DNA Profiling: Transfer and Persistence R v Tsekiri [2017] EWCA Crim 40

摘要

On 11th June 2016, Ms Carr, the victim, unlocked her vehicle which was parked on a street near Wimbledon Park Tube Station. At this point, an unidentified man attempted to enter the car. A brief struggle ensued and the man escaped with Ms Carr's gold necklace. Swabs were taken from the exterior door handle of the vehicle and these revealed a mixed DNA profile. The profile belonging to the major contributor was consistent with that taken from the appellant (with a match probability of one in one billion). There was at least one other minor contributor. The reporting scientist could reach no determination as to when the major components of the mixed DNA profile had been deposited, nor their source. The deposit could have been due to that person touching the door handle or due to indirect secondary transfer through an intermediary (though she considered this unlikely, given that the DNA in question was the major contributor to the profile). The appellant submitted that there was no case to answer given the dearth of evidence.