Claremont serial killings: Police forensic officers detail collection of crucial fingernail evidence from Ciara Glennon’s body

An experienced police forensics officer has described the crucial moment he collected Ciara Glennon’s fingernail clippings — key evidence prosecutors say points to Bradley Robert Edwards as being the Claremont serial killer. Sgt Adam McCulloch — a fingerprint specialist who has worked for WA Police for three decades — attended Ms Glennon’s burial site the day she was found in Eglinton bushland on April 3, 1997, and was the “collection point” for evidence from her post-mortem the following day. Prosecutors say clippings taken from Ms Glennon’s left thumbnail and middle finger — AJM 40 and 42 — held Mr Edwards’ DNA. As Mr Edwards’ trial entered its 30th day today, Sgt McCulloch testified he held a clean, labelled, open, yellow top container underneath Ms Glennon’s hand as senior mortuary technician Robert Macdermid clipped, starting with her left thumbnail. The court has been told Ms Glennon’s thumbnail was “severely damaged” — an injury allegedly suffered as she fought for her for life — and Mr Macdermid had some difficulty cutting what was left of it. “My role in the collection of those nails was to hold the yellow top container, which was open at the bottom,” Sgt McCulloch explained in his testimony. “Starting with the left thumb, (Mr Macdermid) held the left thumb directly over the yellow top container, which I was holding, and he cut the fingernail as much as he could. “The fingernail dropped directly into the container I was holding … I then screwed the yellow top onto that container.” He said he used the same process to collect all 10 of Ms Glennon’s fingernails. Yesterday, Sgt McCulloch said he got so close to Ms Glennon’s left hand that he touched it with his own gloved hands, but he today clarified this occurred during a “brief interval” after her thumbnail and middle fingernail had been collected. “It was after the left middle nail was collected, and as far as I can recall I touched the left index and thumb, I think, to try and check if those nails were removed and in preparation to collect the left ring finger,” he said. Sgt McCulloch said the nail samples, as well as a sample of Ms Glennon’s hair collected at her burial site which also allegedly had blue fibres in it from the Telstra work pants Mr Edwards wore at the time — were collected by discredited forensic scientist Laurie Webb that afternoon. On the same day, Ms Glennon’s bloodied T-shirt was cut from her body — which allegedly later yielded the same type of fibres. Sgt McCulloch said he took it from the mortuary to a secure “drying room” at police headquarters that Friday, where he placed a drop sheet down, removed the garment from a paper bag, hung it on a rack, and left it there to dry for the weekend. He said that was done because the T-shirt was sodden and had a “terrible odour”, saying it could not be left in a wet paper bag over the weekend because mould could grow, and the evidence compromised. Yesterday, Sgt McCulloch said he folded the paper bag over a couple of times, but did not add evidence tape onto the bag before it was transported. The rest of the exhibits, including fibres, collected at the post-mortem and that had not been delivered to the lab for testing, were also left in the same room in their closed yellow top containers, he said. The drying room was cleaned between each use, Sgt McCulloch said, but questioned by Mr Edwards’ lawyer Paul Yovich, he admitted he did not witness it being cleaned before he used it. Sgt McCulloch said he delivered Ms Glennon’s shirt, skirt, bra, underpants, as well as her body bag for examination at the State Health Laboratory on the Monday morning. He said the following day, Mr Webb — who was sacked from PathWest in 2016 for breaches of protocol — brought the shirt back to the mortuary where it, as well as foliage that covered Ms Glennon, underwent further examination by forensic pathologist Karin Margolius. Mr Yovich is arguing key evidence in the case against Mr Edwards could have been contaminated and the continuity of evidence has been a major focus in his questioning. Under-cross-examination, Sgt McCulloch, who was also involved in collecting and packaging shorts belonging to the 17-year-old girl Mr Edwards’ abducted and then raped in Karrakatta Cemetery in 1995, agreed he made seven statements relating to both that case and Ms Glennon’s murder investigation between 1997 and this year. Sgt McCulloch admitted he had some independent memory about the two cases, but needed to rely on documents, videos and photographs for his statements. Questioned about a statement he made in October 2015 in which he said he used evidence tape on the items he personally collected from the cemetery hours after the horrific attack, including the victim’s shorts left behind, Sgt McCulloch admitted it was incorrect. Sgt McCulloch admitted he did not remember how the items were packaged and that the practice in 2015 was to use evidence tape and assumed he had done the same thing in 1995. “At the time ... in 2015, we were compiling statements all the time and it becomes repetitious about the exhibits that we collected and the evidence tape was put across the top so this ... is a reason behind why I believe I’ve said what I’ve said in those statements,” he said. Sgt McCulloch said the issue was brought to his attention last year by cold case investigators, and he went through a “laborious” process of examining the packages. “And to my satisfaction, the original packaging did not have evidence seal tape attached ... and as a result I provided an addendum statement,” he said. Mr Edwards denies he is the serial killer who murdered Ms Glennon, Jane Rimmer and Sarah Spiers, with all three young women vanishing from Claremont in the mid-1990s. Ms Rimmer’s body was found in Wellard on August 3, 1996. Ms Spiers’ is still missing. Sgt McCulloch is still being cross-examined.

TRIBUNAL RECAP: Ex-Eagles bemused as Barrass can’t beat ban

Claremont serial killings: Police forensic officers detail collection of crucial fingernail evidence from Ciara Glennon’s body