The conviction of two men for the murder of Stephen Lawrence has cast the spotlight on the painstaking work involved in forensic science.
After months, or even years, of police work a case often ends up in a courtroom but where does the science fit in and what has to be proved?
From CSI and countless TV police procedurals, ordinary people think they are familiar with the world of forensic science.
But while most trials now have an element of forensic science - whether it is fingerprints, DNA, blood or fibre analysis, mobile phone "cellsite" data or ballistics evidence - it is not always as clear-cut as it is on TV.
Detectives must painstakingly gather it and back it up with other evidence, then prosecutors must make it clear and comprehensible to a jury.
Case of the bloody palmprint
- June 2008: Two French students tortured and murdered in their flat in south London
- April 2009: Dano Sonnex and Nigel Farmer go on trial. Confronted by his bloody palmprint at the scene, Sonnex admits burglary but denies murder.
- May 2009: Sonnex is cross examined by Crispin Aylett QC and shows flashes of his psychotic temper
- June 2009: Both are jailed for life for murder. Sonnex is locked up for minimum of 40 years
The Lesley Molseed case
- Oct 1975: Lesley Molseed, 11, murdered in Rochdale
- 1976: Stefan Kiszko convicted of murder but later cleared after 16 years in jail
- 2005: Case reopened after DNA profile found on Lesley's underwear
- Nov 2006: Ronald Castree charged with murder after his DNA matched profile
- Nov 2007: Castree jailed for life
The case of the bloody flat
- Derek Brown was charged with the murder of two women whose bodies were never found
- In court Brown claimed two "mean-looking" Chinese men had beaten Xiao Mei Guo in his flat, bloodying her nose
- He also claimed he left prostitute Bonnie Barrett in his flat with two bikers who he had met in a pub
- Confronted with forensic evidence he refused to answer any more of prosecutor Brian Altman's questions in the witness box
- In October 2008 Brown was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 30 years
Brian Altman's casebook
- 2007: Stuart Harling convicted of murdering nurse Cheryl Moss as she took a cigarette break. Harling feigned mental illness at trial.
- 2008: Mark Dixie convicted of raping and murdering Sally Anne Bowman. Dixie claimed in court he had sex after finding Sally Anne's body
- 2009: Samantha Joseph and six others convicted of "honey trap" killing of teenager Shakilus Townsend
- 2010: Two people convicted of homophobic killing of Ian Baynham in Trafalgar Square. There was compelling CCTV evidence
- 2011: Levi Bellfield convicted of murdering schoolgirl Milly Dowler. Bellfield had earlier been found guilty of two other murders
'Happy slapping' murder
- Oct 2004 - Gay barman David Morley beaten to death by a gang on London's South Bank
- Nov 2005 - Four people go on trial. An Old Bailey jury is told one of the defendants stole Morley's phone during the "happy slapping" attack and later phoned his own girlfriend on it. Chelsea O'Mahoney, 16, filmed the attack on her mobile phone
- Dec 2005 - Four people, aged 16 to 21, jailed for manslaughter.
Caught on camera
- One night in September 2009 Ian Baynham was attacked in Trafalgar Square
- Police later put out this CCTV image of two teenage girls seen nearby
- The girls were later identified as Ruby Thomas and her friend Rachel Burke
- Thomas was later convicted of manslaughter and Burke was guilty of affray
- Thomas was jailed for seven years, Burke for two
Laboratory aqui.
Making the case aqui.
