Julia DeLuney is accused of murdering her mother in January 2024. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
The jury in trial of a woman accused of murdering her mother has heard a hair found on the hand of the deceased did not belong to the accused.
Julia DeLuney is on trial, charged with murdering Helen Gregory, 79, at her home in the Wellington suburb of Khandallah in January 2024. She denies the charges.
A DNA sample was taken from the underside of a fake nail found at the scene.
ESR scientist Donna Foskin said there was "extremely strong scientific support" for at least some of the DNA found on it coming from DeLuney, but a hair found on the dead woman's hand was not a match for her or her daughter.
While the hair root sample returned only a few low-level results, Foskin said, it was enough to rule out certain DNA profiles.
"Some of the DNA detected in this sample could not have originated from Ms DeLuney," she told the court.
The Crown's case is that DeLuney killed her mother in a violent attack on the evening of 24 January last year, before staging it to look like she had fallen from the attic.
Earlier on Thursday, the court heard from ESR forensic scientist Glenys Knight that, in her opinion, the scene in the hallway where blood was found all over the walls was staged.
The defence said the police investigation developed tunnel vision and failed to investigate the possibility that someone else caused fatal injuries to the elderly woman, while her daughter had gone to get help after her fall.
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