The trial of Dylan Whitehawk for the murder of Keesha Bitternose continued Friday, with the Crown calling two DNA analysis experts to the stand.
Whitehawk is accused of first-degree murder in the death of Keesha Bitternose on Jan. 2, 2020.
Megan Clark is a forensic scientist with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police based in a lab in Edmonton. She has been called to court as an expert witness over 30 times across various courts in Western Canada.
The RCMP assisted the Regina Police Service (RPS) in the DNA analysis in this case, which Clark was a part of.
“Once [the lab] receives the exhibits from the evidence management team, a search technologist examines the exhibits, reports findings, performs tests and then sends them further for DNA analysis,” she explained.
Clark analyzed six main exhibits for this case: a glove, a machete and a screwdriver as well as three swabbed exhibits from the crime scene.
The Crown focused its questioning on the glove found at the scene. Clark’s lab took six samples from the glove: two swabs from various locations on the glove as well as four tape samples.
Four separate samples in Clark’s analysis found multiple times where there was, “more than two DNA samples found.” According to Clark, this means at least three separate DNA samples may have been in a single swab or tape.
All four of those times, one of the DNA samples matched that of Keesha Bitternose while there was trace amounts of “at least one male’s” DNA. However, because of the limited amount of DNA, Clark says she could not create a profile for the other found sample.
The other two exhibits in Clark’s analysis were said to be a mixed sample from male origin. She also said it was possible Bitternose’s DNA was in these samples, but there was no way to confirm based on the amount found.
In defence’s cross examination, lawyer Thomas Hynes argued DNA is easily transferable. He asked Clark if her analysis was to simply show that DNA existed in a sample, rather than to figure out how it got there. She responded with, “yes.”
Hynes pointed out that the wording in her reports indicated there were more than two people’s DNA found in some samples, to with Clark added that meant she could conclusively say there were at least three people’s DNA recorded.
Clark then added that when trace amounts of male DNA is found amongst the copious amounts of female DNA, there are further tests that focus on pulling the DNA’s unique data from the male origin. She did not perform those tests.
The Crown then called upon a second expert witness in DNA analysis to take the stand in the afternoon.
Gregory Litzenberger is a Technical Operations Leader at the Edmonton lab. He tested male-only chromosomes from the samples by a process called YSTR testing which ignores female DNA in a sample.
Litzenberger also found multiple male originated DNA on some of the exhibits. However, on a portion of the glove, he found a mixed sample where one male’s DNA was the majority of the sample.
This allowed him to create the profile referred to in court as “Male A.” Regina Police then took known samples from the accused persons and sent them to the lab: sample “KT” and sample “DW”.
Litzenberger then tested the 27 areas of genetic code with the two samples. Sample KT did not match Male A’s DNA but the sample labeled as DW did. However, men’s DNA is passed on paternally. meaning fathers have the same DNA as their sons or brothers.
Litzenberger clarified in his report, “Neither the accused or his male-paternal relatives can be excluded from the result,” because he could not “definitely say if it was his or his father’s or even son’s.”
The DNA was then cross-referenced with a database of over 29,000 men. Litzenberger said he did this to see how rare or common this certain genetic code was. He found there to be no matches to “Male A’s” specific genetic code in the base.
DNA analysis only tested what was left on an object and cannot tell how the DNA got there.
Court is scheduled to resume Monday at 10 a.m.
King Charles III can trace his lineage back through centuries of bloody wars and brutal power struggle to 1066 when William the Conqueror took the throne. CTVNews.ca takes a deep dive into the House of Windsor and how the Royal Family came to rule.
Members of a First Nations community in northwestern Ontario are accusing paramedics of negligence for allegedly waiting on the side of a road for a police escort before helping a man in the community who later died.
Over 600 companies in the U.K. were granted Royal Warrants from Queen Elizabeth II, allowing them to proudly display the Royal coat of arms on their advertisements and packaging. But after the Queen's death, these companies may soon need to update their packaging.
A man has been charged after allegedly sexually assaulting two women in the queue for Queen Elizabeth II's lying in state in London on Wednesday, the Crown Prosecution Service told CNN.
A TSN radio host has deleted his Twitter account after calling a video showing Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk sprinting from first to home plate 'embarrassing for the sport.'
A gold judicial collar made of glass beads that belonged to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has sold at auction for US$176,775.
The U.S. Justice Department asked a federal appeals court Friday to lift a judge's order that temporarily barred it from reviewing a batch of classified documents seized during an FBI search of former president Donald Trump's Florida home last month.
More than two-and-a-half years now since the pandemic began, restaurants are on a bumpy road to recovery thanks to high debt levels, rising expenses, and low profitability among other pressures, according to a new report by Restaurants Canada.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the United Kingdom has entered a new era, which British Prime Minister Liz Truss has called the "Carolean age." CTVNews.ca speaks to historians to find out what this means.
According to the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, emergency rooms in Saskatoon are under intense strain, leading to the deteriorating health of patients waiting for transfers to different facilities.
Investigators are awaiting toxicology results for a mass stabbing suspect who died in police custody.
A Saskatoon man has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a 68-year-old man.
The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) says officers are struggling to keep up as call volumes rise, and a public survey presented to the police board is showing the impact on citizens.
Winnipeg transit is about to become more environmentally friendly.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was part of the hours-long queue in London to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II on Friday. Kenney tweeted he made the trip out of pocket to honour the Queen on behalf of Alberta.
A Calgary landmark, while it once bore blue lights in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's death, will be dark for the rest of the mourning period.
An Airdrie woman is facing charges after allegedly assaulting several people including the officers who arrested her.
A video shows a police officer shoving a woman to the ground, but Edmonton police say there are no grounds for an investigation.
Pride Corner on Edmonton's Whyte Avenue is seeing an uptick in aggressive and hateful harassment, including a recent gun threat, organizers say.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was part of the hours-long queue in London to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II on Friday. Kenney tweeted he made the trip out of pocket to honour the Queen on behalf of Alberta.
Two brothers who haven’t spoken to each other for about 30 years are now competing for the coveted position of mayor in an Ontario town.
A Toronto woman said she felt shocked and sick to her stomach after learning during a routine oil change that a squirrel had been nesting under the hood of her car.
Toronto police have identified a 19-year-old man who was fatally shot in Etobicoke Thursday night.
The Ottawa Police Homicide Unit is investigating the death of a man in a stabbing outside the St. Laurent Centre on Friday afternoon. Two other men suffered non-life threatening injuries.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what will be open and closed in Ottawa on Monday, the day of the Queen's funeral.
Testimony continued Friday in the first-degree murder trial of Elisabeth Salm, the 59-year-old Ottawa librarian who was found badly beaten in 2018. Salm later died in hospital.
Vancouver civic election candidates who submitted nomination papers with names written in non-Latin script such as Chinese and Farsi will have those names included on the ballot.
With the real estate market slowing down, Andrea Rozenberg, who bought her False Creek condo during the pandemic, says she has no regrets.
Mounties in Coquitlam are looking for witnesses and video evidence after receiving reports of "a shooting between two vehicles" Thursday night.
During the French-language debate, Québec Solidaire Spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois was pressured by Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon to say a racial slur.
Police say a 14-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after he was stabbed in a school parking lot in Montreal's Anjou borough Friday afternoon.
Quebec’s Bill 21 and Bill 96 “disproportionately” impact Montrealers, and the city ought to have a party represent it in the provincial legislature. That’s according to Bloc Montreal leader Balarama Holness who, one year after his attempt to be Montreal’s mayor, has set his sights on Quebec City.
Four years after the City of Victoria removed a statue of Sir John A. Macdonald from city hall, councillors will vote on whether it should return the statue to the historical society that originally donated it, at the society's request. The statue was first erected in the early 1980s and was taken down in 2018 by the city as an intended step towards reconciliation.
Major crime investigators in Victoria are looking for witnesses after a man was shot on Friday morning. Police say two suspects were taken into custody after patrol officers were called to a temporary housing facility in the 3000-block of Douglas Street at 5:40 a.m. for a reported shooting.
Day parole has been extended for a woman convicted of murdering Victoria teenager Reena Virk almost 25 years ago. A Parole Board of Canada decision says 40-year-old Kerry Sim, who was formerly known as Kelly Ellard, has been authorized to remain on day parole but with numerous conditions.
She didn’t expect her story would gain the attention it has, but the alleged sexual assault victim at the centre of a discussion surrounding access to sexual assault forensic examinations says she’s hopeful that, by speaking out, it will spark real change.
A New Brunswick man who held a woman captive for almost a month in a rooming house in Moncton in 2010 has had special conditions imposed on his statutory release from prison.
Nova Scotia's Minister of Environment and Climate Change Timothy Halman has dismissed two appeals related to an affordable housing development approval in the area of Eisner Cove-Mount Hope in Dartmouth.
The Sudbury Kennel Club's annual dog show is set for this weekend at the Coniston Arena. There are 175 purebred dogs from across Ontario competing in several different classes.
The Canadian Mental Health Association, the province and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture have launched a new website featuring a suite of programs designed to help farmers get mental health support.
Around a dozen correctional officers and union representatives spent part of Friday picketing in front of the North Bay Jail as contract negotiations with the Ontario government are about to restart.
A new partnership between local humane societies and Wilfrid Laurier University is providing animals with a temporary, loving home as they await adoption.
Residents of a Kitchener neighbourhood say they’re on edge after gunfire rang out near their homes Thursday night.
Grand River Transit released a video on its YouTube channel of near crashes with ION trains.
© 2022 All rights reserved. Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy