Forensics not exact science, says Cassidy

STATE Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy has warned of the limitations of forensic evidence in solving crime.

While she refused to speak about the past week’s controversy over conflicting evidence in the Brian Murphy case, Dr Cassidy said the public needed to understand that forensic pathology was not an exact science and that all pathologists could do was give an opinion based on their findings.

“As an expert, we are allowed to give our opinion. Sometimes, people don’t understand that your opinion is your opinion. It’s not gospel,” she told a conference at Dublin City University.