Claremont killer trial LIVE: Defence grills forensic scientist over DNA paperwork errors

3.26pm

Further paperwork errors made when Ciara's hair mass signed out of lab in 'act of compassion'

Mr Yovich has now moved on to asking Mr Bagdonavicius about his involvement in Ciara's hair mass being signed out of the mortuary and given to Macro Taskforce Detective Joe Marrapodi on November 17, 1997.

The hair mass had a lock taken that was washed at Purslowe Funerals in preparation to give to Ciara's parents on what would have been Ciara's 28th birthday.

Senior Sergeant Marrapodi has, at the request of Mr Yovich, left the courtroom for this part of the evidence.

He usually sits at the back of the bar table, and is one of the detectives assisting the prosecution. He will be the last witness the state calls.

Denis and Una Glennon, parents of Ciara Glennon.

In signing the hair mass out, Mr Bagdonavicius used the wrong form, and therefore it was not detailed how the hair was stored or transported - although he states he believes it was in a billy bucket (a bucket with a sealed lid).

Mr Yovich has highlighted that in his 2019 witness statement, Mr Bagdonavicius does not mention how the hair was transported.

When the item was returned two days later, Mr Bagdonavicius then recorded it back into the lab freezer under the wrong batch number.

The hair mass was then returned to the mortuary, which was in the same building as Pathwest but on a different floor, in August 2001.

Ciara's hair mass is an important piece of evidence for the state as it alleges fibres found in the hair link her murder to Mr Edwards through his Telstra work pants and vehicle make and model.

The defence is seeking to uncover opportunities for the hair mass to have been contaminated with micro-fibres from outside sources, such as police and forensic staff.

2.21pm

Court has adjourned for morning tea

It will resume at 11.35am.

2.21pm

Defence grills forensic scientist over DNA paperwork errors

Aleksander Bagdonavicius.Credit:Nine News Perth

Mr Yovich has now moved onto the DNA forensic review, or matrix, Mr Bagdonavicius compiled in August 2003 to give to police, which showed when and how each of Ciara's 11 fingernail samples - AJM40 to AJM50 - had been tested over the past seven years, as DNA technologies advanced.

Within the review, Ciara's torn left thumbnail, AJM40 - one of the state's critical pieces of evidence - had never been tested following a recommendation by Mr Bagdonavicius in 1997 that the sample was "debris only, not suitable for testing".

He claimed when he looked through the yellow top container for AJM40, he could only see debris, and not a fingernail.

In 2008, the sample was combined with AJM42, Ciara's left middle fingernail, and Mr Edwards' DNA profile was allegedly detected using low copy number testing.

Mr Bagdonavicius also marked AJM48 as 'debris only' and the exhibit hadn't been tested to 2003.

Mr Yovich is now going through the errors in Mr Bagdonavicius' DNA matrix.

For AJM48, he wrongly states the fingernail had been DNA tested in 2001, when it had never been tested at all, and he questioned the result on the D17 loci - a loci Pathwest didn't test at the time.

He made the same D17 error for AJM42.

Mr Bagdonavicius also mistakenly wrote AJM50 as being from Ciara's right index finger, when it was her right ring finger.

Mr Yovich: So the draft contains a number of mistakes, the final version corrects some but not all of those mistakes, and so although you sought to do this work carefully, you did not all together succeed did you?

Mr Bagdonavicius: That's correct, yes.

2.00pm

Defence details four examples of when DNA 'negative control blanks' were contaminated

Mr Yovich has begun his cross-examination today by asking Mr Bagdonavicius about his involvement in preparing some blanks, or negative control samples, used in Pathwest's DNA testing of some of the Macro Taskforce exhibits.

The blanks were sent to New Zealand's Institute of Environmental Science and Research lab in 2004, a few months after Pathwest sent a number of its exhibits and DNA extracts for Y chromosome testing.

Blanks are used during the extraction, amplification and purification stages of DNA testing to ensure the integrity of the testing, and should show no DNA before and after the test.

Of the 35 blanks sent in NZ, 21 were tested and four were found to be contaminated with a female's DNA.

It is not clear whether the contamination occurred in the Pathwest lab or ESR lab.

One of the contaminated blanks was first introduced into the Pathwest lab testing process by Denise Downe when she undertook DNA extraction on AJM41 and AJM46 samples on August 25, 2003.

The second contaminated blank was first introduced into testing during a Qiagen purification test carried out on a DNA extract taken from an item of clothing on August 5, 2003.

The third contaminated blank was first introduced into testing during a Qiagen test prepared by Louise Taylor on August 14, 2003 carried out on vegetation collected from Jane's crime scene.

The fourth contaminated blank was first introduced into testing in an EPG on August 17, 2003. It is not clear what was tested during this run.

The blank returned a number of alleles from a female profile.

Mr Yovich: In your experience, how often did you see blank controls at Pathwest with this may reportable alleles in them?

Mr Bagdonavicius: Very rarely.

Mr Yovich: We've seen four blanks in which detected DNA was found, at least one of which we can tell from the EPG, was detected in your lab, and so the contamination occurred in your lab?

Mr Bagdonavicius: Yes.

Mr Yovich: Are you able to comment on whether that is a very high percentage of blanks with DNA in them in your experience?

Mr Bagdonavicius: Recently the lab assessed the number of quality incidents we have and according to international standards, we are approximately half of the international standard.

Mr Yovich has queried what is the international standard, and Mr Bagdonavicius has said he believes the figure is "somewhere between 3 to 4 issues detected for every 100 results".

Mr Yovich: Significantly lower than four in 21?

Mr Bagdonavicius: Yes.

None of the items tested with the contaminated blanks relate to the state's key pieces of evidence in this trial.

Mr Bagdonavicius has agreed with Mr Yovich that a high finding of contaminated blanks may reveal "findings in a general sense for the quality of work in the lab".

12.37pm

Day 47 of trial to start at 10am

Defence counsel Paul Yovich.

Welcome to WAtoday's live coverage of day 47 of the Claremont serial killer trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

Today, defence lawyer Paul Yovich will continue to cross-examine Pathwest forensic scientist, Aleksander Bagdonavicius, who will take the witness stand for the fifth day.

Mr Yovich is asking Mr Bagdonavicius about a DNA review he conducted on the testing done to each of Ciara's 11 fingernail samples up to 2003, at the request of police.

Accused man Bradley Edwards has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Sarah Spiers, Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.