Pictured: David Aeron Owens.
Re: Dyfed-Powys Police has become the first police force in the UK to use DNA evidence from a stolen cow in a criminal court case.
The force used DNA from a £3,000 heifer, which had been retagged by a neighbouring farmer after escaping from a field, to prove it had been stolen.
The blood samples were compared against cows on the victim’s farm to prove a familial link and secure a conviction.
David Aeron Owens, of Salem Road, St...
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Pictured: David Aeron Owens.
Re: Dyfed-Powys Police has become the first police force in the UK to use DNA evidence from a stolen cow in a criminal court case.
The force used DNA from a £3,000 heifer, which had been retagged by a neighbouring farmer after escaping from a field, to prove it had been stolen.
The blood samples were compared against cows on the victim’s farm to prove a familial link and secure a conviction.
David Aeron Owens, of Salem Road, St Clears, pleaded guilty to theft at Swansea Crown Court on Monday, February 3.
PC Gareth Jones, officer in case, said: “This has been a long and protracted enquiry, and it has taken a lot of work and patience to get to this point.
“Without the use of the heifer’s DNA we would not have been able to prove that it had been stolen by Mr Owens, and that he had tried to alter identification tags to evade prosecution.
“We are proud to be the first force in the UK to use a cow’s DNA in a criminal case, and will continue to use innovative methods to get justice for victims.”
The investigation started in December 2017, when a farmer in St Clears reported the theft of one of his 300 cows which had escaped from his field four months earlier.
Mr Owens had denied the missing animal was on his land, but the victim recognised it among the herd.
PC Jones visited the farm and was handed a cow passport, listing ear tag numbers for the cow in question and the animal Mr Owens alleged was its mother.
PC Jones applied for a warrant to seize the stolen cow, which was separated from the herd and had blood samples taken for DNA comparison.
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