Fingerprints could not be matched
Lloyd Rayney's fingerprints were not detected in his dead wife's car, except on a water bottle in the boot, a police officer told the barrister's trial for wilful murder yesterday.
Sen. Const. Damien Sheridan testified how a series of fingerprints identified inside Corryn Rayney's Ford Fairmont, which was found abandoned in Subiaco eight days after her alleged murder in August 2007, could not be matched to any specific person.
He said this was despite police comparing the ridge marks with fingerprints provided by 120 people, including family members and individuals known to the victim.
However, Sen. Const. Sheridan said some of the fingerprints matched known people including the Rayneys' two daughters and one of their cousins.
He said no fingerprints were found on the outside of the car because any useful marks would have probably been destroyed from exposure to the elements.
The only fingerprint traced to Mr Rayney was on a 1.5-litre water bottle in the boot, he said.
Sen. Const. Sheridan said the "unidentifiable prints" were cross-checked with a national database, which contained four million fingerprints.
He said the database would continue searching for the owners of the mystery prints as new people were added to the system.
The unknown fingerprints were found on CDs in the car stereo, a plastic David Jones bag, a Flight Centre business card from Mrs Rayney's wallet, a street directory and the driver's side rear door handle.
Mrs Rayney's work car was used to transport her body to Kings Park where she was buried in a makeshift grave. The vehicle was dumped nearby after being damaged by a bollard and leaking oil, which led police to her grave.
Another police officer, Acting Sgt David Forbes, also took the stand yesterday as hundreds of photographs he took of Mrs Rayney's car at a police forensic centre were tendered in the judge-alone trial. Acting Sgt Forbes photographed red stains on the car's back seat, back door frame and a plastic seal on the boot's edge.
State prosecutor John Agius told the court the stains were tested and all were Mrs Rayney's blood.
Last week, Mr Agius said it was the State's case that Mrs Rayney would not have bled from her wounds, but there was evidence of "purging" of bodily fluid that may have come from her mouth or nose after she died.
