DURANGO, Colo. — Blood that likely belonged to Dylan Redwine was found in Mark Redwine’s living room, but this does not necessarily provide clues about when it was from or how it got there.
This was the crux of the testimony from a DNA expert during the fifth day of Mark Redwine’s murder trial. He is charged with second-degree murder child abuse resulting in death for the November 2012 disappearance and death of his 13-year-old son, who had been on a court-ordered visit at his Vallecito home the day he was last seen alive.
“There was blood that was identified in this living room, at the scene, that came back to Dylan Redwine,” said Rebecca Strub, who analyzed DNA in the case at the Colorado Springs Metro Crime Lab.
RELATED: Prosecution says suspected human blood found in multiple areas in living room of Mark Redwine's home
Her testimony came directly after former Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Joe Clayton showed the jury areas of Mark Redwine’s living room that reacted to Luminol, a chemical agent that shows the possible presence of blood by glowing purple in the dark.
This included on part of the couch and on the wood floor underneath the carpet. Strub tested samples taken from these areas and built DNA profiles of any blood that was found.
One of those samples was highly likely to belong to Dylan Redwine, and others had a profile that could match him, his father or his brother. Since they are related, Strub said the three Redwines had similar DNA profiles.
While she could provide information about whether a sample contained blood and possibly who it could belong to, she said she could not provide details about how it got there.
During cross-examination, Mark Redwine’s defense team pointed out the fact that the samples collected were very small – perhaps only a nanogram in size – and that some areas that reacted to Luminol did not seemingly contain blood at all during Strub’s analysis.
This look at the physical evidence inside Mark Redwine’s home came after multiple days of witnesses who discussed his relationship with his son, which became fraught when the boy discovered compromising photos on his computer.
Dylan Redwine was last heard from on Nov. 18, 2012. His father reported him missing the next day, and the teenager’s body wouldn’t be found until June 2013 on Middle Mountain.
Friday afternoon's testimony continued with another DNA expert who detailed a technology that could better determined to who contributed a majority to samples with multiple profiles.
Her testimony also came with the caveat that while DNA might match one person, science cannot say how long a blood sample has been in a given area or how it got there.
Theresa Cheromcha, who works at the CBI lab and helped process the scene at Mark Redwine's house, was the last witness called to the stand.
She said part of her role involved taking DNA samples from the back of Mark Redwine's truck.
Cheromcha will return to the witness stand on Monday, when court resumes.
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