A forensic biologist testified in a Toronto court Tuesday that there could be an innocent explanation for how Michael Ivezic’s DNA got under the fingernails of the man he’s accused of beating to death.Ivezic, and his former lover, Demitry Papasotiriou-Lanteigne, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the March 2, 2011 beating death of the latter’s spouse, University of Toronto accounting clerk Allan Lanteigne. A $2 million life insurance policy was their motive, the Crown alleges.Papasotiriou-Lanteigne was in Greece at the time. Ivezic allegedly bludgeoned Lanteigne to death in the foyer of his Ossington Ave. home. The prosecution’s theory is that the DNA transfer happened during the attack.But Ivezic, who is representing himself, asked a Centre of Forensic Sciences scientist Tuesday whether there could be “other less sinister ... and very plausible explanations” for the presence of his DNA in the victim’s fingernail clippings, “other than the theory that the police have put forward.”He offered a few examples, “such as Mr. Lanteigne sharing a napkin with somebody, that just blew their nose in that napkin, that’s a possibility, correct,” Ivezic asked Kimberley Sharpe on his sixth day of cross-examination.“If there is a sufficient amount of DNA from the other individual and that DNA is still wet, and it comes in contact with the fingernails, that can occur, yes, that is one possibility, of indirect kind of contact,” Sharpe replied.Sharpe also agreed with Ivezic that she could not pinpoint where, “geographically speaking,” the DNA was deposited.“For all you know it could have been ... in the revolving restaurant on top of the CN Tower, you don’t know,” Ivezic asked as a followup question.She agreed again, but reiterated “it was not through casual contact, it would have to be through a close, physical contact, as I described earlier, or ...
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