British backpackers murder trial: DNA samples available for retesting
Fresh evidence from scene of murder of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller – including alleged murder weapon – could be used in migrant workers’ trial.
Key DNA crime scene samples, previously believed to have been destroyed, will be available for retesting in the trial of two Burmese migrants workers accused of killing two British tourists in Thailand.
Lead defence lawyer Nakhon Chompuchat said the court asked the defence team on Friday to provide a list of the evidence they want independently tested. Police say DNA from both the accused was found at the crime scene.
“Now we must decide what to retest,” Chompuchat said.
Inconsistencies over the police investigation emerged at the start of the trial earlier this month when a testifying police officer said that the sperm samples – the main evidence against the two men – had been “used up”.
But on Thursday, police forensic expert Kewalee Chanpan told the court that although the cotton buds used to take the samples were not available, the DNA extracted still existed.
Other evidence available for retesting includes blood and shoes found on the beach, and a hoe which was allegedly used to kill Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, on Sairee beach on Koh Tao island on 15 September 2014.
Andy Hall, a migrants’ rights activist from Britain who is working for the defence, said he was pleased the evidence was being made available but was still concerned about the reliability of the samples.
“We are not confident in the chain of custody of the samples,” he said, speaking from outside the court in the larger island of Koh Samui. He also complained that some CCTV footage from the night of the murders was not looked at by police.
Thai police deny any wrongdoing.