Amber Gibson’s murder trial hears accused man’s DNA ‘could have been on body before she died’
The DNA of a man accused of inappropriately touching a murdered teenager’s body instead of alerting police may have been present on her body before her death, a forensic biologist has told a court.
Stephen Corrigan, 45, is on trial accused of discovering Amber Gibson’s body between 26 and 28 November 2021 but instead of alerting police, he is alleged to have inappropriately touched and concealed her body.
The 16-year-old’s body was discovered on 28 November at Cadzow Glen in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire.
Her brother, Connor Gibson, is also on trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of murdering and sexually assaulting Amber, who was also known by the surname Niven.
Corrigan’s defence agent, Rhonda Anderson, cross-examined forensic biologist Alana Gunn on Wednesday.
The court had previously heard from Ms Gunn that Corrigan’s DNA was “widespread” on Amber’s body, spanning 39 areas, including her buttocks, breasts and pubic area, with the forensic biologist estimating it came from “direct contact”.
However, following questioning from Ms Anderson, Ms Gunn said she could not “exclude” the possibility that his DNA was on the teenager’s body by secondary transfer.
Amber’s body was discovered in Cadzow Glen in November 2021
Ms Anderson put to Ms Gunn, if Ms Gibson had slept naked inside a sleeping bag that had Corrigan’s DNA on it before her death, that could account for why his DNA was on her body.
Ms Gunn replied: “If there was a significant amount of DNA in the sleeping bag then I couldn’t exclude that, no.”
Ms Anderson said: “As I understand it, your position from your evidence is that it could be that Stephen Corrigan’s DNA deposited on Ms Niven’s body could have been deposited before she went to the park (Cadzow Glen).
“Should the ladies and gentlemen on the jury understand that you are unable to exclude that his DNA was deposited on Amber Niven’s body before she went to the park and before she died?”
Ms Gunn replied: “We cannot tell you exactly what time the DNA was deposited,” before adding evidence did not say whether it existed on her body before or after her death.
Read more:
Connor Gibson on trial accused of sexually assaulting and murdering sister
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Both Corrigan and Gibson deny all charges against them, with Ms Anderson lodging a special defence of alibi on her client’s behalf.
Gibson is also accused of removing his sister’s clothes and repeatedly inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and body on 26 November 2021.
Prosecutors allege he compressed the teenager’s neck with his hands and strangled her with the intention to rape her.
He faces further charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of bloodstained clothes and calling the children’s home where his sister lived and pretending she was alive.
He also faces a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice by telling police he had argued with his sister on the evening of 26 November before going to someone’s home.
The trial, before Judge Lord Mulholland, continues.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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