Wrapper ties accused to sex-slay scene

By Dean Pritchard, WINNIPEG SUN
Last Updated: 19th January 2010, 7:46am

A condom wrapper found at the scene where Jaylene Crane was stabbed to death came from the same package as that of a condom found in her accused killer’s home, a jury was told Monday.

“It was determined that these two specimens were at one time attached,” testified Lorie Gottesman, a document examiner with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Daniel Johnson, 21, is on trial charged with first-degree murder. The Crown alleges he stabbed Crane to death while sexually assaulting her in the back of an Ellice Avenue apartment block on Sept. 13, 2006.

She suffered 51 stab wounds.

Gottesman said printing that overlaps the two condom wrappers corresponds along the tear lines when the wrappers are set side-by-side.

Defence lawyer Mark Wasyliw argued there were also inconsistencies between the two wrappers.

“Because of the material, not everything is perfect,” said Gottesman, noting the plastic condom wrapper would be prone to warping and stretching. “There were an overwhelming amount of characteristics that were in common and that could not be ignored,” she said.

Johnson has admitted to stabbing Crane, but says he is guilty of manslaughter, not murder.

Witnesses have testified Johnson confessed to stabbing Crane in the hours immediately following the killing.

Police later recovered pieces of bloody clothing and a blood-spattered pair of running shoes hidden at his home, as well as a package of condoms the Crown alleges ties him to the crime scene.

From: http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2010/01/18/12519276.html