CANBERRA–A leech found at a crime scene eight years ago led Australian police to a man who admitted robbing an elderly woman in 2001, officials said Tuesday.

Forensic science researcher Sally Kelty said the case is the first in Australia, possibly the first ever, in which investigators have used DNA extracted from a bloodsucker, like a leech or a mosquito, to solve a crime.

The leech fell off Peter Cannon as he and an accomplice tied a 71-year-old woman to a chair in her remote home in the Tasmanian woods on Sept. 28, 2001, and stole several hundred dollars in cash.

Detectives found the leech at the crime scene and extracted blood from it that they believed was from one of the two suspects.

They identified Cannon as that culprit when he was arrested last year on unrelated drug charges and authorities recorded his DNA.

Cannon, now 54, pleaded guilty in the Tasmanian Supreme Court on Monday to aggravated armed robbery. He will be sentenced on Friday and faces a possible maximum of 21 years in prison.

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