NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. - Clumps of hair were found near a slaughterhouse on Robert Pickton's farm, a search technologist testified Wednesday as Pickton's murder trial resumed after a two-day adjournment.
Tara Nicholls was another in a long line of search technicians who have testified about items seized on the Pickton property during a massive investigation that began in February 2002 and lasted almost two years.
The trial, which began Jan. 22 and is now in its 10th week, did not sit Monday and Tuesday due to the illness of one juror.
Nicholls told the jury under cross-examination by defence lawyer Joe Saulnier that the clumps of hair were found in a destroyed portion of the slaughterhouse referred to as a "concrete foundation."
The slaughterhouse building was adjacent to Pickton's trailer and was used by him to butcher pigs -- one of the ways he made a living.
Nicholls said she examined about 50 blonde-brownish hairs that were found in one clump, of which 14 had roots and one was a scalp hair about 38 centimetres long.
She testified about another clump of "loose hair" including some that were determined to be human.
The exhibits were sent to the lab for DNA analysis and future witnesses were expected to provide the jury with more information about any findings.
Another witness, search co-ordinator Angela Butler, told Crown prosecutor Derrill Prevett that she examined a "dirty and brittle condom" that had been tied at the open end.
As the jury looked at the photograph in a thick exhibit book, Butler testified that she "removed numerous animal hairs" from the condom, which were sent to the lab for DNA analysis.
Butler told the jury about an extensive examination she conducted on a watch found in the slaughterhouse. She took the watch apart and tested it with hemastix, which is a presumptive but not confirmatory test for blood.
She found some positive test areas and the parts of the watch were sent for further analysis.
Pickton, who has been in custody since February 2002, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Wolfe, Marnie Frey, Sereena Abotsway, Georgina Papin and Mona Wilson.
He faces another 20 first-degree murder counts at a trial scheduled for later.
Nicholls earlier told Crown prosecutor Satinder Sidhu that she examined and removed two small reddish stains from a receipt that was found on the site. They were sent for DNA analysis.
Under cross-examination, Saulnier took Nicholls through a long list of items that she examined and which were sent for DNA analysis, including a blanket, a jean shirt and numerous exhibits from a blue garment bag.
They included many gloves with the fingertips cut away, a compact case with two powder puffs and several loose hairs.
Exhibits taken from the slaughterhouse and examined and sent for DNA analysis included almost 900 swabs taken from an apron and more than 600 from an umbrella.
Nicholls said a nylon braided orange rope had areas of "dark, reddish staining" and was cut into four-centimetre pieces and sent for analysis.
