Soil found in murder accused’s van ‘corresponded’ with body location, trial told

Iain Packer, 50, is on trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of murdering the sex worker, 27, in 2005, and faces 46 charges involving a number of women including rape as well as abduction and assault.

He denies all the charges against him, and has lodged special defences of incrimination, consent, defence of another and self-defence.

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Dr Stefan Uitdehaag, from the Netherlands Forensic Institute in the Hague, said he wrote a report on palynology – the study of soil – after being commissioned by Police Scotland.

He calculated “ecological distances” between six samples from around Limefield Woods in Biggar, South Lanarkshire, where Miss Caldwell’s body was found on May 8 2005, and in a sample found in the footwell of Packer’s van, examining pollen composition.

The six samples from the site included from a molehill on a route to the body site, two from ditches where Miss Caldwell was found, from under spruce needles, from an area where footprints were found a few metres from the body, and from under moss.

The forensic scientist said the results showed the soil was “much more likely” to have come from the same location as the sample in van, and ranked as “odds 100 times to 10,000 times more likely”, or a “99.99 per cent” chance, that they came from the same spot than another random site.

The calculated “ecological distance” considered the sensitivity of the results such as mixing and selective loss of material after transfer from location to the vehicle.

Dr Uitdehaag’s report examined “proposition one” (P1) – that the sample from the van came from the same location as other samples, and “proposition two” (P2) that it came from a random other location, defined as “within Scotland out-with 100 metres”.

The report said the results of the examination “fit proposition P1 well”, but three samples fitted P1 “very well”, it added.

Advocate depute Richard Goddard KC said: “Highest similarity between the samples from the van and the scene – from soil under the moss, from soil under the needles on the approach path, and from soil from a molehill on the approach to where the body was. These samples gave the highest reading of material taken from the van.”

Dr Uitdehaag said: “The results were more likely to have come from the same location than from a different location, yes.”

Mr Goddard said: “There was a slight difference which was the amount you would have expected. You found a wide variety of pollens which corresponded between the van sample and the samples taken from the woods.”

He added: “The chances of getting these results are 100 to 10,000 times more likely that P1 applies than P2.”

Dr Uitdehaag said: “The proposition of P1 is 99 per cent to 99.99 per cent more likely than P2. The numbers are based on my knowledge and expertise. It means the results are more likely in P1 or P2, in this case much more likely.”

The trial continues.