Man accused of murdering grandmother ‘had blood on his clothes’

A FORMER soldier accused of murdering his grandmother had traces of her blood on his boots and clothing, a court has heard.

Garry Kane, 41, is alleged to have killed Kathleen Milward, 
87, in the house they shared in Stonehouse, Lanarkshire, on 
3 January this year.

The High Court at Dumbarton heard yesterday that traces of Mrs Milward’s blood had been found on Kane’s boots, on the front and back of his jeans, and, in small amounts, inside his jeans pockets.

Forensic scientist Nighean Stevenson said Kane’s DNA had also been found on the pensioner’s head, neck and hands, as well as on a handbag and purse in her bedroom.

Dr Stevenson said the blood on Kane’s clothes could have been as result of him assaulting his grandmother.

She said: “The scientific findings would support the assertion that blood from Kathleen Milward had been deposited by contact and by aerial transfer on the jeans and deposited by contact on the toe area of both 
Hi-Tech boots.

“If Garry Kane had worn these jeans during an assault on Kathleen Milward while she was bleeding, this could be an explanation for our findings.”

But Dr Stevenson said she “could not rule out the possibility the blood could have been transferred on to his jeans as 
attempts at resuscitation were carried out while she was 
bleeding”.

However, she told the court no traces of blood had been found on Kane’s aunt, Maureen Kennedy, 58, who had also carried out CPR on Mrs Milward.

Dr Stevenson also said the blood found on Kane’s boots appeared to have been partially wiped off. She said: “The right boot had contact bloodstaining, a residual appearance was noted on the toe by the welt. On the left there was a smaller contact bloodstaining. It had the appearance of having been partially wiped or worn off in some way.”

She said there were also small spots of blood leading through the kitchen doorway and into the conservatory.

Dr Stevenson told the court swab analysis of Mrs Milward had found traces of the accused’s DNA on her clothing and body.

She said: “DNA from Garry Kane had been deposited on to the fingernails on the right hand of Kathleen Milward and on the face and hands and neck.”

She said a fingernail, belonging to Mrs Milward and found on the kitchen floor, appeared to have been “torn from the rest of the finger”. The fingernail also had DNA on it.

She said: “In our opinion, the source of the DNA matching Garry Kane could be skin, saliva or traces of blood.”

Kane denies murdering Mrs Milward, who was found with 26 external injuries.

It is alleged he assaulted her, seized hold of her head and body, repeatedly punched and kicked her on the head and body, struck her on the head and body with a blunt implement, placed his hand over her mouth, dragged her on the floor, applied pressure to her neck and murdered her.

The trial continues.