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Victoria double murder trial: Blood spatter analyst found no shoe prints on scene

RCMP analyst testifies to smears, fingermarks, ‘swipe and wipe’ patterns around apartment
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Andrew Berry, 45, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of second-degree murder in the deaths of his two daughters. Wednesday was the first day of testimony from blood splatter analyst Sgt. Kimberley Tremblay. (File Photo)

Warning: This article contains disturbing content about a double murder trial.

Blood stains and smears across floors, furniture and appliances paint a gruesome scene in the Oak Bay apartment where six-year-old Chloe Berry and four-year-old Aubrey Berry were found murdered on Christmas Day, 2017.

On Wednesday, Sgt. Kimberley Tremblay, a blood spatter analyst and crime scene examination specialist with the Surrey RCMP, made a presentation to the Vancouver courtroom where Andrew Berry, 45, is on trial for the murder of his two young daughters.

Berry was found in his bathtub Christmas Day with wounds on his chest and neck. Chloe and Aubrey were found dead in their bedrooms, both with blood-matted hair and numerous lacerations.

READ ALSO: Oak Bay double murder trial: Forensics officer testifies he saw ‘no signs of forced entry’

Tremblay was called in on Dec. 27 to assist police with the collection of blood spatter evidence around the Beach Drive apartment unit. She said the amount of blood could be too vast for police, and agreed to offer her specialized expertise to the scene, which she described as being filled with blood in the form of “transfer stains, swipe and wipe marks and finger marks.”

Tremblay described finding a drip trail in the living room along with 21 patterned socked foot transfer stains.

“They appeared to be going in multiple directions,” she said. “They appeared to all be left feet…the blood drips were all within the linear distribution of the sock prints.”

Tremblay took swabs from the blood drips closest to the couch, where she said the samples were “less likely to be walked over by first responders.”

Moving to the kitchen, Tremblay showed the courtroom pictures of swipe and wipe blood marks on the fridge, stove and small portions of the cabinets.

She noted that blood marks inside of kitchen drawer indicated that “somebody’s hand was already contaminated with blood when they were going through that drawer.”

Next, Tremblay reviewed blood patterns on the kitchen floor.

“Would it have been slippery?” asked Crown counsel Clare Jennings.

“When it was wet, yes.”

“Could somebody falling and slipping and moving around on floor cause the stains you saw?

“Yes it could.”

READ ALSO: Andrew Berry’s lawyer draws comparison to Oak Bay ‘stabbing attack’ of woman earlier that year

Asked if she observed any blood near the window in the kitchen, Tremblay said the only stain she observed in that area was “not consistent with blood.”

Tremblay also told the courtroom that she did not observe any shoe prints in the front hallway or anywhere else in the unit. Tremblay’s testimony continues Thursday morning.