Jurors yesterday heard a British expert explain how the DNA profile found on one of the cigarette butts found on the scene of the crime was not that of the accused and neither of the accomplice who is presently in jail, but of another man.

Since Malta has no database of DNA profiles, he could not give more information about this third person.

British expert Matthew Greenhalgh was appointed an expert by the Maltese judicial authorities to carry out DNA tests on various items lifted from the scene of the crime.

He explained that on 21 March 2000, Chris Farrugia, another court-appointed expert, passed on a number of items found inside the apartment where Gerald and Josephine Grima had been murdered.

He said that following a discussion with the Maltese authorities, he only carried out tests to establish the DNA profile on selected items.

He said one cigarette end that he examined had a DNA profile that matched that of Dominic Bonnici while another cigarette end matched the DNA profile of the accused, Brian Vella. He said the third cigarette end he examined contained two DNA profiles which matched that of both Bonnici as well as Mr Vella.

Dr Greenhalgh said the last cigarette end he examined had a DNA profile which did not match that of any of the suspects and neither that of the deceased.

When asked, Dr Greenhalgh said that the probability that DNA profile of one person matches that of another is less than 1 in 1,000,000,000.

The witness said the results provided “extremely strong support for the view that the cigarettes were smoked by Brian Vella and Bonnici while the last one originated from a male individual other than Vella and Bonnici”.

Asked why he had not carried out tests on the black sock or the tights, Dr Greenhalgh said the Maltese authorities told him not to test these but to carry out tests only on the cigarette ends and a few blood samples.

Following this testimony, the prosecution declared that it was resting its case.

Addressing the jurors, defence lawyer Anglu Farrugia said his client was implicated by the DNA tests but insisted that it was not only the accused and Bonnici who were on the scene of the crime. He said there was a third person who Bonnici is protecting by not mentioning his name. The lawyer said his client was not involved in the violence on the elderly couple.

Dr Farrugia said Bonnici is not a “normal” witness but is an accomplice and is serving time for what he did. He said they (the jurors) must be extra cautious when analyzing the evidence tendered by Bonnici who has no interest to lie as much as he had no particular interest to say the truth.

Dr Farrugia said that his client had no specific intention to kill the elderly couple and that he did not participate in any form of violent acts on the deceased couple.

In his reply, prosecutor Anthony Barbara said there is strong forensic evidence which links Brian Vella to the crime scene. The victims were tied in such a manner that it was obvious that they would die and in fact they died of asphyxia. He said the elderly couple was left to die and the robbers – which eventually became murderers – abandoned them and left them to die.

Dr Barbara said Bonnici systematically said that they were two and not three and that it was Brian Vella who was with him. Who knows where Vincent Spiteri got this other version from?

The trial continues today.

The head of the Prosecution Unit, Dr Anthony Barbara, is prosecuting while Dr Kris Busietta and Dr Anglu Farrugia are appearing for the accused.