A defence expert criticised gait evidence against a man accused of murder, arguing that the CCTV footage was not suitable for a fair comparison.

David Blake, a forensic gait analyst, told a Supreme Court trial that he had reviewed CCTV footage of both the suspect in the murder of Morlan Steede in the Deepdale area and footage of defendant Kiari Tucker on Court Street recorded the same day.

He told the court he was not able to identify features described by a prosecution witness who had found similarities between the two.

Mr Blake told the court that features in gait analysis should be regular, compelling and demonstrable, but footage of the suspect was of too poor quality to identify fine details.

“The initial observation I made was that it was heavily pixelated so any subtle nuances of gait or motion of limbs was extremely challenging to identify,” he said.

Mr Blake said he was able to observe an abduction in the suspect’s left knee, but it came as the individual turned left, which was normal.

“That would be a natural action of anyone going left,” he said.

He also told the court that the clips of the suspect and Mr Tucker were not “like for like” and environmental factors could have affected how the individuals walked.

Mr Blake said that while the footage of Mr Tucker showed him walking on a level surface, he understood the footage of the suspect showed him walking up an incline.

“Among other things, it is not a like-for-like comparison because plainly it would have an effect on step length going on the incline or decline,” he said.

He added that the footage of Mr Tucker had “little forensic value” and that there was the possibility of viewers having “confirmation bias” where they subconsciously transpose features from the suspect footage on to the clip of the defendant.

While he said the footage was of “acceptable” quality, it did not capture his “unfettered” gait as he was seen to walk around obstacles and obstructions.

“There are people walking in the way, the mirror of a moped is in the way, signage is in the way and it wasn’t an unhindered walk by the subject,” he said.

Mr Tucker, 27, has denied the November 3, 2017, murder of Morlan Steede, 35, along with the use of a firearm to commit an indictable offence.

CCTV footage played during the trial showed Mr Tucker and others on Court Street hours before the fatal shooting of Mr Steede.

At about 9.11pm that day, CCTV footage from Deepdale appeared to show a figure in dark clothing and a helmet walking through the area.

The same camera later recorded a man in a white shirt running down One Way Deepdale followed by a person in all black at about 9.40pm.

As they ran, flashes of light were seen to come from the outstretched arm of the person in black.

The court heard that Mr Steede suffered four gunshot wounds, with the fatal shot passing through his left lung and heart.

Earlier in the trial, Barry Francis, a forensic gait analyst for the Crown, told the court that in the CCTV footage from Deepdale he saw the suspect drop his left shoulder when his left foot came forward, “almost like a limp”.

He added that the suspect also appeared to have a “narrow base of gait”, noting that, as he walked towards the camera, one leg would disappear behind the other.

Mr Francis told the court that when he reviewed footage of Mr Tucker from Court Street, he noticed the defendant’s left shoulder dropping as his left foot moved forward.

Under cross-examination, Mr Francis accepted that forensic gait analysis was an “evolving science” and it was important that the jury could see the similarities that he had identified in the footage for themselves.

The court heard yesterday that Mr Tucker would not give evidence in the case himself, but the jury was urged not to draw any negative inference by his decision.

Charles Richardson, counsel for Mr Tucker, said that it was for the Crown to prove its case, and the right for a defendant to remain silent was part of the bedrock of the legal principle that defendants are innocent until proven guilty.

“It is the defendant’s right to simply say ‘not guilty’ and assert through his counsel that the Crown has not proven their case to the high standard that is required,” Mr Richardson said.

The trial continues and is expected to conclude next week.

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