Expert says reliance on low copy number DNA can be �worrisome�By Nigel Green
A SCOTTISH scientist could be called to give crucial evidence in the case of a man convicted of killing a British holidaymaker in Australia.
Professor Allan Jamieson has voiced his concerns over DNA evidence used to jail Bradley Murdoch for the murder of 28-year-old Peter Falconio.
Falconio vanished while driving across the Australian outback with his girlfriend Joanne Lees, then 27, in 2001.
Lees claimed they were attacked as they drove along the Stuart Highway from Alice Springs to Darwin.
She told police their camper van was flagged down by the driver of another van, who then tied her up and attacked Falconio.
Lees claimed she managed to free herself and escape from the killer, who had a dog with him.
Falconio's body was never found and doubt was cast on Lees's story after Aboriginal trackers found no human footprints or dog paw marks to back up her story.
However, one year later, Murdoch was arrested and jailed for a minimum of 28 years after tiny traces of his DNA was found on Lees's T-shirt.
Police used the latest technology called low copy number DNA to link Murdoch to the T-shirt.
Murdoch, 50, has continued to protest his innocence, although his appeal was dismissed two years ago.
Now campaigners are hoping to clear his name with the help of evidence that casts doubt on low copy number DNA.
It is believed they are likely to call Jamieson as an expert witness if they can get the case back before the Australian courts.
Jamieson is the director of the independent Forensic Institute in Glasgow and has given evidence at many trials across Britain.
He hit the headlines last year after giving evidence at the trial of a man accused of the Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people in Northern Ireland.
The trial collapsed after Jamieson argued low copy number DNA was not a reliable method.
He told the Sunday Herald: "I have been approached by campaigners fighting to clear the name of Bradley Murdoch and I would be willing to help in this case."
Jamieson has suggested there could be a risk that tiny traces of Murdoch's DNA could have ended up on the T-shirt just by him being in the same room as the T-shirt during police interviews, or could have been accidentally carried over by police officers.
He said: "We would need to look very closely at how the samples were processed.
"For example, at the levels claimed for this technique, new and possibly unknown routes become possibilities when considering how someone's DNA comes to be in a certain place.
"Unfortunately, we know little about this aspect, but what we do know can be worrisome for some cases.
"For example, we already know from research that someone's DNA can travel around one metre from their mouth just from speaking.
"DNA can travel from place to place very easily and there is always a possibility of evidence being contaminated. That is just one of the reasons why low copy number DNA is unreliable as evidence in some circumstances.
"From my understanding, there was very little if any additional evidence to convict Murdoch."
Jamieson confirmed he had been approached by campaigners trying to free Murdoch, although Perth-based barrister Tom Percy QC said he was unable to comment due to client confidentiality.
