Blood likely to have come from Amber-Rose Rush was found in Venod Skantha's car, on his shoes and on items recovered from his former girlfriend's home after the teenager's death.
Former Dunedin doctor Venod Skantha. Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
The 32-year-old former Dunedin doctor denies murdering the 16-year-old in February last year.
The Crown case is Mr Skantha stabbed the teenager to death shortly before midnight on February 2 to stop Miss Rush coming forward with claims of him touching up minors, supplying them alcohol and offering money for sex.
The Crown says Mr Skantha was on a last warning with his employer, the Southern DHB, and the claims would have ended his career.
The defence contends the prosecution's key witness, who drove Mr Skantha to Miss Rush's home on the night of the murder, was responsible for her death.
The trial has today heard from evidence from ESR forensic scientist Rosalyn Rough.
She told the court a bloodstain present on Mr Skantha's shoe was likely to have come from Miss Rush.
"Blood stains were present on the upper of the right shoe," she said.
"One of these stains close to the top lace eyelet was a small elliptical stain which has originated from a droplet of blood landing on the surface.
"A female DNA profile that could've originated from Miss Rush was obtained. Additional trace DNA from another person was obtained from the sample."
The scientist offered a potential explanation for how the blood got there.
"In my opinion the deposition of this blood could've occurred at the time of the assault."
The shoe was recovered from the home of Mr Skantha's former girlfriend in Balclutha.
That married with the testimony of the prosecution's key witness who told police officers he left the stain unwashed so they could tie Mr Skantha to Miss Rush's murder.
There were other traces of blood on the shoes but they appeared diluted.
Blood likely to have come from Miss Rush was also found on the inside passenger door of Mr Skantha's car.
A DNA profile from the passenger door could have come from a mix of Miss Rush and Mr Skantha's DNA, though other explanations were possible, Ms Rough said.
No DNA evidence that could be tied to Mr Skantha was found at Miss Rush's house.
Ms Rough told the court many samples were taken from the teen's house of various fluids including blood smeared on a lightswitch in Miss Rush's bedroom and the front door frame.
None of the samples contained Mr Skantha's DNA.
Other conclusions could be drawn from the scene, she said.
"There was no signs of a struggle. There were no spatter stains in the bedroom to suggest that there's been any force applied to any of this liquid blood.
"So it's my opinion that she's received her injuries in that bed and there's been very limited movement of her whilst that bleeding has taken place."
The trial heard from a forensic pathologist last week, who said it would have taken "some minutes" for Miss Rush to bleed out after she was stabbed.
The fatal wound was 11cm long running from her left ear to beyond the base of her skull and was about five to six centimetres deep at its deepest point.
It completely severed her carotid artery.
Miss Rush was found face down by her mother on February 3 with four pillows stacked on her head.
