Gerard Baden-Clay trial: traces of blood found in car

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/18/gerard-baden-clay-trial-traces-of-blood-found-in-car

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Forensic police investigating the death of Allison Baden-Clay found traces of blood in her car, the Brisbane supreme court heard.

A scientific officer told the murder trial of her husband, Gerard Baden-Clay, a chemical test in a Holden Captiva parked at the Baden-Clays' house revealed a blood stain in the back. The court has previously heard the car was usually driven by Mrs Baden-Clay.

A photo of the stain submitted to the court showed it was on the inside back panel on one side of the car.

Senior Constable Carl Streeting said it was a "transfer blood stain" that would have required some amount of force to impart. He said there was also a stain showing the blood had dripped down the plastic panel. Streeting said the test was conducted in mid May and it wasn't possible to say how old the blood stain was.

Allison Baden-Clay's body was found on a creek bank at Anstead in Brisbane's west on April 30, 2012. The discovery was made 10 days after her husband reported her missing from their home in nearby Brookfield.

Gerard Baden-Clay, 43, has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Streeting said chemical tests for blood on a razor that Baden-Clay said he accidentally cut himself with showed no reaction, and he observed no apparent damage to the blade. The police officer agreed that blood can be washed away with water, while earlier a forensic expert said cuts on Baden-Clay's face were typical of fingernail scratches.

Meanwhile, photos taken of Baden-Clay's neck and chest the day after he reported his wife missing showed several red marks on his skin. The pictures submitted to the court showed angry red marks on the left side of his upper chest and also some red marks on the right side of his chest near his armpit. The photos also showed two red lines on the left side of his neck.

The trial continues.