The first crime that was solved using forensic botany was in 1935. It was called the Lindbergh Case. A young boy, Charles Lindbergh, had been kidnapped. The suspected kidnapper, Bruno Hauptmann, had been caught and was at his trial. As with any trial, many people testified. One of these people was Arthur Koehler, an expert on wood anatomy. He was not a witness of the crime, but he did have evidence related to the ladder that was used in the kidnapping.
The defense thought it was ridiculous, saying that nobody could be an expert on wood. They argued that Koehler shouldn't be able to testify. The judge, however, thought otherwise. He said, “I deem [sic] this witness to be qualified as an expert”. Those words would change the future of forensics.
Koehler proceeded to explain how the ladder used in the crime was directly related to Hauptmann. He stated that the ladder was homemade, a unique design, and could be broken down into three parts so as to fit inside a car trunk. He also explained what kind of wood the ladder was made of: douglas fir, two kinds of pine, and birch. He traced the pine back to a lumber mill that was 10 blocks from Hauptmann's home. Koehler also said that the left rail of the ladder had been cut off from a larger piece of wood. upon later investigation of Hauptmann's house, it was found that a board in the attic was missing a piece. It was the same wood as the left rail.
After providing this evidence, it was obvious that Hauptmann was guilty. The world began to see how useful forensic botany could be, and it has been used to solve cases ever since.
