Latest news with #ESR
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- RNZ News
Helen Gregory murder trial: Forensic evidence cannot confirm vase as murder weapon
Julia DeLuney in the High Court Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii A forensic scientist says a particle found in the scalp of a Khandallah woman killed in her home doesn't match a substitute of the Crown's suggested murder weapon. Helen Gregory, 79, was killed in January last year, and her daughter Julia DeLuney is on trial for her murder at the High Court in Wellington. The Crown said DeLuney attacked her mother before staging it to look like she had fallen from the attic, but the defence said someone else caused those injuries in the 90 minutes in which DeLuney had gone to get help. In opening its case, the Crown said later evidence would show the possibility that Gregory was attacked using a vase which normally stood on the bedside table. The vase has never been found. On Wednesday, ESR scientist Glenys Knight told the court that police thought a cream-coloured particle found in Gregory's scalp could be a chip from the vase. "There was a question about what the vase was made of, because when I was examining the plugs of scalp I had found this small particle within the scalp tissue and I'd sent that on for forensic analysis," Knight said. "And there was the thought - that the police had - that a chip from the vase could have been embedded in the scalp." However, she said her analysis of chips from a similar handmade vase, from the same potter, were terracotta in colour. She said samples were taken from the base of the substitute vase and also from underneath the glaze. "Both of them showed this bright orange material underneath - it looks like terracotta," Knight said. "It certainly looked nothing like the particle that I had collected [from the scalp] which was a bone colour, like a pale cream colour, so I didn't examine it any further." The trial continues. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Khandallah murder trial: Blood spatter found around the kitchen sink
A forensic scientist giving evidence in the Khandallah murder trial says there was evidence of blood around the kitchen sink, as though someone tried to clean up. Helen Gregory, 79, was killed at home in January last year, and her daughter Julia DeLuney is on trial for her murder at the High Court in Wellington. The Crown says DeLuney attacked her mother before staging it to look like she had fallen from the attic, but the defence says someone else caused those injuries in the 90 minutes in which she had gone to get help. Glenys Knight from ESR told the court today that in her opinion, it appeared someone had washed blood-stained hands or an object in the kitchen sink. There was some visible blood on the bench around the sink when the scene was examined, and a Luminol test revealed extensive blood spattering. ADVERTISEMENT Knight told the court she had attended more than 150 scenes, many of which were homicides, including several multiple homicides and high profile cases, and she carried out the scene examination at Gregory's home at 8 Baroda St. Pieces of detached hair and flesh were preserved, along with a broken nail, which had small blood stains on it. She said visible blood was found on a number of items and doorways in multiple rooms, and its presence was confirmed with different tests, including the Kastle-Meyer test, the Combur test and Luminol testing, in which a chemical reagent reacts with blood and glows blue in low light. The court heard in earlier evidence the street lights in the area were turned off to allow for Luminol testing. Areas in and around the sink lit up strongly during testing. "In my opinion, these were most likely created by diluted blood being flicked or splashed and then left to dry," Knight said. "From the position of these stains around the sink, it would appear likely that someone has washed blood-stained hands or a blood-stained item in the kitchen sink." ADVERTISEMENT Julia DeLuney is on trial for her mother's murder at the High Court in Wellington. (Source: Next to the sink, in a Wild Bean Cafe paper bag, sat an uneaten pastry. Blood was also found on the doorframe and door handle of the patio door, the tap in the laundry, the handle of the fridge, a mug on the kitchen table and on the kitchen floor – in Knight's opinion, all were transfer stains from another object – along with the extensive blood in the bedroom Gregory was found in, and the hallway. It was also found on her personal alarm, normally worn on the wrist but instead found sitting on the television cabinet in the sitting room. "Some blood stains, which in my opinion appeared dilute were detected on the front and back of the face and strap of the NevaAlone personal alarm," Knight said, reading from her report. That alarm was also sampled for trace DNA, but Knight did not speak about the results of that test. No blood was found on cleaning products in the cleaning cupboard, or its handles. ADVERTISEMENT There were also two circles of "probable" blood on the white tile next to the stove – only classed as probably as they reacted with luminol but the other, less sensitive tests did not confirm its presence. Those circles matched a number of items in the house, including some crockery, lamps, candle holders and a metal bucket under the sink, but there were no traces of blood found on any of those items. Knight said the bloody footprints on the kitchen floor were unusual, in that the soles did not have a detailed pattern on the bottom, indicating they might be from slippers or dress shoes which usually had featureless sole patterns. Neighbour says blinds remained open In separate evidence, a neighbour told the court that on the night of Gregory's death, the lights in her home were off and the blinds left open. The neighbour said she went to bed about 10pm, and at that point, the house was in darkness and nobody had closed the blinds. But she said she woke up around 2am to see lights on in Gregory's house, which were shining into her own bedroom. She said she did worry something had happened, and the next day, a police officer knocked on her door to take her statement.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Helen Gregory murder trial: Forensic scientist gives evidence on blood spatters at crime scene
The Khandallah house where Helen Gregory died. Photo: RNZ / Ashleigh McCaull A forensic scientist giving evidence in the Khandallah murder trial says blood spatters show at least one blow was dealt while the victim was lying on the bedroom floor. Helen Gregory, 79, was killed at home in January last year, and her daughter Julia DeLuney is on trial for her murder at the High Court in Wellington. The Crown claims DeLuney attacked her mother before staging it to look like a fall, but the defence said someone else caused those injuries in the 90 minutes in which she left to get help after her mother fell from the attic . Julia DeLuney in the High Court. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii On Monday, the court heard from a neighbour, who said the house was dark and blinds remained open, until she was woken by bright lights from the house between 2am and 3am. The court also heard from ESR scientist Glenys Knight, who corroborated past witnesses who said Gregory was found lying on the floor of the smallest bedroom, but added the detail that she was wearing blue shorts and silver slip-on shoes. Knight said the blood stains on the elderly woman's head indicated some of the bleeding had occurred while she had been upright, and then further bleeding occurred when she was face-down, on her left side. "In my opinion, these directional stains and the circular stains comprised an impact pattern showing that at least one impact to an area of liquid blood occurred very low to the ground just in front of the left side of the mirrored door," Knight said. "The position of this impact would have been very near to where Ms Gregory's head had been when she was found, and therefore it is likely that at least one impact to her head occurred while it was on the floor in this area." She said a number of objects, including the headboard of the bed, appear to have been impacted by a bloody object repeatedly.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Helen Gregory murder trial: Forensic scientist says at least one blow dealt to victim
The Khandallah house where Helen Gregory died. Photo: RNZ / Ashleigh McCaull A forensic scientist giving evidence in the Khandallah murder trial says blood spatters show at least one blow was dealt while the victim was lying on the bedroom floor. Helen Gregory, 79, was killed at home in January last year, and her daughter Julia DeLuney is on trial for her murder at the High Court in Wellington. The Crown claims DeLuney attacked her mother before staging it to look like a fall, but the defence said someone else caused those injuries in the 90 minutes in which she left to get help after her mother fell from the attic . Julia DeLuney in the High Court. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii On Monday, the court heard from a neighbour, who said the house was dark and blinds remained open, until she was woken by bright lights from the house between 2am and 3am. The court also heard from ESR scientist Glenys Knight, who corroborated past witnesses who said Gregory was found lying on the floor of the smallest bedroom, but added the detail that she was wearing blue shorts and silver slip-on shoes. Knight said the blood stains on the elderly woman's head indicated some of the bleeding had occurred while she had been upright, and then further bleeding occurred when she was face-down, on her left side. "In my opinion, these directional stains and the circular stains comprised an impact pattern showing that at least one impact to an area of liquid blood occurred very low to the ground just in front of the left side of the mirrored door," Knight said. "The position of this impact would have been very near to where Ms Gregory's head had been when she was found, and therefore it is likely that at least one impact to her head occurred while it was on the floor in this area." She said a number of objects, including the headboard of the bed, appear to have been impacted by a bloody object repeatedly.
Nikkei Asia
3 days ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Labor shortages crimp Japan's booming property industry
In Japan, high construction costs driven by labor shortages are eating into developers' margins. (Photo by Sae Kamae) MITSURU OBE TOKYO -- Labor shortages are threatening to undermine Japan's otherwise booming property development industry by causing delays and overruns in construction projects, from government buildings to apartment blocks to logistics facilities. ESR, a Hong Kong-based real asset owner and manager that operates warehouses across Asia, is experiencing the effects firsthand.
