Blood found at a cottage where a body was found could match that of a man accused of murder, a jury in the Central Criminal Court heard yesterday.
Mr Patrick Joseph (P.J.) McGreene (29), with addresses at Corrib Park and St Mary's Road, Galway, has denied the murder of his uncle, Mr Tom Clisham (53), between November 24th and December 4th, 1997, at Inveran, Co Galway.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Fiona Thornton told the court that after taking samples of blood from stains on the body of the deceased, clothes, a duvet cover, pillows and cases and other surfaces, several conclusions could be drawn.
The court previously heard that the deceased was found dead in his home wearing only socks, with his hands bound loosely. After conducting forensic examinations on blood found on the body, Dr Thornton found it was consistent with the blood type of the accused and 4 per cent of the population.
Describing her protein tests on blood as very precise, Dr Thornton told Mr Michael Durack SC, prosecuting, that the blood found on the shin did not match the deceased's or the blood of two other men, who were allegedly at the scene at the time of death.
Blood found on a lino surface behind a couch and splattered in a direction on a wall was also consistent with the blood type of the defendant but not the deceased, the court heard.
But in other tests taken from samples on clothing, the percentage of the population sharing the blood type was as high as 37 per cent.
In her report, Dr Thornton had said that the "bedroom was heavily blood-stained".
But when Mr John Rogers SC, cross-examining, said that she "couldn't say whose blood it is", Dr Thornton replied: "That is correct."
Tests for semen on and around the body of the deceased proved negative, Dr Thornton told the court.
No controlled hair samples from the deceased were used and no hair analysis was carried out, Dr Thornton said.
Tests for semen were carried out because of the manner in which the body was found, she said.
The trial continues today before Mr Justice Cyril Kelly and the jury.