'No forensic link' to murder

A forensic scientist told a murder trial today there was "no evidence" to place a defendant at a murder scene.

A forensic scientist told a murder trial today there was "no evidence" to place a defendant at a murder scene.

Giving evidence to Belfast Crown Court, senior forensic scientist Mr Samuel Speers told the court that after examining fibres and other samples taken from Gordon Graham, he could find none that matched the materials found at the murder scene.

Mr Graham (40) from Wheatfield in Ballygowan is charged with his alleged lover Ms Lesley Gault (34) with the murder of her husband, Paul Gault.

Mr Gault was bludgeoned to death with a hockey stick in the bedroom of his Audley Avenue home in Lisburn in May 2000.

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The prosecution contends the pair conspired to murder Mr Gault and make it look like a burglary gone "horribly wrong".

Today Mr Speers said that by examining the bedroom he could identify "three sites of assault", but added that there was "so much blood-staining" that it would be impossible to determine the number of blows.

He said "there was a lot of blood at the scene", indicating what he described as a "violent attack" on Mr Gault.