A Game of Proof

pair of size 9 Nike training shoes, exhibit two, on one of which she had also found blood — two stains in the crevices of the sole, and five on the upper surface, near the toe. DNA analysis had proved that all these stains were identical to the blood of the victim, Jasmine Hurst. On the trainer she had also found grass stains and sandy soil consistent with samples taken from the crime scene.

Phil Turner sat down with an air of quiet contentment. Sarah rose slowly.

‘Ms Ferguson, let’s take the minor details first. These bits of grass and soil which you found on the trainer, they were consistent with samples from the crime scene, weren’t they?’

‘Yes, they were.’ Ms Ferguson nodded calmly.

‘But — to make this quite clear for the jury — ‘consistent with’ doesn’t mean that the samples on the shoe actually came from the crime scene, does it?’

‘No …’

‘It just means that they could have come from that area. But they could have come from other places on the river path, couldn’t they? Half a mile away, perhaps?’

‘If there was the same sort of soil there, yes. And grasses.’

‘So if someone had been jogging regularly along that river path, would you expect to find the same sandy soil and grass seeds on their shoes? Even if they hadn’t been within half a mile of the crime scene?’

‘Possibly, yes …’ The young woman could probably explain the matter further, but Sarah had no intention of letting her do so. Her calm beauty and assured scientific competence had impressed the jury too much already this morning; she needed to be rattled, have some of her flaws exposed.

‘So this phrase ‘consistent with’ doesn’t take us very far, does it? What about blood?’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘The only thing that really connects either of these shoes with the crime are a few tiny stains of blood that you found on one shoe — the left one, I think. Two stains on the sole, and five on the upper surface near the toe. Let’s examine the stains on the sole first, shall we? How large were they?’

‘Not large. One was about half a centimetre across and the other a bit less.’

‘And they were both hidden in the patterns of the tread?’

‘That’s right, yes.’

‘Where you found traces of sandy soil and grasses.’

‘I did, yes.’

‘All right. Tell me, Miss Ferguson, did you find traces of anything else in the tread of these shoes? Things not obviously connected to this crime?’

Laila Ferguson frowned, trying to remember. The frown did things to her face which entranced the younger men in the jury. ‘Yes, I think so. There was grit — from pavements and roads, probably. Household dust. And traces of mashed potato chip, on the heel of the right shoe.’

Someone laughed, and Sarah smiled, glad to ease the tension. ‘So these trainers had quite an eventful life, it seems. They hadn’t been cleaned recently, then?’

‘No,’ Laila nodded emphatically. ‘They were fairly dirty.’

‘All right. Now tell me, Miss Ferguson, the blood on the sole of this shoe — was it mixed up with any grass, at all?’

‘Some of it, yes. Several fragments of grass had blood on them.’

‘And does that mean that the grass and the blood got onto the shoe at the same time?’

‘It … could mean that, yes.’

‘But it doesn’t necessarily mean that, does it? I mean, if the grass was already lodged on the shoe when the blood fell on it, the blood would still stain the grass, wouldn’t it?’

‘Yes, I suppose so.’ Ms Ferguson agreed hesitantly.

‘So, from your evidence, it’s not possible to say whether this grass got onto the shoe at the same time as the blood, or at a completely different time, is it?’

‘No …’

‘Nor is it possible to say when this blood got onto the sole of this shoe?’

‘No.’

‘Or where, either, surely. I mean, the blood could have got onto the sole of the shoe in the house, when the household dust got there; or out in the roads, when the road grit got there; or perhaps on a path where there was sandy soil. Is that right?’

‘I suppose that’s right, yes,’ Ms Ferguson agreed, frowning thoughtfully. ‘I mean, all I can say is that the blood was there. I can’t tell you when or how it got there.’

‘Exactly.’ Sarah let the words hang in the air, and looked at the young woman with some warmth. ‘Now let’s think about these drops of blood you found on top of the shoe, if we may. How big were they?’

‘The largest was two millimetres across.’

‘Big enough to see with the naked eye?’

‘Oh yes. The size of a small drop of ink.’

‘I see. And the others?

‘One was about the same size. The rest were smaller. The size of a large grain of dust.’

‘Five drops of blood, three of them the size of a grain of dust. But you examined the shoe very carefully, I suppose? The top and the sides, the laces and the tongue, you looked inside too? With special scientific equipment, I take it?’

‘Yes, of course. I spent hours examining this shoe. There were plenty of other marks, mud and grass stains chiefly, and some paint and coffee; but there were just these two stains on the sole and five on the upper surface near the toe.’

‘And the other shoe? Any blood on that?’

‘None at all, no.’

‘No blood anywhere on the left shoe. Very well. Would you turn to photo number three, Ms Ferguson, and tell the jury what you see there, please.’

‘It’s … a photograph of a dead body.’

‘Yes. It’s a photograph of the murder victim, Jasmine Hurst. It was taken at the crime scene, where she was discovered. I want to draw your attention to the blood in the photograph, Ms Ferguson. Is there a lot of blood?’

‘A lot, yes.’

‘I’m sorry if this is distressing, but could you describe to the court, in your own words, just how much blood you see in the photograph, and where it is?’

‘Well … there’s a lot on her throat, where it’s been cut, and … all over her chest and upper body. It’s on her arms too … her left arm seems to be cut and there’s blood on her legs too.’

‘Is there blood on the grass beside the body?’

‘Yes. Some of the grass looks a reddish colour.’

‘There was blood on the grass; the scene of crime report confirmed that. Now, Ms Ferguson, when someone’s throat is cut, the blood doesn’t just leak out, does it — it sprays out everywhere, pumped out by the heart because an artery has been severed. Is that right?’

‘Well, I’ve never seen it …’

‘You’re a scientist, aren’t you? A forensic scientist — you know how an artery works?’

‘Yes, of course. You’re right — the blood would spray everywhere.’

‘Yes. And we can see that in the photo, can’t we? Blood on the victim’s chest, blood on her arms and legs and all over the grass. A lot of blood, you said. Blood everywhere. Am I right?’

‘Yes, that’s right. There’s a lot of blood in this photo.’

‘Very well. Now you’re a forensic scientist; so what would you expect to find on the shoes of the person who committed this horrible crime? Someone who struggled with the victim, stood close enough to cut her throat?’

‘Blood …’

‘Yes, of course. You’d expect to find blood on those shoes, wouldn’t you? Not just blood on the top of the shoes, from the spray you’ve described, but blood on the soles too, from that bloodstained grass. You’d expect to find blood in all the little cracks of the soles, wouldn’t you? The soles of both shoes?’

Laila Ferguson hesitated. The girl was far too intelligent not to see where this was going. Sarah had noticed