A forensic analyst told a seven-member jury in the murder trial of Constable Noel Maitland in the Home Circuit Court, downtown Kingston on Monday that she formed the opinion there was an impact spatter event inside the policeman’s apartment based on the pattern of blood distribution on certain items.

The analyst had previously testified that samples taken from curtains, a cushion cover, and a shoe tested positive for blood.

Maitland is on trial for murder and preventing the lawful burial of a corpse in relation to the July 12, 2022 disappearance of his 24-year-old social media influencer girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson.

Donaldson was last seen alive at the Chelsea Manor Apartments complex in St Andrew where Maitland lived. She was reported missing on July 13, 2022.

Prosecutors are banking on circumstantial evidence to secure a conviction in the case.

On Monday Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Claudette Thompson asked the forensic analyst to explain what she meant by “impact spatter event”.

“This means that they could have been created by something with blood touching the surface or something coming in contact with blood on the surface or the folds of the drapes rubbing on each other. The small clots could have been formed depending on how the portion of blood, having clotting factors, was allowed to dry on the surface,” the analyst said.

Maitland was seen in dock listening intently as he jotted notes on a piece of paper.

Thompson then asked the witness to explain what she knew about how human blood reacted to certain cleaning agents.

“When blood leaves the human body and is exposed, its colour gets darker with time. The process of degradation, the components of it being broken down, begins. When blood comes in contact with water, it would be diluted. Water would make it more degraded especially if there is a lot of water,” the analyst explained.

She added that vinegar, which is a weak acid, would cause degradation if it came in contact with blood which consists of several proteins.

She said, too, that if degreaser of a liquid form came in contact with blood, it would dilute the blood.

As for bleach, she said it also enhances the breaking down of blood and its components.

“Coming into contact with blood, bleach would impact it dependent on the amount of bleach. Soap, which is also a cleaning agent, would also effect the degradation depending on the type of soap and the quantity of soap and the quantity or volume of blood. Different soaps have different chemical make up,” she said.

Attorney-at-law Chadwick Berry, who is one of five attorneys representing Maitland, began his cross-examination of the forensic analyst on Monday.

He asked the witness if Maitland’s BMW motor vehicle had been swabbed and tested for blood.

She confirmed that it was swabbed and tested. She told the court that no blood was detected.

Berry probed to ascertain how many items inside the apartment were swabbed and tested for blood.

The witness said that more than 100 items were tested.

Except for the drapes, the cushion cover and a shoe, she said that the other items had tested negative for blood.

The trial continues today.