S2E46: Leather Gloves and Fingernails in Taxis

Two never-before-heard about leads police were following up on during the mammoth investigation were revealed to the court on day 46. A leather glove which had been found near Jane Rimmer’s body when she was found in Wellard bushland on August 3, 1996, and two fingernail clippings which were found in a taxi. Both were revealed during forensic scientist Aleks Bagdonavicius’ cross examination by defence lawyer Paul Yovich today. At this stage it’s unclear whether the leather gloves will form part of the defence’s case, but as Tim Clarke explains in this episode of Claremont in Conversation, police sent the gloves off to be tested for blood. We’ll have to wait to see if they ever come up again in the trial, or if like so many other pieces of evidence and statements in this trial, they could be left out in the open with no explanation. What could form part of the defence’s case, however, was two tree branches which were found to have been cross contaminated with another victim’s DNA - completely unrelated to the Claremont case. Murdoch University’s forensic DNA expert Brendan Chapman joins Natalie Bonjolo and Tim Clarke for day 46, taking us through Low Copy Number testing, almost every way cross contamination can occur and and how tiny traces of DNA can be found, even in the smallest of samples. For more on the Claremont Serial Killings, head to thewest.com.auSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.