Wonder or fake - investigations in the case of the stigmatisation of Therese Neumann von Konnersreuth.
We investigated two compresses used by Therese Neumann (T.N.), a woman who lived from 1898 until 1962 in Konnersreuth, Germany. The compresses were soaked with blood during the appearance of stigmata on T.N.'s body on a Friday. T.N. became very popular among the faithful in Germany at this time. The question was whether this blood was from T.N. herself or from a family relative or an animal. The comparison of the HV1 and HV2 mtDNA sequence obtained from the compresses with the sequences from a reference sample from a maternally related niece of T.N. revealed an identity. Furthermore, we obtained a short tandem repeat (STR) profile from the bloodstains that were identical with the STR profile from a gummed envelope. The envelope contained a letter written by T.N. in the 1930s. Therefore, our investigations gave no indication for any manipulation.
Rolf
Burkhard
B
Institute of Legal Medicine, Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität, Frauenlobstr. 7 a, 80337 Munich, Germany. Burkhard.Rolf@med.uni-muenchen.de
Bayer
Birgit
B
Anslinger
Katja
K
D001458:Bandages; D001801:Blood Stains; D002835:Christianity; D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions / Q000235:genetics; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000097:blood*; D029221:Faith Healing / Q000266:history; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences
D022801:Complementarity Determining Regions; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial