Marks on Robin Bain's hands made by many things, court hears

David Bain denies killing five members of his family. Photo / Pool

Marks on Robin Bain's hands could have been made by many things other than teeth, the Bain murder trial has heard.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeon Donald Adams, of Wellington, told the High Court at Christchurch today that marks on the knuckles of Robin's right hand were consistent with striking the teeth of a teenage boy. Robin's son Stephen, 14, fought his killer before being shot dead along with four other members of his family.

Dr Adams agreed today with prosecutor Robin Bates that the marks could be caused by "many, many other things".

Mr Bates put to him the marks could have come from the way Robin's body was lying on a table in the mortuary. Dr Adams viewed a photograph of Robin lying on this table, and found the marks were unlikely to be caused this way.

Asked if the marks could have been caused by gardening, Dr Adams said he did not know. Dr Adams said he was not aware Robin was fixing spouting the weekend before his death.

Dr Adams said he had not excluded the marks being caused by anything else. He was aware of objects that could cause marks that had been misinterpreted as teeth marks.

"The possibility exists that they were caused by dental trauma."

Dr Adams is giving evidence in the defence of Robin's son David Bain, 37, who is on trial for the murder of his parents and three siblings in their Dunedin home on June 20, 1994. His defence team say Robin, 58, shot dead the family before turning the rifle on himself.

Mr Bates said pathologist Alexander Dempster, who did autopsies on the Bain family, was surprised to hear the suggestion that marks on Robin's hands could be from teeth.

Dr Adams said he had no knowledge of whether Stephen's mouth was examined, but it was possible there would be no evidence of the blow left behind.

He told the High Court the marks could be the result of Robin's hand coming into contact with the upper jaw of a teenage boy.

Dr Adams said the marks could have occurred when Robin's hand was moving outwards, palm up and thumb out, in an "uppercut" movement. It would not have been a heavy blow.

The marks were consistent with the teeth of a 15 or 16-year-old boy.

Dr Adams said he had never come across a case with these circumstances before.

Earlier the High Court was told Laniet Bain could have survived long enough after being shot three times to be heard gurgling.

Laniet, 18, was shot in the cheek, above her left ear, and on the top of her head while in her bed on the morning of June 20, 1994. Her parents and two of her siblings died of gunshot wounds the same day.

David Bain has told police he heard his sister gurgling when he arrived home that morning after the shootings. The prosecution say he must have shot Laniet to hear her gurgle, because this noise could only have occurred following the first shot Laniet suffered to her cheek. The next two shots were fatal, the prosecution says.

Victorian pathology professor Stephen Cordner, speaking via video link from Melbourne, today told the High Court that Laniet may have been able to survive the three shots, and continue breathing for a period afterwards. He could not be sure how long, but said it was reasonable to suggest it would be minutes rather than hours.

Asked by prosecutor Cameron Mander if Laniet could have survived the cheek wound, and lost consciousness but regained it, Dr Cordner said this was possible. This assumed the shot to the cheek was the first wound she suffered.

Dr Cordner accepted that Laniet would not be capable of voluntary movement after the other two shots. She could have made only "modest movements of the limbs".

Other witnesses for the defence have suggested gurgling noises could have come from Laniet even after she was dead. But Dr Cordner said he had no experience of this and would be interested to hear about cases where it had occurred.

Dr Cordner also told the trial it was dangerous to read too much into statistics relating to suicide with a rifle.

Dr Cordner was also asked to comment about statistics that looked at suicide by rifle and the areas of the body where people chose to shoot themselves.

He gave evidence that the fatal gunshot wound Robin Bain suffered to his left temple was close range and "perfectly compatible" with suicide. Robin, 58, was right-handed and it has previously been suggested that it would be unusual for him to have shot himself in the left temple.

Prosecutor Cameron Mander put to Dr Cordner a published article considering cases of suicide using a rifle. In this, statistics show that 22.9 per cent of suicide by rifle were to the right temple, and only 3.3 per cent to the left temple.

Asked if more than 3.3 per cent of the population were right-handed, Dr Cordner said this was the wrong way to interpret the statistics.

Statistics could easily be used incorrectly, Dr Cordner said. He said if Mr Mander was saying that if a person who shot himself in the left temple was not left-handed that it pointed to homicide, he disagreed.

Dr Cordner said he did not agree that the left temple was an unlikely or less probable site for Robin to commit suicide.

While it had been suggested that it was rare for a right-handed person, like Robin, to shoot themselves in the left temple, Dr Cordner said it was well-known in pathology literature that this sometimes occurred.

One study said that in 51 gunshot suicides, four were to the left temple and 11 were to the right temple.

The distance of the rifle from the head is considered crucial as to whether or not Robin Bain, 58, could have committed suicide.

Dr Cordner first received instructions from Bain's chief supporter Joe Karam in 1997, and received various photographs and items from the Bain case to consider. The photographs included those showing the fatal wound Robin Bain suffered to his left temple.

Dr Cordner said his view was that Robin Bain had suffered a "contact or near contact wound" - with a rifle held against, or virtually against, his left temple.

He did not see any signs of stippling - tiny imprints of powder from rifle - which prosecution experts have identified as a reason for finding that the rifle was away from the head when fired.

Features of a contact wound were that around the edges were the products of the combustion of propellant that had been burnt. This was present around Robin's wound in blackening formed of soot, searing, and material wiped off the bullet.

Considering the amount of blackening around the wound, "I feel quite comfortable that this wound is best regarded as a contact or near contact wound", Dr Cordner said.

He said he was comfortable with the thought the wound to Robin's temple "could well be self-inflicted".

Pathology professor James Ferris, giving evidence for the prosecution, has previously stated that the rifle was likely 20 to 32cm from the head, making suicide impossible in his view.