Court hears DNA on hat taken from Noel Long matches partial DNA profile in murder case

Material preserved 42 years ago matches that found on beanie hat taken from Noel Long, trial hears

Forensic scientist Jonathan Paul Whitaker was a witness at the trial of 74-year-old Noel Long of Maulbawn, Passage West, Co Cork, who is accused of the murder of Nora Sheehan 42 year ago. Picture: Collins Courts

A partial DNA profile generated from material preserved 42 years ago matched that found on a beanie hat taken from a cold-case murder accused, the Central Criminal Court has heard yesterday.

British forensic scientist Jonathan Paul Whitaker testified that the probability of the recovered DNA profile originating from someone unrelated to “the man in the beanie hat” would be one in 23,000.

Dorothy Ramsbottom said that, based on a database of the Irish population, it was at least 20,000 times more likely that the recovered DNA was a match to that found on the beanie hat rather than an unrelated person.

Evidence has been given that a slide containing material from a vaginal swab of the victim had to be sent to the UK in 2008 to generate a DNA profile, as Ireland lacked the techniques to interpret low amounts of DNA at the time.

The jury has heard that the pathologist who carried out the autopsy on Nora Sheehan found bruising in the anterior wall of her vagina, and it showed the presence of sperm.

Noel Long, aged 74, with an address at Maulbawn, Passage West, Co Cork, has pleaded not guilty to murdering 54-year-old Nora Sheehan between June 6, 1981, and June 12, 1981, at an unknown place. Her body was found by forestry workers at The Viewing Point, Shippool Woods, Co Cork, six days after she went missing.

Dr Whitaker, from Forensic Science Services (FSS) in the UK, told Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that Low Copy Number (LCN) was a more sensitive DNA profiling technique capable of detecting DNA in much smaller amounts and where a sample is old or has had the opportunity to degrade.

In November 2008, Dr Whitaker received a microscope slide of cellular material taken from the body of Ms Sheehan and a blood stain card from the victim.

He tested the microscope slide using the LCN methodology to maximise the chance of getting a DNA profile from the sample, as it was quite old and taken from the decomposed body of the victim.

The blood stain card of Ms Sheehan was processed by the standard DNA method.

Dr Whitaker agreed that on May 5, 2022, he received from Kristen O’Connor the result of a DNA profiling test performed on a black beanie hat obtained from an address as Maulbawn, Passage West, Co Cork.

Dr O’Connor, from Forensic Science Ireland, has testified that she received five items belonging to Mr Long on December 1, 2021, for DNA testing, and one of these was a black beanie hat.

Dr Whitaker told the jury it was possible to observe sperm cells on the microscopic slide and the next step was to separate epithelial and semen cells.

Dr Whitaker said when he tested the epithelial part of the vaginal swab, he obtained a female DNA profile which matched the DNA profile obtained from Ms Sheehan’s blood stain card.

Dr Whitaker said a male partial profile, or incomplete profile, was developed from the seminal part of the sample in the microscope slide. His opinion as to why the seminal fraction was an incomplete profile was because of the poor quality of the DNA.

The witness said a DNA profile from the beanie hat provided to him in May 2022 was compared to the profile obtained from the seminal part of the microscope vaginal slide. Dr Whitaker said the profile taken from the semen on the microscope slide matched the DNA recovered from the hat.

The witness said that if the male DNA profile on the microscope slide had not come from the person whose DNA profile was on the beanie hat, then it must have come from somebody else who by chance had the same DNA profile.

Regarding the probability of that particular DNA profile originating from someone unrelated “to the man in the beanie hat”, he said it would be one in 23,000.

Dr Dorothy Ramsbottom said she was asked to offer her view of a match between material on Ms Sheehan’s vaginal swab and the hat. She estimated it was at least 20,000 times more likely that the DNA matched that on the beanie hat rather than an unrelated person, based on the database of the Irish population.

Under cross-examination, Michael Delaney SC, defending, asked the witness what the likelihood ratio would be if a full profile obtained from the semen on the vaginal swab had matched the profile obtained from the beanie hat.

Dr Ramsbottom said it would be a thousand million times more likely where there was a match between two full profiles.

Under cross-examination by Mr Delaney, Detective Garda David Barrett, of Bandon Garda Station, agreed that this case had been with the Serious Crime Review Team from 2008 to 2016 before it was returned to Bandon Garda Station.

Det Gda Barrett also agreed that he had undertaken an extensive search in Bandon District Headquarters, which comprised of seven garda stations, for exhibits in the case. He further agreed that 281 items were recorded on the exhibit log from the investigation but that no items were recovered as part of his search.

These items included a blue and white flowered dress found on Mrs Sheehan’s body, as well as a blue coat, a shoe with a gold buckle, and tights found at the scene. The remains of a vaginal swab taken from the deceased’s body was not recovered either. The witness said the accused had been charged with the offence on June 28, 2022.

At the close of today’s proceedings, Mr Grehan told the jury that the prosecution had completed its evidence. Mr Delaney said an issue of law will need to be discussed in the absence of the jury, which would take two days.

The trial continues on Thursday.