Blood on trackpants belonged to Robin
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A former ESR scientist says he found blood which could have come only from Laniet or Stephen Bain on David Bain’s socks.
Peter Cropp, now an independent forensic scientist, told the High Court in Christchurch hearing murder charges against David Bain, he had tested socks taken from David Bain on June 20, 1994, the day of the murder of the Bain family.Each had blood staining on the soles and sock one had two stains visible on the sole’s edge. He had received the socks on August 4, 1994 and labelled them sock one and sock two. Blood grouping tests showed the blood was either from Laniet or Stephen Bain. The droplets had quite clear edges and the stains had soaked right through the material suggesting the blood was more likely to have dropped onto the socks than to have adhered to the sock by stepping into blood. He gave evidence yesterday of testing he carried out in 1994 of items taken from David Bain or from the Bain house.Cropp also told the court he could find no animal blood on the rifle used to shoot the Bain family.DNA tests showed all the blood spots tested on trackpants worn by Robin Bain were his own blood, the High Court was also told.The defence case is that David Bain fingerprints alleged to have been found on the rifle were placed there before the murders by a hand with animal blood on it.Two of the spots had a mix of DNA, one of which could have had a minor contribution from another Bain family member and the other had a minor contribution from someone outside the Bain family.Dr Stephen Gutowski, from the Victorian Forensic Services Centre (VFSC), said he tested the samples taken from the trackpants in 1997 and found all the samples contained Robin Bain’s DNA. His conviction was quashed by the Privy Council in 2007.Gutowski did his testing two years after David Bain’s first trial. Bain’s counsel Michael Reed has previously told the court that if blood from other members ofthe Bain family was found on Robin it would help to exonerate his client.The defence argues David Bain’s father Robin killed his wife and three children before turning his rifle on himself. He found human blood only on one part of the rifle, the sight.Nigel Hall, another scientist from the VFSC said he tested in 1997 samples taken from 13 areas of the rifle used in the killing.
During cross-examination Reed told Hentschel, who examined many items from the Bain house in 1994, that defence experts would say his lack of notes and diagrams of the examinations he carried out would be attacked as inadequate.
Retired ESR scientist Peter Hentschel today also gave evidence in the High Court trial of Bain.
Hentschel said he had relied on police officers in charge of each section of the Bain house to take notes and his recordings were of a standard used by ESR in 1994.
They would say, Reed said, that the shortcomings meant insufficient material was available for them to do proper reviews of the examinations.
Reed concentrated much of his cross-examination today on the murder weapon, a .
It would be different now, he said.
Hentschel examined the rifle in the week of the murders and said he had not made a diagram of where he saw four fingerprints because he relied on the fingerprint expert to do that.
Hentschel examined the rifle in the week of the murders and said he had not made a diagram of where he saw four fingerprints because he relied on the fingerprint expert to do that.
The Crown alleges the fingerprints were made by David Bain while the defence says the fingerprints were made by fingers covered in animal blood.
Nor had he made notes or made a diagram of where he saw smearing on the rifle which did not extend to the fingerprints, the retired scientist said.
Hentschel maintains the smearing over the rifle was “shielded” by the fingerprints.
He could not explain how tests done in 1997 found blood smearing between the fingerprints but the rifle must have been handled many times in the intervening three years, he said.
Hentschel agreed he had not made a diagram showing where he took a sample of blood from the firearm where the fingerprints were.
The sample was taken from smearing 5mm to 10mm from the fingerprints.
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Hentschel said he had not told the jury in David Bain’s trial he had taken the sample from the fingerprints themselves. .
When re-examined by Kieran Raftery for the Crown he said he found extensive smearing of blood on the butt of the rifle and its forearm.