DNA helps catch pair who killed homeless man in Brixton
Advanced techniques used by forensic scientists to capture DNA have been credited with the identification and conviction of two men for the murder of a homeless man in Lambeth.
Maurice had suffered extensive injuries from a brutal attack, including a broken nose, fractured skull and neck and almost all of his ribs were broken.
A murder investigation was launched but there were no obvious leads as to who was responsible for the fatal attack.
Forensic tests carried out on a belt found discarded at the scene, and Maurice’s unbuttoned shirt, revealed full DNA matches to Arturas Ptickinas, 29, of Norwood High Street, West Norwood.
The chances of it coming from anyone else were rated as one in a billion – the highest match on the scientific scale.
Ptickinas’ DNA was also matched to Maurice’s wrists, indicating he had been involved in dragging his body into bushes.
Forensic tests also showed the presence of DNA on other parts of Maurice’s body, including his face and on his neck, where he had been hit by his attackers. But the standard DNA test wasn’t sensitive enough to produce a clear enough result to allow DNA comparisons to be made.
So a more specialist test was carried out, and it showed that DNA from three people was present – Maurice, Ptickinas and a third man, identified as Ernestas Aleksandrovas, 29, also of Norwood High Street.
Forensic tests on the fingers and palm of Mr Nascimento’s right hand was found to match Aleksnadrovas’s DNA.
The DNA matches, coupled with analysis of CCTV footage, which tracked the pair leaving their home address and heading towards the Rush Common area when the murder is believed to have been carried out, helped build the case against both men.
Aleksandrovas was also linked to the crime scene as his mobile phone was used on the night of the murder and it connected to a telephone mast next to Rush Common.
Both defendants appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, where, following trial, Ptickinas was convicted of murder and Aleksandrovas was convicted of murder and perverting the course of justice.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, the officer in the case, said: “We will never know exactly what happened in the moments before Maurice Nascimento’s death, but, we do know that the attack on him was brutal, merciless and completely unjustified.
“I’m glad the two defendants have now been found guilty and will be off the streets of London for a long time.”
Pictured top: Arturas Ptickinas (left) and Ernestas Aleksandrovas (right) (Pictures: The Met)
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