Ms Opperman said the primary DNA from a sample taken from the hoodie was 1 million million times more likely to belong to Ms Ross than anyone else in New Zealand. A secondary DNA profile was 500,000 million times more likely to have come from Merritt, she told the jury. Under cross examination, Ms Opperman confirmed she was unable to say how DNA arrived on a surface or when it was deposited. there's every possibility Mr Merritt's DNA could have come from transfer other than directly from him,” defence lawyer Anne Stevens said. Ms Opperman accepted if it was Merritt's biological cells on the garment, they could have been transferred from another item.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 11, 2016 00:22 UTC