Planted Evidence

Planted Evidence refers to episode 5 of the first season of the television series Forensic Files which was broadcast for the first time on October 24, 1996.

Plot summary
In 1992, single mother Denise Johnson is found dead in a deserted area outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Local investigators ask a molecular geneticist to pick out a tree in a 'lineup' when unidentified seed pods are found in suspect Mark Bogan's truck.

The judge rules into evidence DNA profiles linking the pods to a tree near where the body was found. This is the first US case where plant DNA was used to convict a criminal.