RCMP Officer Testifies at Murder Trial

RCMP Officer Testifies at Murder Trial

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 14:34

An RCMP officer testifying in the trial of an Alberta man accused of killing an Aboriginal woman testified today that police didn’t – or couldn’t — obtain fingerprints on several pieces of evidence, including some cigarette butts, styrofoam cups and a toilet handle.

Retired RCMP officer Brian David Kinloch testified today at the trial of Gordon Dwight Hurley.

Hurley is being tried a second time for the second-degree murder of 20-year-old Jarita Naistus of Onion Lake.

Naistus was found dead in a Lloydminster motel room October 2nd, 2005.

Kinloch says toilet handles, while maybe an obvious place to check, are one of the worst places to look for fingerprints because so many people use them.

Kinloch also reviewed photos taken at the crime scene, some showing blood on bathroom tiles as well as the deceased lying on the floor with a belt and coat hanger around her head.

The trial could last up to three weeks.