Wednesday, March 8, 1961: Identikit

In London, Edwin Bush is arrested and charged with the March 3 killing of Elsie May Batten. The case would mark England's first successful prosecution of a killer using the Identikit system, in which templates of facial features are arranged to produce a drawing resembling a suspect. (Bush would be hanged for the murder in July 1961.)

* Summary of case (from Metropolitan Police website): @

* "Wanted -- faces that fit the bill" (1985 article in New Scientist magazine): @

* "Facial Composites: Forensic Utility and Psychological Research" (scientific paper): @

* "Beating the Devil's Game: A History of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation" (book by Katherine Ramsland; search for "Identikit" for more on system's origins): @

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