Jury told murder weapon not found

The weapon used to murder a Dunfermline man in his home has never been found, a jury was told yesterday.

Police searched bins, storm drains and gardens in the Abbeyview area near the council flat where Duncan Banks was found with his skull crushed.

However the claw hammer thought to have been used by his killer to inflict deep cuts and tears in Mr Banks’ scalp and cause “traumatic” damage to his brain was never traced.

There was also no forensic evidence that a murder weapon had been washed clean of blood, although there were blood spots on the walls of Mr Banks’ hall, the High Court at Livingston was told.

DS Michael Leask, 43, of Police Scotland’s major investigation team, gave evidence that he was put in charge of securing the crime scene at Mr Banks’ first floor flat on Skye Road, Dunfermline.

He was present when forensic biologist Elizabeth Day did a “walk through” to establish whether any blood patterns or potential weapons could help identify what had happened to the victim.

He told the court: “We searched storm drains, driveways and alleyways of surrounding streets to establish if we could identify or recover any item that may have been used. We did not.”

Ms Day said: “The deceased, Duncan Banks, was in sitting position in an armchair with his legs outstretched and his head leaning to the left.

“Runs of blood were visible from a wound on the front of his forehead, from his right ear and from the hairline near his right temple.

“These were indicative of blood flowing under the effects of gravity, and of other wounds present under the deceased’s hair.

“The positions of the runs of blood indicated that the deceased had not moved since blood began flowing.”

Ms Day said her findings were “indicative of having little or no expectation of the offender’s clothing having become bloodstained as a result of the assault”.

The jury was told that the remains of four smoked roll-up cigarettes she recovered from an ashtray in front of a sofa in Mr Banks’ flat were examined for DNA matches.

Each matched a reference sample taken by police from murder accused Steven Thomson.

Thomson, 29, a prisoner at Perth, is on trial accused of murdering ‘Dunk’, as the dead man was known.

He is charged with repeatedly hitting his alleged victim on the head with a blunt object or objects to his severe injury and robbing him of money, heroin, a wallet and a key.

He is also charged with possessing the class A drug heroin at Mr Banks’ home and elsewhere in Dunfermline between July 1 and October 13 2015.

He denies the charges and has lodged a special defence incriminating mature student Jamie Curtis.

The trial, before Lady Rae, continues.

Duncan Banks died in October 2015.

Forensic expert Elizabeth Day.