The prosecution allege that DNA evidence links two Burmese men to the murder of Islander David Miller (24) and 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge on the island of Koh Tao last September.
However, at previous sittings earlier this month, judges were told by two senior officers that some DNA had been either ‘lost’ or ‘used up’.
Yesterday, during the sixth day of the trial, Thai forensics expert Kewalee Chanpan said that, contrary to previous police statements given in court, all genetic material tested ‘in a lab’ was replicated and saved but that it had deteriorated over time. The expert said the DNA evidence could be re-examined.
Bar workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 22, deny charges of murder, rape and robbery.
Among the evidence available for re-testing are a garden hoe allegedly used as the murder weapon, blood found in the sand at the murder scene, shoes and hair samples.
‘The court said that lawyers are free to request all the DNA samples for independent DNA testing at anytime,’ lead defence lawyer Nakhon Chompuchat said.
‘Now we must decide what to re-test.’
Meanwhile, during the hearing yesterday afternoon Police Colonel Cherdpong Chiewpreecha said he and other officers had not investigated rumours that Miss Witheridge had been involved in an argument with a Thai youth on the night of her death.
The officer said he was aware of rumours that the university graduate had an altercation inside the AC Bar while there with friends.
But he said neither he, nor his officers, actively followed up that line of inquiry. The senior investigating officer insisted there was no evidence to suggest she was followed from the bar.
The court was also told that of the 300 CCTV cameras in the area, 200 were not working, and only 22 captured any video images of the victims.
Neither Miss Witheridge nor Mr Miller were seen alive again after entering the AC Bar separately, between midnight and 2 am.
The Colonel also admitted that CCTV footage from a nearby port, which may have shown who boarded the early morning boat from Koh Tao to the mainland immediately after the deaths, was never checked.
Journalists in court reported that there was an ‘audible gasp’ when the Colonel said his officers did not believe the killer would have taken that boat.
The defendants deny charges of murder, rape and robbery.
The trial will now adjourn until 18 August.
If found guilty the pair could face death by injection.
Earlier this week, David Miller was posthumously awarded a first-class master’s degree.
The former Victoria College student’s mother Sue and his long-term girlfriend Jessy Howorth collected his degree amid rapturous applause and a standing ovation from hundreds of graduates at the ceremony for the University of Leeds.
The pair turned to the crowd and raised their arms in jubilation when they collected Mr Miller’s civil and structural engineering degree.outh of Koh Tao, where Mr Miller died.
In a brief statement, the Miller family said they were proud of their son’s award and added that his loss was ‘unendurable’, adding: ‘We wish to thank Leeds University for their considerate and thoughtful gift in conferring this degree posthumously to David.’
