Man accused of murder of girl, 7, says 'DNA found on her clothes after spitting'
A man accused of murdering a seven-year-old girl told police his DNA was possibly on her clothing because he was spitting from a balcony above where she was playing, a court heard.
Police took DNA samples from hundreds of men in their search for Nikki Allan's killer - and only neighbour David Thomas Boyd was a match, the prosecutor said.
The schoolgirl was attacked in such a "brutal, sustained" fashion, her blood was found all over her clothing and the derelict building she was found, he added.
Nikki had had her skull caved in by a brick before being stabbed 37 times.
The child was found dead in a back room of an old warehouse near her home in Sunderland in October 1992.
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A jury heard today that Boyd, 55, who had been living in the same block of flats, lured her to her death in the nearby building - then lied about his movements to police.
The body of murdered schoolgirl Nikki Allan, seven, was found in 1992 (PA)
The child was found in a warehouse near her home in Sunderland (PA)Newcastle Crown Court was told that he had an 'intimate knowledge' of the warehouse where Nikki's body was found hours after she went missing, and knew how to get into it.
In 1993, a trial took place in the Crown Court at Leeds, and George Heron was accused of her murder.
Police carried out a review of the case in 2017, with a forensic test used on Nikki's clothes which was specific to the Y male Chromosome, said Richard Wright KC, prosecuting.
The jury was shown a tailor's mannequin, 125cm tall (4ft1in), wearing replicas of the clothes which Nikki was wearing on the night she died.
Nikki's mum Sharon Henderson enters court today (Andy Commins / Daily Mirror)
Mr Wright said: "On the right hip of the waistband a mixed Y profile from at least three males. A major DNA profile within the mixture matches the Y DNA profile of David Boyd.
"The DNA profile of Boyd and the major contributor occurs in approximately 1 in 28,000 unrelated males.
"Putting this in simple language, this is the Y DNA profile matching that of David Boyd present on the cycling shorts of Nikki Allan."
He went on: "What are the chances that his DNA is represented in all of these places by some random freak act of contamination rather than because he was the man who murdered this little girl?
A prison van arrives at court this morning ahead of the trial (Daily Mirror)"The police have identified he is not from Sunderland. He has no male relative living nearby. Could it be someone else's? Police have carried out a massive investigation.
"Of the hundreds of men whose DNA was taken, no DNA profile other than that of David Boyd matches the sample found on the clothing."
When Boyd was arrested in April, 2018, he asked police: "What evidence have you got?", the court heard.
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He later told to a detention officer that his DNA could have been on Nikki's clothing because he had been spitting from a veranda while she played below.
Floral tributes to Nikki Allan outside the Old Exchange Building, Sunderland, where her body was found (Mirrorpix)Mr Wright KC said: "When it was revealed these findings were underneath her coat, he asked to consult his solicitor and thereafter made no reply.
"The custody log of his detention records...an unsolicited remark to the detention officer that he had been spitting and that would have soaked through Nikki’s clothing and onto her skin.
"The Crown submits that this was the defendant inventing a scenario in an attempt to explain away the scientific findings."
Nikki's mum Sharon Henderson, 56, was given a hug by her family and friends as she arrived this morning to hear the evidence in the case.
Police officers at the scene in 1992 (Mirrorpix)She broke down in tears yesterday as she listened to the circumstances of Nikki's death read to potential jurors.
She was in the public gallery before the case opened but left shortly before Mr Wright KC began his opening speech to the jury today.
Boyd, who also known as David Smith and David Bell, his arms and neck heavily tattooed, listened to the evidence via headphones.
The trial, due to last six weeks, continues on Monday.
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