By KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press Writer RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- The killer had left his mark all over the crime scene. Grayish-tan hairs lay strewn on the ground below the old willow tree on Marylin Christian's Loudoun County farm, inches away from where her beloved cat Cody was found dead.
Cody's distraught owner vowed to seek justice. But when she suggested that animal control officers collect saliva from a neighbor's dog, Lucky, to see if it genetically matched hair found in Cody's mouth and claws, she was met with bewilderment.
"They kind of acted like, 'Well, you've been watching a little too much 'CSI,'" Christian recalled with a laugh.
Perhaps. But Christian's idea wasn't that far-fetched. Law enforcement officials increasingly are relying on traditional forensic methods to solve crimes where an animal is the victim, perpetrator or witness.
"There's some real serious cases where animal DNA played a role in helping solve the case," said Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, a DNA expert who has asked investigators to collect DNA samples from murder suspects' pets at crime scenes. "I believe that it will be used more and more."
Christian eventually paid $500 for the evidence to be tested at the Veterinary Genetics Lab at the University of California at Davis, which has the largest database of domesticated-animal DNA in the country. The result? A one in 67 million chance the hair belonged to anyone other than Lucky.
"Usually, people come to us because it's a very emotional matter," said Beth Wictum, acting director of the lab's forensics division. "They've lost a pet, and for many people, pets are a member of the family and they want to get resolution."
Wictum's lab handles between 150 and 200 cases a year from all over the world. But scientists there don't just deal with pet-on-pet attacks. They process evidence from cases involving animal attacks on humans, human attacks on animals, and even human crimes against each other in which an animal may yield important clues.
In one case, the lab used DNA testing to match dog excrement found on the bottom of a murder suspect's shoe to excrement found near the crime scene - a key piece of evidence that helped secure the man's conviction. In another case, a sexual assault victim couldn't pick her attacker out of a lineup - but she remembered her dog had urinated on the man's pickup truck. The dog's DNA matched DNA traces found on the truck's tire and the suspect pleaded guilty.
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