable in the roots of some larger hairs, and 'mitochondrial DNA' which is shared by all maternally-related individuals and can be found even in the finest hair shafts.
"Animal DNA offers a way of linking people to places and items through the transfer of their pets' hairs."
Dr Wetton was helped by University of Leicester PhD student Barbara Ottolini, who hopes to improve the techniques used to collect information and add even more types of DNA to the feline DNA register.
She said: "We would like to use cutting-edge DNA sequencing methods to identify further variation in cat mitochondrial DNA to maximise the discriminating power of the evidence".
The DNA evidence was used in the prosecution case successfully convicting Hilder of manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court.
Hilder (47) of Richmond Road, Southsea, killed his friend of 10 years Mr Guy after an argument before disposing of the body parts while riding around on his bike, which had a large basket on the front.
Leicestershire Police welcomed the new feline database.
Detective Chief Superintendent Stu Prior, head of Leicestershire Police's Delivering Justice Directorate, said: "We will always welcome any initiative that may help us solve crime, and this will be considered in appropriate circumstances." Reported by This is 1 hour ago.
University of Leicester scientists have used cat DNA to help convict a killer.
David Hilder (pictured) was found guilty of manslaughter after experts linked his cat's fur with feline hair found on his victim's dismembered torso.
Dr Jon Wetton, from the University of Leicester's department of genetics, created a DNA database of 152 cats as part of his investigations into the case.
This helped him prove Hilder's pet cat, Tinker, had left traces of DNA in animal hair on victim David Guy's body. The killer was given a life sentence last month.
Now, the Leicester academic hopes the feline catalogue of DNA can be used by police across the country to solve crimes.
Dr Wetton said: "This is the first time cat DNA has been used in a criminal trial in the UK. We hope to publish the database so it can be used in future crime investigations.
"This could be a real boon for forensic science, as the 10 million cats in the UK are unwittingly tagging the clothes and furnishings in more than a quarter of households."
Mr Guy's torso was discovered on a beach in Southsea, Hampshire, in July 2012, wrapped in a curtain on which eight cat hairs were found.
Scientists examined the cat's mitochondrial DNA, a type of DNA contained in small structures within cells and passed down the maternal line.
This showed a match with Tinker's DNA.
Hampshire police wanted to establish whether this cat DNA was rare in the UK and in the area of the crime.
Dr Wetton got involved to create a database of the DNA of 152 cats. He said: "Having produced a similar database for dogs during my previous employment with the forensic science service, we proposed creating a cat database from scratch."
The team was able to get samples from a company, which handles analysis of blood samples from pets for vets across the country.
This included 23 cats from Southsea and another 129 from the rest of the country.
Only three of the samples obtained matched the hairs from the crime scene, proving it was an uncommon type of DNA.
Dr Wetton said: "Within each cat hair are two types of DNA, individual-specific 'nuclear DNA' detectable in the roots of some larger hairs, and 'mitochondrial DNA' which is shared by all maternally-related individuals and can be found even in the finest hair shafts.
"Animal DNA offers a way of linking people to places and items through the transfer of their pets' hairs."
Dr Wetton was helped by University of Leicester PhD student Barbara Ottolini, who hopes to improve the techniques used to collect information and add even more types of DNA to the feline DNA register.
She said: "We would like to use cutting-edge DNA sequencing methods to identify further variation in cat mitochondrial DNA to maximise the discriminating power of the evidence".
The DNA evidence was used in the prosecution case successfully convicting Hilder of manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court.
Hilder (47) of Richmond Road, Southsea, killed his friend of 10 years Mr Guy after an argument before disposing of the body parts while riding around on his bike, which had a large basket on the front.
Leicestershire Police welcomed the new feline database.
Detective Chief Superintendent Stu Prior, head of Leicestershire Police's Delivering Justice Directorate, said: "We will always welcome any initiative that may help us solve crime, and this will be considered in appropriate circumstances." Reported by This is 1 hour ago.