A forensic scientist has told Patrick Quirke’s murder trial that she concluded there were no signs of assault or traces of blood at the home of Mary Lowry.
Mr Quirke from Breanshamore, County Tipperary denies murdering her boyfriend Bobby Ryan, whose last reported sighting was at her home almost two years beforehand.
Patrick Quirke found Bobby Ryan’s remains in a run-off tank on Mary Lowry’s farm in April 2013 - 22 months after he went missing.
A forensics team was instructed to carry out a technical examination of her home following the discovery of Mr Ryan’s naked body in the pit.
Yesterday, retired Detective Sergeant John Grant said preliminary tests revealed traces of blood in Mrs Lowry’s bedroom and living room.
Today, he told the jury these are presumptive tests that don't definitely say it is blood.
The next witness, Dr Bríd McBride from Forensics Science Ireland, said they can give false positive results for blood staining.
Following her examination, she said there were no signs of an assault where large amounts of blood were spilled, but she said that might not be significant because of the time interval and because Mrs Lowry’s walls had been painted since Bobby went missing in 2011.
Reporting from Frank Greaney
