FBI DNA expert's testimony continues

The attorney for one of the men accused of killing businessman Dr Eddie Koury has hinted at possibly bringing his own DNA expert to challenge the evidence of the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) forensic DNA examiner and supervisor.

Attorney Evans Welch gave the hint when he completed his cross examination of the FBI’s Rhonda Craig who examined pieces of evidence given to her by the TT police in their investigations of Koury’s murder.

Craig, who began giving evidence on Monday, testified that she found Koury’s DNA on samples of material taken from three pairs of shoes allegedly belonging to three of the accused men, including Welch’s client Jerome Murray.

Craig admitted she was able to detect Koury's DNA on one of the shoes, but that it was a combination of his and that of at least one other person.

Most of her testimony under cross-examination by Welch yesterday surrounded her testing of the piece of material taken from a brown pair of sneakers and her findings.

Asked if the FBI would prefer testing the entire object, rather than a piece of the evidence, Craig said no, adding that it was not unusual for the agency to receive swabs of samples to test.

She admitted that she would not know how the evidence samples sent to the FBI were collected, Craig said to avoid the risk of contamination, proper protocols should be used, including the frequent changing of latex gloves, especially when handling blood samples.

“Failure to do so can result in cross contamination,” she agreed.

Asked by Welch if it was possible for another DNA expert to examine her notes of the tests she conducted and her results, Craig said that had been done before and that her documentation in the Koury case had already been supplied to the court.

Craig returns today to continue her testimony.

Koury, the managing director of ISKO Enterprises, an import and distribution company in Macoya, was abducted from his office on September 21, 2005. Two days later, his headless corpse was found in central Trinidad. His head has never been found.

On trial for his murder are Shawn James, Caleb Donaldson, Jerome Murray, Terry Moore and Robert Franklyn.