HAMILTON, Ohio — The Gurpreet Singh quadruple murder trial saw Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation forensic examiners, analysts and crime scene agents explain blood, gun and footprint evidence that prosecutors believe links the defendant to the crime.
Thursday's first testimony was from Hallie Dreyer, BCI's lab supervisor in the agency's DNA unit. In April of 2019, Dreyer was a forensic scientist who examined evidence after someone killed Shalinderjit Kaur; her parents Hakiakat Singh Pannag and Parmjit Kaur; and Parmjit's sister Amarjit Kaur in Gurpreet Singh's apartment in West Chester.
Dreyer told jurors the Ruger SR9 9mm pistol that authorities recovered from a pond near the crime had no discernible DNA. Blood sampled from Gurpreet Singh's clothing involved a mix of DNA, but the only definitive profile was that of Shalinderj, Dreyer testified. When retested for Y STR DNA, to isolate potential evidence of DNA from men, on the barrel of the weapon, investigators found a DNA profile matching Hakiakat.
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BCI Firearm Examiner Andrew McClelland told jurors that he found every spent shell casing and slug pulled from the crime scene and from victims' bodies during autopsies came from the same weapon: the Ruger authorities found in the pond.
"All the shell casings match the firearm submitted?" Charlie Rittgers, one of Singh's attorneys, asked Schwesinger on the stand.
"Correct," McClelland responded.
A third forensic specialist, Ted Manasian, examined footwear impressions and gunshot residue. He told jurors the bloody shoe prints found at the scene could have been made by Gurpreet Singh's boots.
Donna Schwesinger, a gunshot residue (GSR) specialist for BCI, told jurors that Singh had GSR on both hands. During cross-examination, she testified that it is possible residue transferred from Singh's hands to the hair of one of the victims.
"It could be that if there was a victim shot at close range to the head, based on your knowledge of GSR, that victim's hair would have GSR throughout, correct," Rittgers asked Schwesinger on the stand.
"Yeah," she replied.
"So if an individual grabbed a victim by the head or hair, we would expect the individual would have GSR on his hands, correct?" Rittgers asked.
"Correct," Schwesinger said.
"And with secondary transfer, if you touch your hands together, it can transfer from one hand to the next, right?" Rittgers asked.
"Yes it can," Schwesinger said.
BCI Special Agent Todd Fortner, who was assigned to the crime scene, testified that he found blood transfer stains on Singh's boots and pants, which is consistent with defense arguments that Singh walked around the apartment checking, shaking and trying to give victims water.
However, Fortner told jurors he found "blood splatter" on the left sleeve of the red shirt Singh wore that night. Singh's defense argued that it could be from something other than gunfire.
Prosecutors will call more witnesses Friday morning.
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