jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601
DURHAM -- Testimony from a DNA analyst with the State Bureau of Investigation in Raleigh Thursday linked first-degree murder defendant Keith Kidwell to Crayton Nelms, the slain convenience-store clerk who in February 2005 was killed during his overnight shift at the Kangaroo location at 4604 N. Roxboro St.
Special agent Sharon Hinton said both Kidwell's and Nelms' DNA were found on a Nike shoe. And a $10 bill obtained from Kidwell had Nelms' blood on it, Hinton said.
That Nike shoe has been mentioned throughout the trial, which started in late September. District Attorney Tracey Cline said the shoe belonged to Kidwell. Cline has talked about a shoe print that was on the victim's back, and she said the print came from the Nike athletic shoe in question.
Defense lawyer Lisa Williams said the shoe print may have belonged to the Maola milkman who discovered Nelms' body while making a routine delivery at the convenience store.
DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid. The special agent who testified about DNA told the jury it's basically a person's genetic blueprint, and 99.9 percent of everyone's DNA is the same. But it's that .1 percent difference in individuals' DNA that makes them unique, Hinton explained. Identical siblings, however, have identical DNA profiles, she said.
Hinton's reason for explaining all of that was to point out the tremendous improbability for inaccuracy on the DNA links between Nelms and Kidwell on the Nike shoe and on the $10 bill.
