Expert witness finds victim’s blood on inmate’s belt

(CNS): The science of DNA was the focus of the court room on Wednesday during day seven of Randy Martin’s trial for the murder of Sabrina Schirn. An expert witness told the court that the DNA in the blood taken from a glove found near to the murder scene, which had traces of Martin’s DNA, and a belt belonging to the defendant was Sabrina Schirn’s, News 27 reported. Dr Kevin Noppinger, however, also told the court that while there was a trace of her blood on the ignition of the car that Schirn drove before she was murdered, he did not find any of the defendant’s DNA in that car. 

During the cross examination of the witness, defence counsel asked if traces of vegetable matter, such as a stain from the juice of a tomato, could give a false positive in blood testing. The doctor noted that, while it was possible for a fresh stain to give a false positive result, it could not happen with stains that were aged and dry.

Noffinger also said he had tested a number of items of clothing that belonged to Martin, but it was only on the belt taken from his cell at HMP Northward where the blood of 21-year-old Schirn was found.

Go to News 27 report