While under cross-examination on Wednesday in the murder trial of constable Noel Maitland, a senior forensic officer was unable to give details on the chain of custody of a toothbrush allegedly belonging to Donna-Lee Donaldson.

Donaldson, who went missing on July 12, 2022, is presumed dead and the person being tried for murder in the Home Circuit Court in Kingston in relation to the disappearance of the social media influencer and entrepreneur, is her policeman boyfriend, Maitland.

Maitland is also on trial for preventing the lawful burial of a corpse.

Prosecutors are depending on a host of circumstantial evidence, including blood found on at least three items inside Maitland’s Chelsea Manor apartment in St Andrew. Maitland’s apartment was the last place Donaldson was seen.

The forensic officer confirmed on Tuesday, during examination-in-chief, that the blood found in the items inside matched the DNA of Donaldson.

To ascertain whether there was a match, DNA was taken from Donaldson’s mother, Sophia Lugg and her father, Elwood Donaldson and compared with DNA said to have been taken from a toothbrush allegedly belonging to the missing social media influencer. That sample was then compared with the DNA in the blood and there was a match.

Maitland’s attorney, Chadwick Berry, asked the witness if she was aware of how the toothbrush was handled before it got into the hands of the people at the Institute of Forensic Science and Legal Medicine for testing.

She said she was not aware and that she was not able to say who touched it or when they touched it prior to it being delivered to the lab.

The forensic science officer said that DNA can be found in blood that is expelled from a woman’s body during natural bodily functions.

She said that it was possible for a person with sweaty hands to transfer DNA if they touch a lectern.

“It is possible, however, there are factors that would determine whether or not transfer took place, such as the surface that contact was made with, the length of contact as well as the fact that individuals vary in the rate at which they shed skin cells.”

She proceeded cautiously when addressing whether or not DNA could be transferred to a doorknob and then from the doorknob to another person.

“I have to proceed with caution in how I proceed in answering those questions. There are factors that influence whether transfer of DNA occurs. Without testing and knowing the particulars and without assessing those factors, I am unable to speak on whether such an event could take place.”