A forensic expert told a court that prints from three different shoes were found in blood at a murder scene.

Janice Marie Johnson, a forensic analyst based in Florida, said yesterday that seven shoe impressions were found near the body of Marcus Gibbings, with three different types of impression.

Ms Johnson said: “At least three different types of impression indicates at least three different types of shoes.

“Two of them were nondescript. There were no identifying characteristics that would assist identification.”

But she said the third impressions shared “class characteristics” with a pair of brown work boots sent to her by the Bermuda Police Service for testing.

The body of Mr Gibbings, 32, was found in a pool of blood inside an apartment on Derwent Lane, in Devonshire, on October 26, 2006.

Katrina Burgess, Mr Gibbings’s former girlfriend, and Cleveland Rogers, her half-brother, are alleged to have committed the murder. Both deny the charge.

The prosecution earlier alleged that Mr Gibbings was lured to the apartment, which he had shared with Ms Burgess, and was stabbed to death by Mr Rogers.

Ms Johnson told the Supreme Court that she attended the scene of the crime to assist Bermuda Police Service crime scene investigators.

She said the investigators spotted blood drops just inside the entrance to the apartment.

Ms Johnson said: “The blood source from which this was created was inside.

“Most likely, the person was attacked right near the entrance and the blood was projected towards the outside.”

She added that the team found evidence of a struggle inside the apartment with a series of smudges and shoe impressions in blood.

Ms Johnson said blood found on a set of kitchen drawers suggested an impact nearby.

She explained: “That puts whatever is being struck, beaten or stabbed near the drawers at the time of the offence.”

The court heard that there was a pool of blood around Mr Gibbings’s body, and spatters nearby suggested he had fallen into the blood.

Ms Johnson said: “Outside of the scene there was a trail of dropped blood.

“Also, there was a blood impression that appeared to be consistent with a knife blade, with the tip of a knife, on the porch.”

The trial continues.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.