Micro-Clues

Micro-Clues refers to episode 12 of the Season 2 of the television series Forensic Files which was broadcast for the first time on December 18, 1997.

Plot summary
In 1993 when the body of teenage boy Dario Cicolecchia was found in a Swiss cornfield, sexual assault was first considered. When swab samples from the boy's body were analysed, investigators found microscopic one-cell organisms called diatoms.

A diatom is only found in water, so police began collecting samples from bodies of water in the area. Analysis of diatoms from a nearby creek matched those found on the boy's body and supplied police with the location of the murder. Months later, Roland Kubler was convicted of sexual assault and the attempted murder of another child, which brought him to the attention of investigators. Analysis of the Kubler's car led to a match of diatoms found on Dario's body, which led to his arrest and conviction.