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pdf 02 page 45-51 FSS Andrew Palmer
Notes:
"Cabelos" is used
only for hair from the head; "Pelos" is used for
all other body hair.
3. Sometimes verb
tenses swung from past to present and back again
within a paragraph, and to the future in one
case. As far as possible, I tried to be faithful
to the verb tenses as written.
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Witness deposition:
Andrew Lloyd Palmer; Age if older than 18 years
Profession: Forensic
scientist
Address: FSS
References: FSS:
300655190, 400972691; Client: Operation TASK
CJS/URN: 07/06085
I declare that:
This deposition
(comprising five pages signed by me) is the
truth, to the best of my knowledge, and that I
give it knowing that, if it should be presented
as evidence, I would be subject to legal penalty
should I have declared anything that I know to
be false or that I think is not true;
I declare also that,
I am expert in the
field of forensic sciences and that I was asked
to give a deposition. I confirm that I have read
the guidelines contained in the document
Disclosure: Expert's
evidence and unused material, that
specifies my functions and documents my
responsibilities, with respect to disclosure as
an expert witness.
I have followed
directions [guidance?] and understand the
ongoing nature of my responsibilities in respect
of disclosure. In accordance with my duties of
disclosure, as documented in the booklet of
directions [standards and procedures manual?],
I:
a. confirm that I have performed my duties to
record, conserve and disclose material, in
accordance with the Law relating to
Investigations and Penal Process of 1996, as
amended;
b. have compiled an index of all the material. I
assure that such index will be updated should
further material be delivered to me or should I,
myself, produce any [further material];
c. understand that, should I come to alter my
understanding relating to any conclusion, I am
bound to communicate that as soon as possible to
the head of the investigation, presenting him
with my reasons [for such a change].
[TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: While the above is a
reasonable translation of the Portuguese
provided in the document, it must not be taken
to be a wholly accurate statement of the legal
'oath' actually signed by A.L.Palmer.]
Signed 9 November
2007
Qualifications and
experience
I am a qualified
Chartered Biologist
[Footnote 6 states:
The highest professional level achievable] and a
member of the Biological Institute. I have 25
years experience as a forensic scientist. During
this period I have examined hundreds of objects
in the detection of blood, semen, saliva,
fibres, hair, down and other trace material
derived from [human] contact. I have been
present at many crime scenes, having given
technical opinions in various cases involving
the detection of blood and the interpretation of
samples of blood spots/specks. I have drafted
reports and have given depositions in numerous
cases of homicide, sexual violence and other
cases involving the transfer of body fluids and
the interpretation of the results of DNA
profiles. I am a forensic 'doctor/practitioner',
registered with the Order [presumably of
Forensic Medicine], specialising in DNA
analysis, body fluids, capillary distribution
[system of blood flow around the human body],
down, hair and fibres.
Laboratory reference
The lab reference of
this case is 300655190
Objects received
According to the lab
records of 7 August and 6 September 2007 the
objects referred to in this report entered the
FSS laboratory in Birmingham, having been
remitted by the Police Science Laboratory of
Portugal and by the Leicestershire (UK) Police,
respectively.
Objective
The objective of my
examination was to determine if down or hair was
recovered from the Renault Scenic 59-DA-27 and,
if affirmative, to determine if those may have
come from Madeleine McCann.
Mobilisation of
scientific support people
The examination of
the objects in this case was done with the
assistance of scientific support people. A list
of those people, together with a brief
description of the work that each performed, is
in the Forensic Examination Record/Register,
which I present as exhibit ALP/1. It is a
complete record of all work done, together with
notes made during the examination. These notes
are available in the lab for verification, if
necessary.
Examination and
results
Reference objects
I received
[obtained] information from the pillow-case SJM/1,
the
tops SJM2, 4
and 5, and the hairbrush SJM/36 belonging to
Madeleine McCann or used by her. The hair found
on these objects was used in substitution of [in
place of] reference samples of her hair, [which
were] not considered to be authentic samples of
her hair.
No hair was
recovered from the pillow-case SJM/1 nor the
hairbrush SJM/36.
A total number of
twelve [12] hairs or hair fragments were
recovered from the
tops SJM/2,
SJM/4 and SJM/5. All of these appeared to be
hair and not down, being mainly blonde in
colour. One of the hairs was brown and
distinctly darker than the other hairs,
suggesting, at the least, that this was a hair
from someone else.
The remaining eleven
hairs/fragments varied in length from 4
millimetres to 45 millimetres [~1/8" to
~1,3/4"]. I could not conclude that all hairs
were from the same person. If they had been from
Madeleine McCann, then they are not
representative/typical/characteristic of a
sample of her hair, given the length of that
seen in photographs of her.
Objects from the
Renault Scenic - licence plate 59-DA-27
The following
objects recovered from the scenic were subjected
to examination:
1A, 1B, 1C, 1D,
2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E,
3,
4A, 4B, 4C,
5A, 5B, 5C,
6A, 6B, 6C,
7A, 7B, 7C,
8A, 8B, 8C,
9 and
11 (2 objects).
There were more than
two hundred hairs, down or fragments of hair and
down. The majority appeared to be different from
the blonde reference hairs recovered from SJM2,
4 and 5. Furthermore, no blonde hair consistent
with that seen in photographs of Madeleine
McCann was found.
Approximately 15
hairs, down or fragments were blonde and fair,
presenting a similarity with the reference
material. All were of insufficient length to
make a solid [definitive] comparison.
Furthermore, they are too short to do
mitochondrial DNA tests. Follicle root material
is insufficient for standard DNA tests.
Four hairs - one
from 7B and three from 7C - were sent for
Low Copy Number
DNA testing. The
results of those tests will be presented by my
colleague John Lowe.
Conclusion
In the objects
recovered from the Scenic, there were around 15
blonde/fair hairs similar to the reference hairs
from SJM2, 4 and 5. However, as it was not
possible to do solid [definitive] or significant
[forensically meaningful] tests it is not
possible for me to determine if, or not, these
could have been from Madeleine McCann.
The conclusions
expressed in the present deposition are based on
information available at the date of the
examination. In the case that there are changes
to that information, or additional information
becomes available, it may be necessary to
reconsider my interpretation and conclusions.
That re-evaluation will be most effective when
done immediately prior to any judgement.
A.L. Palmer
Translated by Lieve
Van Loock.
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DEPOSITION ============
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