Blood splatter analyst describes where Mechoshin man was beaten in his home

Blood from the murdered Mechosin men was sprayed and pooled on the surfaces of the houses.

James Lee Bush and Zachary Armitage were charged with first-degree murder against Martin Payne after they escaped from William Head Prison in 2019.

Friday’s court heard from Sgt. RCMP bloodstain patterns and crime scene analyst Trevor Knopp investigated his Mechosin home in the countryside following the murder.

Royal attorneys, who are due to have witnesses who analyzed the DNA testimony in the coming weeks, said Friday that the analysis showed that all the blood mentioned in Knopp’s testimony belonged to Payne. confirmed.

A swipe pattern showed the bloody object moving from the bathroom doorway of the house toward the toilet and dressing table.

“The object was probably a corpse,” Knopf said.

The swipe pattern is one of many types of bloodstains, and Knopf explained that he is qualified to speak in court as an expert on the subject.

The trial had already heard that a puddle of blood was found around the toilet in the bathroom, and Knopf said multiple droplet stains were found around the bathroom. A straight line is required between the blood source and the spot where the stain lands, as the droplets are the result of splattering into the air.

Found splatter stains on the wall by the towel rail, the base of the toilet and the skirting board just inside the bathroom. Also, there were some transfer stains where one blood-bearing surface came in contact with another, where traces of Payne’s blood were left on the shoes on the rim of the dressing table and toilet.

Just inside the entrance to the master bedroom was a large pool of blood by the doorway. Hundreds of stains were identified on some surfaces of the site, Knopp said, due to “impact patterns” where something hit the liquid blood and he formed a V-shaped pattern. He said the splattered dirt from the impact stretched “pretty much” down the hallway and splattered into the master bedroom.

“The source of that impact pattern was basically in the middle of the doorway to the master bedroom,” Knopf said.

When asked about a possible timeline, Knopp said the event in the bathroom likely occurred after a strike near the entrance to the bedroom.

A computer system used to find the source of the blood stains found that they may have been just over 38 centimeters off the floor at the time of the strike.

He also found blood stains on both sides of a hatchet and the handle of a Bowie knife found on another bathroom counter in his home.

There were 75 splatter stains on some walls, furniture, and floors in the hallways of the house, and there were also transfer stains near some light switches.

“Since you can’t see basically any dirt above the level of the light switch, these splatters suggest they’re much closer to the floor than a person standing,” Knopf said.

The trial continues next week in Vancouver.

---

jake.romphf@blackpress.ca. Follow us on Instagram.
Like and follow us on Facebook twitter.

Greater VictoriaMetchosinWest Shore