Blood on Lawrence accused jacket ’caused when fresh’
A bloodstain found on a jacket belonging to Gary Dobson, one of the men accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence, was caused when the blood was fresh, the Old Bailey has heard.
A tiny stain, measuring 0.5mm by 0.25mm, was found on the collar of a jacket belonging to Mr Dobson by a cold case team.
Defence counsel argue the stain was caused when an old, dried blood flake got onto the jacket via contamination and was dissolved during tests for saliva.
But forensic scientist Edward Jarman told the Old Bailey jury his experiments suggested the stain was made by fresh blood.
He said old fragments of Lawrence’s blood became “gel-like” during saliva testing, and therefore would not soak into fabric. But when he repeated the test using flakes made from fresh blood, they dissolved and caused a stain.
Mr Jarman was part of a team asked to help in a cold case review of the Lawrence murder.
Scientists found the blood fragment had a probability of less than one in a billion of not belonging to Stephen Lawrence.
Earlier, the jury was told he found a fragment of blood in the original police evidence bag that encased three textile fibres, which, Mr Jarman said, meant the blood was wet when it came into contact with them.
From a partial profile obtained from DNA testing, scientists found the fragment had a probability of less than one in a billion of not belonging to Lawrence.
Gary Dobson, 36, and David Norris, 35, are accused of being involved in the gang attack that killed Stephen Lawrence in Eltham, south east London, in April 1993, which they deny.
