The case of Ohio v. Robinson. An 1870 bite mark case.
In 1870, Ansil L. Robinson was charged with the murder of his mistress, Mary Lunsford, in Mansfield, Ohio, U.S.A. Evidence against Robinson included an attempt to match his teeth to bite marks on the victim's arm. Robinson was acquitted after a 3-week trial despite the evidence linking his teeth to the wounds. This trial represents an early and perhaps the first attempt to admit bite-mark evidence in a court of law in the United States. The acquittal resulted in the obscurity that prevented this case from coming to the awareness of the forensic dental and legal communities sooner.
Pierce
L J
LJ
Northwestern University Dental School, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
Strickland
D J
DJ
Smith
E S
ES
D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000266:history*; D001734:Bites, Human / Q000266:history*; D005553:Forensic Dentistry / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006708:Homicide / Q000266:history* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D009820:Ohio