DNA material from Christine Lundy found on husband Mark's polo shirt was deep central nervous system material, from either the brain or spinal cord, a United States pathologist told the High Court at Palmerston North yesterday.
Dr Rodney Miller, an internationally recognised expert in diagnostic pathology from Dallas, Texas, said
the only way such material could be released from the body was through a major wound.
Mark Lundy is charged with the murder of his wife, Christine, and daughter, Amber, 7, at their Palmerston North home on August 29, 2000.
An issue in the trial is the possibility that the shirt became contaminated at some stage during the investigation.
Dr Miller used images from a microscope on the witness stand, linked to the courtroom display screen, as crown prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk took him through his evidence.
Dr Miller is a leading expert in immuno-staining, which uses selective dyes to identify tissue from various parts of the body.
He was approached early last year by Detective Sergeant Ross Grantham, the head of the Lundy inquiry, after discussions with the Palmerston North Hospital pathology team. Dr Miller made slides from Lundy's polo shirt, taken to Dallas by Mr Grantham, and put them through the immuno-staining process.
The result, a strong brown staining of cell material in the mesh of the fabric, showed the cells were "very rich" in a deep brain/spinal protein called GFAP.
"There is absolutely no question that this represents tissue from brain or spinal cord," Dr Miller said.
"This is clearly central nervous system tissue."
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Mike Behrens, QC, Dr Miller - who had acknowledged this was the first time he had given evidence in a murder trial and that he had not previously attempted immuno-staining on cells embedded in fabric - said he had not seen any literature about the characteristics of "smearing brains on shirts".
He said he would expect a very different result if the shirt had been contaminated with dried tissue, or even rehydrated tissue.
- NZPA
