DNA evidence linked two of four defendants charged with murder to items of clothing believed to be worn by the killers, according to an expert.

Valerie Blackmore, a forensic biologist, acknowledged that the evidence did not prove that the two defendants had worn or handle the items of clothing — but the possibility of the DNA coming from another source was unlikely.

Ms Blackmore was testifying at the trial of QuaZori Brangman, Jukai Burgess, Aaron Perinchief and Nasaje Anderson yesterday.

The four are charged with the murder of 19-year-old Letrae Doeman in Flatts Village in Smith’s in the early hours of July 1, 2022.

Testifying via video link, Ms Blackmore, who works at the Wyndham Forensic Group in Ontario, Canada, said that she analysed DNA data on numerous items of clothing, including two pairs of gloves, a hoody and two pairs of shoes.

Earlier in the trial, the jury heard that police found a black trash bag, which contained two shopping bags of clothes, in an overgrown wooded area near a home in St David’s hours after the shooting.

The items were first sent to a US-based expert, who testified that some of the clothes contained articles characteristic of gunshot residue.

The clothing was then forwarded on to the Wyndham Forensic Group for DNA tests.

Ms Blackmore said that an analysis of the results showed that neither Mr Anderson nor Mr Brangman could be “excluded as the source”.

She said that the probability that DNA found on a pair of knitted gloves had come from someone other than Mr Anderson was one in 67 quadrillion.

The chance of DNA found on a second pair of gloves and a hoody coming from someone other than Mr Brangman was one in 1.7 quadrillion.

Under cross-examination from Marc Daniels, representing Mr Anderson, Ms Blackmore agreed that DNA material can be transferred between objects.

She also agreed with Mr Daniels that there was no mechanism to show when DNA got on to an object or how it got there.

The expert also agreed with defence lawyer Susan Mulligan, who is representing Mr Brangman, that probability statistics were “rather complex”.

The jury also heard evidence from Graham Husbands, a firearms examiner based in Barbados, who analysed a series of items related to the investigation including a series of fired bullets and cartridges.

He told the court that examination with a comparison microscope had shown a series of bullets sent to him had all been fired from the same weapon.

Similarly, he said, all but one of the spent 9mm cartridges he was sent could be linked to a single firearm, with the remaining cartridge being “deformed”.

Mr Husbands also identified a single unfired .380-calibre cartridge recovered as part of the investigation.

Pc Brian McNab subsequently told the court that he had reviewed CCTV footage taken from the Rustico Restaurant on the night of the murder and counted 15 gunshots.

He said he also reviewed footage that showed the gunman getting off the back of a motorcycle and approaching the victim before retreating back to the bike, stating that the gunman appeared to be holding a semiautomatic pistol in his left hand.

Mr McNab said that in the footage, the gunman appears to “manipulate” the weapon as if it had some sort of malfunction.

“When he comes off the cycle and he comes around, he is manipulating the weapon,” he said. “It has a top slide that moves back and forward.

“Manipulating the weapon like that indicates there’s some kind of fault with the weapon. If it was fully functioning, it would have went bang. Alternatively, he had run out of ammunition.”

Mr McNab said the most common issues were faulty ammunition, faulty maintenance or the wrong type of ammunition being used in the weapon.

He told the court that attempting to use a .380 cartridge in a 9mm weapon could cause it to fail to fire.

“A .380 round is smaller than a 9mm round,” he said. “It doesn’t fit the weapon correctly.”

Under cross-examination by Mr Daniels, Mr McNab accepted that while people usually use their dominant hand while handling a firearm, there are circumstances where someone might use their other hand.

He also accepted that some people are ambidextrous and can use both hands. However, he did not identify the gunman using anything other than his left hand.

The trial continues.

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