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.