BISMARCK - A DNA analyst from Connecticut testified this morning that Moe Gibbs' DNA found on clippings from Mindy Morgenstern's left-hand fingernails was the result of "vigorous physical contact" between the two.
Dr. Michael Bourke testified that Gibbs' DNA was "absolutely not" the result of a secondary transfer of DNA off a common household item, such as a doorknob or laundry basket as Gibbs' attorneys contend.
A DNA expert from an independent lab that conducted testing on additional items of evidence in the case, including swabs from the two knives used to cut Morgenstern's throat after she was strangled, also testified this morning.
Dr. Rick Staub testified that Gibbs was excluded as a match from partial profiles of DNA found on the knives and on a scraping stick used on Morgenstern's right-hand fingernails. Staub also testified that Gibbs' DNA could not be excluded as a match to DNA found on a cutting from the shirt Morgenstern was wearing when she was killed.
Staub will continue testifying this afternoon, the seventh day of Gibbs' second murder trial for Morgenstern's Sept. 13, 2006, death.
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Gibbs, 35, is accused of killing the 22-year-old Valley City State University senior in her Valley City, N.D., apartment.
A jury in Minot, N.D., deadlocked 6-6 in July over whether he strangled and cut the throat of the New Salem, N.D., native.
Gibbs, a former Barnes County jailer, lived in the same building at the time of his arrest. He faces a maximum sentence of life without parole if convicted. DNA experts take the stand today during Gibbs trial Brittany Lawonn 20071106
