A former forensic analyst told the Keith Clarke murder trial on Monday that the scene where the chartered accountant was shot and killed, appeared to have been tampered with.
The witness is to continue her evidence next week.
Clarke was shot more than 20 times at his home in Upper Kirkland Heights, St. Andrew, during a military operation in May 2010.
Three JDF soldiers have been on trial for his murder since May 14 this year.
Daina Davy reports.
Lance Corporal Greg Tinglin, Corporal Odel Buckley, and Private Arnold Henry are the three JDF soldiers charged with Clarke’s murder.
The crown’s fourth witness, a retired forensic analyst, started her evidence-in-chief last Thursday. She told the court that she visited the crime scene on October 10, 2010. Five months after Clarke was murdered.
Speaking in court, the witness said it appeared the crime scene was tampered with at the time of her visit months after the businessman’s death.
The former analyst said she visited the crime scene at that time at the behest of the Independent Commission of Investigations, INDECOM, and the JCF’s Bureau of Special Investigations.
The witness told the court that she focused mainly on the master bedroom, where Clarke’s body was found.
Going through the notes she recorded of the crime scene, the former analyst testified that blood stains were splattered across the bedroom floor and in the closet. However, she noted that the bloodstains were disturbed.
The witness described some of the blood spatter observed on the bedroom floor as sero-sanguineous. She explained that the bloodstains appeared to have been mixed with water or cleaned.
According to the witness, this was also determined based on the pale brown colour of the stains as well as the blood distribution on the bedroom floor.
The prosecution also asked the witness whether the five-month time span between Clarke’s murder and her visit to the scene could’ve affected the evidence. The witness agreed.
Meanwhile, the former analyst noted that DNA samples belonging to a male, other than Clarke, were also found inside the house.
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