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Patricia Wiltshire

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Patricia Wiltshire


Patricia Wiltshire wwwmacaulayacukimagesgimiPatWiltshirejpg

Dr Patricia Wiltshire (born 1944 in Glamorgan, Wales) is a forensic ecologist, botanist and palynologist. She has been consulted by police forces in over 200 investigations spread through England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and abroad. She has been instrumental in helping solve a number of high-profile crimes. These include the murder of Christopher Laverack, a case that was unsolved for three decades. She was also able to help prove the guilt of Ian Huntley for the Soham murders.

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Early life

Dr Wiltshire had an unconventional childhood education: encyclopaedias formed her major source of learning from age six, on account of interruption of formal schooling by whooping cough and measles. This broad approach to knowledge provided a strong foundation for her future career. Starting as a medical laboratory technician, she moved on to study botany at King's College London. She lectured there for several years in microbial and general ecology before taking up a post at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London.

High-profile cases

  • Soham murder inquiry, 2002. Her analysis of the soil environment of the two dead bodies helped in deduction of the time that the bodies of the victims (Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both aged 10 years) had been placed at the disposal site, as well as proving that soil samples from Ian Huntley's car were the same type as the soil at the disposal site. Her evidence helped to convict the suspect, Ian Huntley.
  • Christopher Laverack murder case. In 2007, three decades after the nine-year-old's murder, Dr Wiltshire linked the unusual pollen and other plant matter on the victim's body, along with the ornamental brick used to keep him submerged after death, with that found on the property of his uncle, Melvyn Read, thus providing substantial evidence to implicate Read.

    • Sobriquets

  • The queen of forensic science.
  • The snot lady for her technique of irrigating nasal cavities of the dead to retrieve pollen, fibres and particles that can be used as evidence.

    • References

    Patricia Wiltshire Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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