Brain Tissue Transfer - Lundy Truth

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Brain Tissue Transfer

Case Facts

Was the tissue fresh or transferred?


A casual polo shirt taken from Mark Lundy's car was found to have two tiny stains when forensically examined some time after the murders.

A critical piece of evidence presented in the trial was that one of these tiny stains contained Christine's brain tissue. We consider that, if the tiny stain is Christine's brain tissue, then it is in contrast to other evidence and findings in the case.

The Prosecution case alleges that at just before 7 pm on Tuesday 29th August, Mark parked his car some 500 metres from the house, ran this distance, committed the murders, then ran back to his car and was seen by an eye witness.

The eyewitness saw what she believes to be a man wearing a wig and dressed in a two tone sweatshirt and track pants. In contrast to the track suit, the man was wearing a shirt and tie underneath. He was not carrying anything.

The Prosecution alleged that Mark transferred the tissue fragment when he got changed out of blood soaked clothing or overalls.

There were no other tissue fragments or blood found anywhere on Mark, any other clothing, his wedding ring, his spectacles, his car, or his motel room in Petone. Furthermore, the timeframe in which the Prosecution alleges that Mark carried out the murder, and any cleaning up or changing clothes, was very short. Many believe to be impossible.

We therefore find it difficult to understand how just one tiny fragment of tissue could get on to a shirt he was not even seen in by the eye witness yet not on anything else connected to Mark..

It is our belief that the runner seen was not Mark, and the car seen was not Mark's car. To our knowledge this runner has never come forward, nor has the owner of the car parked outside number 5 Hillcrest Street that night. We would welcome any information about either. As the person appears to have been disguised, it is likely that they have reason to be discrete, but we do not believe that this person was involved in the murders in any way. Any contact will be treated in the strictest confidence.

We consider it a possibility that either the stain was not Christine's brain tissue, or it was accidentally transferred during the investigation.
Mark's car, with the polo shirt inside, was seized by Police on 30th August 2000 when Mark arrived back in Palmerston North after driving from Petone. The car was towed to a Police lockup adjacent to and accessible from the photographic laboratory. The shirt was removed on 4th September 2000 and placed in a plastic bag as an exhibit.
We do not wish to imply that any transfer was deliberate, but that there may be a possibility of accidental transfer. If we accept that Mark was not the killer, there has to be another explanation for the "tissue" stain.

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