The police turned in a different direction. They realised that if this technique could prove one man's innocence, then it could also prove another man's guilt. But where to begin?
The police focused on three local villages. Every male between 13 and 30 years of age was tested. Blood samples were drawn from over 5,000 people and analysed. Months passed, and none of them matched the semen found at the crime scene. The case by this point had extensively hit the media. With the introduction of a new technique and with the extent of the testing, the case had been placed at the forefront of everybody's mind. This is where the breakthrough came from.
A young woman who managed a local bakery overheard a man bragging to his friend that he had paid someone else to go in his place and be tested in his name. The woman reported the man to police who picked him up and took him into custody.
Colin Pitchfork already possessed a record for indecent exposure, and convinced that the DNA testing would be a match, Pitchfork confessed to both crimes. Pitchfork's worries were confirmed, the test did indeed prove to be a positive match.
Since its invention, DNA Fingerprinting has gained worldwide recognition. Thousands of people have been convicted by DNA testing. It produced the ability to search out suspects across time and space, and hundreds have been proved innocent, some just short of the death chamber.
Colin Pitchfork will remain the first man ever to be convicted by DNA procedures and Richard John Buckland the first man to ever be proved innocent.
On a personal note, I recall reading a book on the murders written after the case was solved. I remember with alarming clarity how much that book scared me. I too, was just fifteen years old at the time of Linda's murder - a startling thought. Even more startling was the discovery that Pitchfork stalked areas in search of a potential victim, one of these "stalking routes" took him directly past my house. It is the closest to a killer, that I ever wish to get!
Read the book The Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh
For the budding scientists among you, check out this link for some excellent action! You can take a hands on approach to DNA Fingerprinting and even cut your own DNA strands!
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