Editor’s note: The following story contains graphic descriptions heard in court that may not be suitable for some readers.
The Crown’s final witness, an expert in DNA analysis, took the stand Friday on Day 13 of the ongoing murder trial in the 1994 death of Katherine Janeiro in her Barrie apartment.
Janeiro, 20, was found stabbed to death in her Dunlop Street West home on Oct. 10, 1994, near Anne Street.
Robert MacQueen, who is now 61 and is also known as Bruce Ellis, is on trial for second-degree murder in her death. None of the allegations against him have been proven in court.
Melissa Kell, a forensic scientist working for the Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS) in Toronto, spent the majority of the day on the stand at the Barrie courthouse.
With 26 years of experience in the field of biology, Kell is considered a DNA analysis expert in the justice system. She was not the original scientist working with the evidence in the Janeiro case. There were three such experts over the years, including Kell.
Kell said biological samples taken from Janeiro’s apartment have been stored in a frozen state in a “stable condition,” and are available to retest, which has already been done since they were collected from the murder scene approaching 30 years ago.
On Friday, assistant Crown attorney Mike Flosman reviewed several of the DNA test results from blood stains found in different parts of the apartment, which were confirmed to be Janeiro’s.
Additionally, blood samples were collected from a door jamb in the hallway near the bedroom and bathroom, which were tested and found to contain a mix of DNA from more than one person.
Most of the DNA found in the sample was identified as being from MacQueen, who had been in an extramarital affair with Janeiro and often at her apartment, with a smaller amount belonging to her.
Earlier in the trial, MacQueen's half-brother testified that they worked together at a tree-removal business and often incurred hand lacerations.
Exclusions, not matches, are used in DNA testing and analysis. If one of the DNA profiles in the sample doesn't have enough different genetic material between it and the reference person, such as MacQueen or Janeiro, then the results cannot exclude him or her.
According to the lab calculations, there is an astronomically low probability the blood found in that particular sample is from someone other than MacQueen, court heard.
The lab report states MacQueen’s DNA was found to be at a ratio of 1:71 quadrillion probability, with Janeiro's DNA pegged at a 1:45 million.
Kell explained that the majority was confirmed to be MacQueen’s blood, with the minor amount of DNA attributed to Janeiro could have come from blood, skin cells, or other biological sources.
In humans, the white blood cells are the only blood cells which have a nucleus, and are the only ones that contain DNA.
The amount of DNA in the sample between the two people was a 10:1 ratio in favour of MacQueen.
Kell said there is currently “no test to determine how the mixture came to be.”
At a sample site on the living room wall, above the couch, blood sampling and testing revealed the major amount of the DNA found in the sample belonged to MacQueen.
In this situation, due to the "minor amounts,” Kell said it was found to be “not suitable for comparison, due to the low amount present, so there was no comparisons made to any reference samples to that minor amount of DNA.”
Defence lawyer Mary Cremer asked: “DNA from two individuals, is it possible that the DNA of one individual could have been deposited at a different time than the DNA of another? Is that fair?”
“That’s correct," Kell answered.
Cremer argued that, on surfaces, DNA can persist for a long period of time.
“It can,” Kell said, “as long as that surface is not subjected to moisture, cleaning reagents, sunlight or high temperatures that can potentially degrade it. It can remain stable on that surface for a long period of time.”
Both agreed that when DNA is collected from a person’s home, there are areas where multiple people are repeatedly and continuously touching surfaces at different periods of time, such as light switches, for example.
Kell agreed when Cremer argued "when you have DNA, you don’t know where it comes from.”
The minor contributor, or the DNA found to belong to the secondary person and in a lesser amount, “could be (from) nasal secretion, from skin, from saliva,” Kell added, and not necessarily from blood, in the blood sample.
Kell said DNA could also be placed in the mixture from direct or indirect contact.
Cremer revisited the blood taken from the wall above the couch, quizzing Kell on the major and minor DNA contributors found in the sample, with MacQueen having been confirmed to be the major one.
The minor contributor was found to be from “at least one other person,” the DNA analysis report stated, with Kell saying in court it was a “small amount” and they could not glean enough information to determine an identity.
Cremer argued, “it could be more than two contributors.”
“That’s correct,” answered Kell, adding they could not determine if the minor contributor in the sample was male or female.
Two separate samples taken from a crumpled tissue found on the bathroom floor showed evidence of sperm cells, which were attributed to Doug Callow, Janeiro’s boyfriend at the time of her death.
Suspected blood from the tissue was also tested, but was deemed inconclusive due to the presence of a fingerprinting agent used in 1994, which was similar in colour to blood.
Another area of note in the apartment, which was sampled by police and later DNA tested when the technology became available, was in the kitchen.
Ten cigarette butts found in an ashtray on the kitchen table and testing showed nine of them contained DNA from Janeiro, while one contained DNA from John Binns, one of the last people in her apartment prior to her murder.
Molson Canadian beer bottles on the table revealed DNA from Janeiro, Binns and William “Woody” Theakston, an outlaw biker who was a regular visitor of Janeiro’s, and whom she sold drugs for.
Once Cremer finished questioning the DNA expert, Flosman countered by asking Kell if his DNA, for example, could end up on a surface he didn’t touch.
“If I bleed on a towel, the towel sits there for a week and dries, and somebody takes it and throws it in the laundry," he said, "is the blood going to be transferred into the laundry?”
“There may be some transfer, but not suitable (in a test sample),” Kell answered.
With Kell appearing as the final witness, the evidentiary aspect of the trial concluded Friday.
The next step will be the closing arguments by both the Crown and the defence, which is scheduled for next Thursday, meaning the trial may wrap up sooner than the seven weeks which was originally predicted.
Court has heard the last time Janeiro had contact with anyone was around 4 a.m. on Oct. 10, 1994. Her body was discovered by a friend around 7 p.m. that night. Her two-year-old daughter had been visiting family members at the time of the homicide.
Last week, MacQueen's ex-wife testified that Janeiro had told her she was pregnant, and the father was believed to be MacQueen or possibly another man.
During opening statements, the Crown said Janeiro had a "therapeutic abortion" on Sept. 16, 1994, less than a month before she was killed.
