An American DNA expert yesterday testified in the retrial of Troyniko McNeil, who is accused of the 2007 murder of famed handbag designer Harl Taylor.

Kevin Noppinger - lab director at DNA Labs International in Deerfield, Florida - testified that DNA samples from Troyniko's clothing and hair sent to his lab by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in 2008 matched DNA taken from Taylor's home.

McNeil is the son of the victim's former business partner Troy McNeil. Taylor, 37, was found dead in his bedroom at Mountbatten House on West Hill Street with multiple stab wounds on November 18, 2007.

Mr Noppinger has produced seven different reports on the Taylor case since becoming involved in December, 2007.

He said he created a DNA profile from blood stain samples, swab samples, samples from known individuals and samples bearing the name Troyniko McNeil.

In December, 2007 Mr Noppinger said, his lab tested and compared samples from Taylor's home and DNA samples from the defendant's father and other individuals. In a report prepared on January 11, 2008, the defendant's father was excluded as a possible source of the samples found at the crime scene, said the expert.

Mr Noppinger said in mid-2008 the RBPF asked DNA Labs to test the samples again to determine if DNA from a relative of one of the individuals was present.

He said in June, 2008 he tested the DNA and found that while Troy McNeil was excluded as a donor, some samples had a similar genetic make up to his. Mr Noppinger said he concluded there was a 99.99 per cent chance that Troy McNeil was the biological father of a donor.

He said he then contacted the RBPF and gave them certain information.

On August 16, 2008 Mr Noppinger said he received additional evidence labelled as samples from the accused, including samples from a T-shirt and a sock.

Mr Noppinger said he tested samples identified as blood from a face bowl, and that the DNA on the swab came from one individual and matched the DNA of Troyniko.

The expert said he issued another report on November 9, 2009 based on two swabs received in September, 2009, labeled as coming from a knife blade and knife handle.

Mr Noppinger said he created a DNA profile based on the knife swabs adding that the DNA profile on the blade matched Taylor's.

He said the knife handle had a mixture of DNA and he could not exclude Taylor or Troyniko McNeil as DNA matches.

During cross-examination, lead defense attorney Murrio Ducille suggested the expert's reports were "grossly unreliable."

He questioned why the expert did not find a link between Troy McNeil's DNA and samples taken from Taylor's home in his initial report of January 11, 2008.

Mr Noppinger said that at the time, he had not been looking for such a connection, as he was not requested to do so by the RBPF until the summer of 2008.

Mr Ducille noted that a recent publication by the National Academy of Sciences found that hair, fibers, bites and swabs from firearms are not enough to extract DNA for evidence at trial.

He noted that Mr Noppinger received hair and fibre samples cut from clothing that he linked to the accused and asked if the expert collected any bodily fluid from Troyniko.

Mr Noppinger said he did not know what sort of DNA was on the clothing swabs.

Also testifying yesterday were Senior Assistant Commissioner Quinn McCartney and Immigration Enforcement Agent at the US Department of Homeland Security Hector Gonzales.

The trial resumes today at 10am before Senior Justice Jon Isaacs.

McNeil, 23, whose first trial ended in a mistrial when a jury failed to reach a legally recognized verdict, is currently on bail.

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