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King's DNA on swords likely left by direct contact, key witness testifies

A day after testifying that a large amount of Denecho King's DNA was found on the handles of swords allegedly used in a deadly attack in 2014, an expert witness testified Wednesday the deposits were most likely left by direct contact.

DNA expert and key Crown witness Kenneth Hunter, facing cross-examination from King's lawyer Jay Bran, said the amount of biological matter collected from the handles and guards of both swords was likely too large to have been deposited indirectly.

Hunter's testimony refuted Bran's suggestion that his client's DNA had made its way onto the decorative swords through “secondary transfers.”

After best friends John Wifladt and Colin Digness – both bleeding and barely conscious – were discovered in a Sunridge Place apartment unit on Dec. 14, 2014, Bran contended the first responders who arrived at the scene could have unknowingly collected DNA from the building's hallways, doorknobs and banisters, carrying it with them into the unit and transferring it onto the swords.

At the beginning of the trial, a witness placed King at the same apartment complex where the deadly attack occurred, testifying he had knocked on her door not long before the bloody discovery was made.

Wifladt later died of his injuries, while Digness survived. King, 25, is charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the brutal attack.

Asking Hunter to review a series of crime scene photos, Bran pointed out items – including an article of clothing and a small “booklet” – shown to be in contact with the swords. Bran asked Hunter whether or not DNA could have been transferred from those items onto the handles and guards – where King's DNA was found.

Kenneth Hunter, a DNA expert and member of the RCMP's national forensics lab in Edmonton, testified King's DNA -- located on two swords allegedly used in a deadly attack -- was likely left through direct contact. His testimony is the first piece of evidence that links King to the Sunridge Place unit where Wifladt and Digness were found. Brendan Burke/NNSL photo

While a possibility, Hunter said such contact would only transfer small amounts of DNA, and wouldn't account for the significant amount found on the samurai-like swords.

“For insufficient amounts to add up to (the amount observed) – I don't think that's in the realm of possibility,” testified Hunter.

Bran continued to press the witness on variables that could have led to the crime scene being “contaminated,” presenting Hunter with another scenario that saw Wifladt and Digness transfer the DNA onto the swords themselves.

Bran suggested after collecting DNA on their hands and shoes while walking up to Digness' unit, the two could have handled and played with the swords, transferring the DNA in the process.

Hunter said the scenario was possible but unlikely, again stressing that secondary transfers only leave minute traces of DNA, while the amount found on the swords matching King's was at a high level “not typically seen.”

Hunter admitted it wasn't possible to definitively say who touched the swords last. The DNA of two other unidentified people were also found on the ornamental swords.

King's fingerprints were never found at the scene of the attack.

Throughout the trial, Bran has called into question the handling of both the crime scene and the evidence collected from it, grilling responding officers and paramedics about whether or not their practices and procedures were up to par.

King sole suspect in apartment attack 

Sgt. Brandon Humbke – a former member of RCMP G Division's Major Crimes Unit tasked with overseeing the investigation into the December 2014 attack – testified Wednesday that King was the sole suspect in the incident that claimed the life of Wifladt and left Digness badly injured.

During cross-examination from King's lawyer Thursday, Humbke said the possibility the pair had injured each other after getting into a fight was raised in the early days of the probe but that theory "didn't make sense," given the evidence gathered by police.

Presenting a Facebook photo of Digness holding a sword in what he called a "ninja pose," – an image obtained by RCMP the day after the attack – Bran asked Humbke why police didn't treat him as a person of interest in the case.

"Because he was a victim," answered Humbke, adding all the evidence pointed to King being responsible for the crime.

In the days that followed the apartment attack, Humbke said King's name "became involved" in the case, leading investigators to name him as a person of interest – and then a suspect.

But Humbke said there wasn't enough evidence to arrest King until March 2015, when DNA found during an initial analysis of the swords was matched to King's.

King's fingerprints were never located in the apartment unit – or in the apartment complex. But Humbke
testified the swords themselves weren't dusted for prints as there were concerns doing so would compromise DNA analysis.

The finding led to charges being brought forward against King, who had recently been jailed on the strength of an unrelated arrest warrant.

On Thursday, the defence opted not to bring any evidence forward – ending speculation as to whether or not King would take the stand to testify at his own judge-only trial.

With all of the Crown's evidence now presented, closing submissions from King's lawyer and the Crown will be
made Friday.