No DNA of accused murder found in her home, court hears –

On Thursday, the court heard the DNA of a man accused of killing Jennifer Dornan, a mother of three from Belfast, at his home.

Raymond O’Neill, 43, is charged with the murder of a 30-year-old teen whose remains were found by firefighters in the bedroom of his Hazel View home.

O’Neill – who was 37 and lives on Amkmore Street in the city – is accused of stabbing Mrs. Dornan and setting fire to her Lagmore home on the morning of Sunday, August 2, 2015.

He has denied the arson and murder charges and is now on trial at Belfast Crown Court.

A DNA forensic expert was called to testify and confirmed that after Ms Dornan’s death, she received items from various objects and swabs that she tested in the lab.

Fifty-one separate pillowcases were removed from Ms. Dornan’s home, including the ones removed from doorknobs, bathroom faucets, light switches, exterior lock and switches.

A forensic expert said all objects and stains related to Mrs. Dornan’s home had been DNA tested and none of O’Neill’s DNA was on.

The expert also confirmed that he had obtained 26 other items for inspection, which came from four properties and a car in which O’Neill had spent time just hours after Ms Dornan’s death.

When asked if there was a case where Ms. Dornan’s DNA was not found in any of these things, the forensic expert replied, “That’s right.”

Witnesses were also asked about blood on a pink dress that was found at O’Neill’s friend’s Woodside View home.

The jury of six men and six women had already learned that O’Neill had arrived at the property with a friend on the morning of Sunday, August 2, 2015.

This friend – who testified earlier this week – said O’Neill wore her mother’s pink dress before going to bed on the couch.

The forensic expert was asked if the bloodstains on this bandage had been analyzed. He confirmed that this was the case and that O’Neill’s DNA was present in the bloodstains.

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