'Victims' blood on Wright's jacket'

12 April 2012

Blood almost certain to have come from two murdered prostitutes was found on the jacket of the man accused of killing them, a court has heard.

DNA expert Peter Hau said there was a "one in a billion" chance samples on Steve Wright's reflective coat did not belong to Paula Clennell and Annette Nicholls.

Giving evidence at Ipswich Crown Court, Dr Hau said blood found on the left shoulder of the jacket matched Miss Clennell's. And blood detected on the lower right sleeve was consistent with being Miss Nicholls', he said.

Wright, 49, of Ipswich, denies murdering Miss Clennell, 24, Miss Nicholls, 29, Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, and Anneli Alderton, 24. Their bodies were discovered in remote locations around Ipswich over a 10-day period in December 2006.

Dr Hau told the jury of nine men and three women that there was evidence Wright had been wearing semen-stained gardening gloves while with Miss Clennell.

He said DNA from the thumb area of the gloves matched the vice girl's profile.

"There's very strong support for the view that Mr Wright was wearing the semen-stained gloves when he was in contact with Miss Clennell," he said.

Jurors heard traces of semen - likely to be Wright's - were on the gloves.

On Thursday, Dr Hau said Wright's DNA had been found on Miss Clennell, Miss Alderton and Miss Nicholls.

In Miss Nicholls' case, it was from "top to toe", he said. Cross-examining Dr Hau, defence barrister Timothy Langdale, QC, suggested: "Somebody who may sweat a lot may be more prone to shedding their DNA than someone else." Dr Hau agreed.

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