After calling 31 witnesses, the Crown is expected to close its case when Zakkary Reed’s first-degree murder trial resumes in Saint John on Thursday morning.
Before sending the 12 jurors home on Wednesday afternoon, Justice Kathryn Gregory told them the defence will call one witness.
Reed, 32, is on trial on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Alexander Bishop, who was shot in the chest on Aug. 20, 2023.
Bishop, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene, an apartment at 170 King St. East.
The final Crown witness was a forensic DNA specialist with the RCMP’s Ottawa crime lab.
Carol Ng analyzed several samples collected by Saint John police investigators in the course of their investigation, including a shotgun found in an alley behind 170 King St. East, and some clothing that was associated with Reed.
Beginning with the firearm, which police believe to be the murder weapon, Ng said DNA was found on several areas, including the trigger, trigger guard and hammer.
Ng said those samples were tested and matched Reed’s DNA.
For each of the samples that matched, Ng provided a statistical probability of them coming from someone other than Reed.
Ng said most of them had the same odds. She said the estimated probability of selecting an unrelated individual at random from the Canadian Caucasian population with the same profile is one in 640 quintillion — that’s a one followed by 18 zeroes.
Ng also testified that Bishop’s blood was found on a hoodie taken from Reed’s girlfriend around the time he was arrested. She said the similarly estimated probability was one in 790 quadrillion — a one followed by 15 zeroes.
She said that same hoodie also tested positive for Reed’s DNA.
Earlier in the trial, the jury heard that police were able to track Reed’s movements from King St. East to an apartment on Main Street North within about 90 minutes of the shooting, where more items were seized, including another hoodie.
Ng said that second hoodie also tested positive for Reed’s DNA and the victim’s.
The jury previously heard the hoodie was found by police in a laundry area of an apartment at 13 Main St., where police also found a hat that appears identical to one worn in several security videos of an individual the police described as their suspect.
That person was captured passing by 160 King St. East a minute before the 911 call was made. Other video seized by police tracked that person’s movements to an apartment building on Charlotte Street and into a cab that took him to 13 Main St. North.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Annie Maltais, Ng said it’s not possible for forensic specialists to determine when biological material is deposited — only that it’s there at the time of analysis.
Maltais also asked Ng whether DNA can be transferred. Ng said DNA can be transferred through direct contact with an object or through indirect contact, where material can be transferred by something or someone else.
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