DNA LINKING a man to the killing of two British soldiers outside their Massereene army base in Antrim may have been transferred unwittingly, a court heard yesterday.
An expert connected a sample from the inside of a mobile phone found in a car used in the attack to one of the accused.
Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers, whose DNA was recovered from the Nokia, deny the murder of Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar, who were shot outside the army base in March 2009.
Defence barrister Patrick O’Connor QC said: “There has to be a real risk that some tiny quantities of DNA may have been transferred completely unwittingly from the exterior of this mobile phone and then appeared on the swabs which were taken from the back of the Sim card or the cavity inside the mobile phone.
“Unless the gloves were changed every time between the handling of the body of the phone and the external parts of the phone and battery and the Sim. Or there has to be a risk that that could happen.”
Aideen Coleman, a forensic scientist, said it was “possible”.
She added: “It is not an area where I would be an expert in DNA.” Her job was to extract the material before it was sent for analysis to a lab in England.
Mark Quinsey (23) and Patrick Azimkar (21) were shot dead by the Real IRA as they collected pizzas with comrades outside the Massereene army base.
Mr Duffy (44), from Forest Glade, Lurgan, Co Armagh, and Mr Shivers (46), from Sperrin Mews, Magherafelt, Co Derry, deny two charges of murder and the attempted murder of six others – three soldiers, two pizza delivery drivers and a security guard.
Dr Mark Perlin’s system of testing DNA strongly linked the two men to the getaway car used in the attack.
He tested data from a seatbelt buckle, the mobile phone and a single matchstick found in or around the Vauxhall Cavalier, which was abandoned partially burnt-out on a country road just a few miles from the shootings.
He said a DNA sample found on the buckle was 5.91 trillion times more likely to be Mr Duffy’s than someone else’s, while a sample from inside the phone was 6.01 billion times more likely to belong to Mr Shivers than another person.
This is the first time Dr Perlin’s groundbreaking DNA method has been allowed by a UK court.
Earlier, Antrim Crown Court heard details of the arrests of Mr Duffy and Mr Shivers.
Both denied the charge after heavily armed officers arrived at their homes.
Mr Shivers said: “I have absolutely nothing to do with this. There were two other persons’ DNA on the matches as well.”
Mr Duffy did not reply but denies the offences.
A statement was read from Sgt Philip Lewis, who was involved in raiding Mr Duffy’s home.
“I instructed him to kneel down with his hands behind his head. He complained of cramp in his leg which I allowed him to straighten to ease the pain,” the statement said.
A pair of black boots and mobile phones were among items seized from his home.
The trial continues.