Defendants' clothing recovered from crime scene was stained with David Miller's blood, court told

Blood samples collected from items of clothing recovered at the crime scene of the David Miller murder and belonging to the defendants matched the victim's profile, a court heard.
David Miller in a photograph taken in the 1990sDavid Miller in a photograph taken in the 1990s
David Miller in a photograph taken in the 1990s

The trial of Ian Cuthbertson, 49, Michael Hallett, 37, Joseph Catlin, 30, Zena Kane, 35, resumed on Friday and all of the defendants deny the murder charges against them.

Mr Miller was killed in his flat some time between the evening of June 10 and morning of June 11 last year, and the four defendants are accused of making crude attempts to dispose of the body in the days leading up to their arrests on June 14.

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On Friday morning, John Straw QC, prosecuting, showed members of the jury CCTV images of the defendants on June 10 and 11 and highlighted certain articles of clothing in the footage, which were later removed from evidence bags by Mr Straw and shown in court as evidence.

Some of the items seen on the CCTV video were recovered at the crime scene and during some of the defendants' arrests, while otherwise were not recovered by police at all, the court heard.

Forensic expert Judith Cunnison, who took the stand earlier in the trial to give evidence relating to blood splattering at the crime scene, was called again to confirm the results of tests she carried out on various items of clothing recovered from Mr Miller's flat.

A Fila t-shirt worn by Hallett, taken from the corner chair in the flat's lounge, was confirmed to have Mr Miller's blood on it, as were skinny jeans belonging to Kane, also recovered from Mr Miller's lounge. Both defendants were seen wearing the items in the CCTV images shown to the court.

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A black and silver jacket worn by Kane, also highlighted in the CCTV footage, was said to have blood patterns on it that suggested the wearer had been near an assault, concluded Mrs Cunnison's report.

Mrs Cunnison's report on Slazenger tracksuits, which had blood marks on the crotch area, suggested that whoever was wearing them was either next to the body, or perhaps even standing over the body, while an attack was taking place.

Other items found to have Mr Miller's blood on them included a black top seized from Catlin during his arrest at Northampton General Hospital, and brown shoes taken from Hallett following his arrest.

Hallett was arrested on June 14 after leading police officers to the crime scene, and this, in turn, led to the arrests of the three other defendants.

The trial continues.

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