DNA on sword handles matches Denecho King's, RCMP scientist testifies
DNA expert says large amount of DNA likely from someone who handled swords, not transferred from someone else
A scientist from the RCMP's forensic laboratory in Edmonton testified Tuesday that Denecho King's DNA was found on the handles of two decorative swords used in a fatal attack.
It's the first evidence the judge has heard connecting King to the apartment unit where the attack occurred more than three years ago.
King, 25, is on trial in N.W.T. Supreme Court for murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault in relation to the incident, which left John Wifladt dead and Colin Digness seriously injured. The trial began April 9 in Yellowknife.
The scientist, Kenneth Hunter, said DNA from at least three people was found on the handles of the swords. He said the chances of it being someone other than King's DNA was 1 in 53 billion in the case of one of the swords and 1 in 4.3 trillion in the case of the other.
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The revelation came near the end of a long day of questioning by Crown prosecutor Alex Godfrey, who spent the first three hours qualifying Hunter as an expert witness and then questioning him about DNA analysis.
The prosecutor has already shown video of King at the front desk of a motel later that morning waving his arms in a chopping motion as he spoke to an acquaintance working there.
The friend testified that he wasn't listening closely, but said King was talking about being in a fight with two men.
Another witness who lives in the unit below the apartment where the attack took place testified earlier that King knocked on her door early that morning.
She said she later heard loud banging and her partner went up to ask that blaring heavy metal music be turned down. He ended up being the first to see the bloody murder scene.
Digness and Wifladt were on the ground, barely conscious. Wifladt later died in hospital. Digness was medevaced to Edmonton and recovered after several surgeries. He suffers permanent eye damage.
Hunter testified their blood was also found on the swords.
Defence still to question Hunter
Today King's lawyer, Jay Bran, gets a chance to question Hunter.
The questions will likely focus on how DNA could have been transferred to the handles of the swords by someone other than King.
That's something Bran has been questioning witnesses about, including police forensic investigators, throughout the trial.
Hunter said there was an unusually large amount of King's DNA on the handles of the swords. He said it likely could only have been deposited there through direct contact from the source of the DNA.