'Body in bath' police sieved water for clues

BLOODY water from the bath where the submerged body of an Edinburgh woman was found had to be sieved by officers to avoid vital evidence going missing, a court has heard.

The evidence came as part of the trial of Yahya Babiker, who has denied murdering his wife Randa Kamblawi.

The jury at the High Court in Perth was yesterday shown graphic photographs of the bloody bath where the submerged body of mother-of-two Mrs Kamblawi was discovered.

Crime scene examiner Iain Harkness told the court that a bloodstained duvet and a bedspread were in the bath along with Mrs Kamblawi's body.

The jury were shown pictures of the sodden items in the bath, along with close-ups of clumps of hair and skin, including some wedged under the plug.

Mr Harkness said specialist equipment had to be used to lift Mrs Kamblawi's body out of the bath to avoid any damage which could have ruined possible evidence.

He said: "The body had been submerged in the water for some time. A wet body recovery bag used for recovering bodies from rivers was used. Three of us lifted the body up and let the water drain through holes in the bag.

"The water within the bath was sieved to ensure nothing was missing until all the bath water was done. We didn't want to pull the plug out."

The senior scene examiner also told the court that blood was found in a number of different places around the Nicolson Street flat.

"There was bloodstaining in the master bedroom, on the doorway and on the TV cabinet," he said. "There also appeared to have been signs of a clean-up, with dilute blood."

Mr Harkness said evidence had to be taken from the bathroom before the body could be removed from the bath for fear the water would spoil potential leads.

He told the court that almost 400 photographs were taken around the flat and a bloodstain appeared to have been found under where the washing basket had been sitting.

Sudanese Mrs Kamblawi's husband is on trial for murdering her with a claw hammer and dumping her in the bath before fleeing from Scotland.

Babiker, 45, described as a prisoner at HMP Edinburgh, denies murdering Randa Kamblawi by repeatedly hitting her with a claw hammer at her home at Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, on 19 or 20 October last year.

He also denied washing blood from walls and furniture in the flat and disposing of the murder weapon.

He denies dumping her blood-soaked body in the bath and failing to report her death and also denies charges of hampering any probe into the murder by fleeing the Capital to London and trying to buy a one-way plane ticket to Paris.

The trial, before Lady Stacey, continues.