Massereene barrack attack evidence 'reliable'
Forensic evidence against two men accused of murdering two British soldiers in the North is reliable and proven, a barrister for the prosecution said.
The controversial method of testing DNA at the centre of the case was used to identify the victims who died in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, Terence Mooney QC added.
The prosecution claims the samples connect Colin Duffy and Brian Shivers to the gun attack on Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar outside their Army base in Antrim.
The court is hearing legal submissions before judge Mr Justice Anthony Hart rules on the admissibility of the forensic evidence of US expert Mark Perlin.
Mr Mooney told Antrim Crown Court: “It is admissible on the basis that it is derived from scientific evidence which is reliable, proven and advanced by an expert in the field.
“It is therefore evidence upon which the court can place confidence and give weight.”
Sappers Quinsey, 23, and Azimkar, 21, were shot dead by the Real IRA as they collected pizzas with comrades outside Massereene Army base in Antrim in March 2009.
Duffy, 44, from Forest Glade in Lurgan, Co Armagh, and Shivers, 46, from Sperrin Mews, in Magherafelt, Co Derry, deny two charges of murder and the attempted murder of six others – three soldiers, two pizza delivery drivers and a security guard.
Dr Perlin’s forensic computer-based system strongly linked the two men to the getaway car used in the attack.
He carried out tests on DNA from a seatbelt buckle, a mobile phone and a single matchstick found in or around the Vauxhall Cavalier, which was abandoned partially burnt-out on a country road a few miles from the shootings.
