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The celebrity cases where a
Palenik microscopical analysis has influenced the verdict come right off the
front page. His finding that black
particles removed from the body of Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. were bullet lead
helped disprove the “second gunman” theory in the federal re-investigation of
that assassination. His study of the
paper stock used in the service pass of the Nazi death camp guard called “Ivan
the Terrible” confirmed that it was an authentic document.
In 1986, when a World War
I-era photo album that appeared to have belonged to a young Adolf Hitler
surfaced at Seven Acres Antique Village & Museum in nearby Union, Palenik’s
analysis of the materials of the album proved that they could indeed date from
1915-1918.
He has testified in numerous
court cases, including one involving the torture-murder in Mexico of the U.S.
drug enforcement agent Enrique Camarena Salazar. In the Cayman Islands, a man accused of rape was freed after
Palenik showed that the chief evidence, some hairs, did not come from the
defendant.
In the courtroom, the
scientist becomes the teacher, say people who have seen Palenik in action.
“He manages to put things
into terms that people who don’t have his sophisticated knowledge are able to
understand” said Edward Rhodes, criminalist with the San Diego police
department. “His experience as a
teacher shows through real well.”
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