Day 9 of Daniel Morcombe Murder trial

Cowan has pleaded not guilty before Justice Roslyn Atkinson to murder, indecent treatment and misconduct with a corpse.

Video of a police interview with the accused in 2005 has been released by the court. Watch it  below

Part 1 and 2 (split for youtube)

——–holder video keeps failing….it is a must watch…back soon——

3.10pm: Testimony is finished for today. The trial resumes at 10am tomorrow.

The 104th witness is Andrew John Jackson, who went to brunch at Sunshine Beach on Sunday, December 7, 2003.

He said he finished brunch around 12.30pm and arrived home around an hour later at Nambour.

Mr Jackson said he drove along Nambour Connection Rd past the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass at 1.45pm.

“I saw a small boy standing beside the road in the shadows of the bridge and a man slightly behind him towards the south. He was young, 11 to 12 years of age, not very tall, just dressed in beach clothes, a very tidy boy,’’ he said.

“He was in the shadow of the bridge so the colours weren’t that specific.’’

Mr Jackson said the man was aged between 30 and 40, roughly 170cm tall and scruffy in appearance.

He said the man was gaunt, with dark, shoulder-length hair and maybe a few whiskers.

“And in my opinion, wearing weird clothes, sort of unusual dress for living in the Sunshine Coast, the dress he was wearing wasn’t conducive to what you’d wear in the area,’’ he said.

“His clothes were from a different era, old-fashioned or from a secondhand shop.’’

The jury was shown a sketch based on the description Mr Jackson gave that showed a gaunt-looking man with wavy hair.

“A good likeness,’’ Mr Jackson said.

In cross-examination by barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, Mr Jackson said he was very certain there were no vehicles parked nearby.

He said he saw “clutter’’ on the side of the road through his rear-view mirror, heading towards Maroochydore near Shirley Rd, just past the overpass.

Mr Jackson said he looked at a photo board from police and identified “No.3’’ as bearing a likeness to the man he saw on June 8, 2009.

3pm: The 103rd witness is Mark Parmenter, who lived on Russell Island and operated a tow truck business.

He said he got a white 1990 model Pajero with registration 552 GLT from a man named Troy.

“I swapped him a `92 model, later shaped one, because he wanted that and I wanted the motor that was in his,’’ he said.

Mr Parmenter said it would have been in 2006 or 2007.

“I had it registered for a short time and it just sat there,’’ he said.

“We drove it while it had a short bit of rego on it.’’

Mr Parmenter said police came to Russell Island looking for the car in 2011.

He said the car was still in his yard and it was seized by police.

2.50pm: The 102nd witness is Martin Wise, who currently works for the Australian Federal Police but until 2005 was employed by the Queensland Police Service as a sergeant and fingerprint expert.

He said he went to the Nambour police station to examine a white Mitsubishi Pajero on December 24, 2003.

He said he found latent fingerprints on outside front passenger window, outside rear driver’s window, inside driver’s window and inside front passenger-side window.

Mr Wise said fingerprints on the outside of a car would not last long and could evaporate quickly and dry out.

“A latent fingerprint out in the hot son on a car, if it’s mainly water, you’d expect it to dry up within a few hours,’’ he said.

He said it was even possible to touch a surface without leaving a print.

In cross-examination by barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, Mr Wise said fingerprints were made up of a series of ridges and furrows, and made up of sweat from glands in the finger.

“It depends very much on the nature of the residue at the time,’’ he said.

Mr Wise said he had white and black powder that would adhere to the vehicle to expose prints.

He said it was correct that fingerprints could last days and weeks.

“On an interior surface, yes, if they are out of the sun and elements,’’ he said.

“It might last a long time, yes.’’

Mr Wise agreed glass was one of the best surfaces to try to glean fingerprints from.

12.45pm: The 101st witness is Gary Gersbach, who works for a company called Max Gaming.

Mr Gersbach said the company provided poker machines and had provided them and associated loyalty or membership cards to the Beerwah RSL in 2003.

He told the jury a poker machine loyalty card issued to Kevin Fitzgerald was removed from a machine at the Beerwah RSL at 2.20pm on December 7, 2003.

He agreed the card recorded 13 plays on the poker machine.

Mr Gersbach said a card registered to Sandra Drummond was removed from a machine at the Beerwah RSL at 2.22pm on the same day.

It showed winnings of $13 and a total of 70 plays.

The court adjourned for lunch to recommence at 2.30pm.

12.30pm: In cross-examination by barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, Sgt Wright conceded the accused was co-operative with police by volunteering his DNA sample and participating in police interviews.

The 100th witness is Sgt Nicole Lee Tysoe, who is a scientific police officer station at Brisbane police headquarters.

She said she went to the Nambour Police Station to examine a white Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD with registration 552GLT on December 24, 2003.

She also received and examined remnant underpants on August 19, 2011, a pair of Ripcurl shorts in September, 2011 and a belt.

Sgt Tysoe said the Pajero was examined within the front yard of the police station at Nambour to look for blood and any evidence of Daniel Morcombe’s disappearance.

“Back in 2003 we didn’t routinely take trace DNA samples … touch point areas on vehicles, for instance steering wheels, grab handles and door bars,’’ she said.

She said she found nothing that gave an indication of blood being in the car.

“The vehicle was in a moderate condition, dirty inside and out, there was glass and dirt in the floor, the seats were ripped in the front and in the vehicle itself was lots of items,’’ she said.

“There was a baby seat on the rear passenger side and there was also things such as rubbish, a sun shade, a cap, and sunglasses.

“Within the rear of the vehicle itself there was a pram, a rope, a jumper, a backpack, some fishing gear and a knife…’’

She said there were golf balls, plastic bags, rain coats, tools and paperwork in the name of Brett Peter Cowan found in the car.

Sgt Tysoe said she did tape lifts from the seats in the car and the cargo area or rear of the car.

She said the lifts were not examined however and were instead stored at a facility with Queensland Health.

“It wasn’t until later on that I found out they hadn’t been examined,’’ she said.

Sgt Tysoe said she would not have expected to find DNA samples from a person who may have been in the car.

She told the jury she examined a pair of remnant Bonds underpants and compared them to a reference sample once belonging to Daniel Morcombe in 2011.

Sgt Tysoe determined that because the stitching of the underwear was blue, it was likely they would have been blue in colour.

She said she found a code LCP384 on the underpants found in the creek and compared it with a label code found on the reference underwear.

Sgt Tysoe said she was given the Ripcurl shorts, recovered from Coochin Creek, on September 26, 2011 and compared them with six pairs that once belonged to Daniel.

She said most were size 14 but one pair was an adult size 30.

“When I first examined them they were covered in dirt and mud and sand,’’ she said.

Sgt Tysoe said she also examined a belt that was recovered from the creek in “quite poor condition’’.

She said only a small part of the metal belt buckle remained.

Sgt Tysoe said she examined photographs of the Pajero’s tyre tread in October, 2011 and compared them with photos taken of a tread pattern found near the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass in 2003.

She said they didn’t match.

In cross-examination by barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, she said Queensland police did not do hair examinations from tape lifts in 2003.

“Tape lifts were last on the list as opposed to any other type of evidence, so they subsequently weren’t examined at the time but they were since examined in 2011 by hair experts,’’ she said.

She said there was nothing found that may have been linked to Daniel Morcombe.

11.25am: The 99th witness is Sgt Mark Wright, who was stationed at the Beerwah CIB in December, 2003.

He said he attended Cowan’s home at Alfs Pinch Rd in Beerwah with a partner on December 23, 2003 in relation to the Daniel Morcombe investigation.

Sgt Wright said Cowan was home.

He said he reduced to typewritten form a notation of the conversation and referred to it in court.

Sgt Wright said Cowan told them he’d been to Nambour to collect a mulcher from the Davis family and returned about 2.30pm.

“He indicated that about 20 minutes prior to leaving he contacted Mr Davis to ask about getting the mulcher,’’ he said.

Sgt Wright said Cowan told him he was at the Davis house for around 15 minutes before returning home to continue mulching and working in the garden.

He said Cowan’s car was a Mitsubishi Pajero with registration 552GLT and was scientifically examined with Cowan’s consent on December 24, 2003.

Sgt Wright said he spoke with Cowan again on July 6, 2005 at the Nerang Police Station because Cowan was living at Uki, south of Murwillumbah.

The jury was shown a video recording of the police interview.

In it, Cowan told the police he was born in September, 1969 at Bunbury, Western Australia.

He told the detectives he was living at Alfs Pinch Rd at Beerwah on December 7, 2003.

“I was home all day working in the garden in the morning and afternoon, cutting down some trees and cutting down in the garden,’’ he said.

“Rang my boss’s father up around lunch time and asked him if I could borrow his mulcher … not a hundred per cent sure when I went to pick it up, after 1pm I think…’’

Cowan said he would have left home between 1pm and 1.30pm.

He said it would have taken roughly 40 minutes to get to Nambour and denied seeing anyone under the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass.

“I didn’t see anybody standing there,’’ he said.

He said he wasn’t going to the Christian Outreach Centre behind the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass at that time.

Cowan was told he made a call to a man called Andrew Stevens at 8.51am on December 7, 2003.

He was told by the detectives the next call made on his home phone at Alfs Pinch Rd was to Frank Davis at 1.50pm.

Cowan said he had his mobile phone on him that day, as well, but didn’t make any calls.

He was told by police there was a call to his landline at Beerwah from his mobile at 12.58pm.

Cowan said he would have returned home around 2.30pm.

“I just got straight into mulching up the trees, after I finished cleaning up and had a shower,’’ he said.

He agreed he would have driven back past the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass around 2.05pm.

“I saw the broken down bus,’’ he said.

Cowan said he volunteered his DNA to police and told them he thought he looked like one of the comfit sketches done by police.

“I thought one of them, one of them actually looks more like my brother than me,’’ he said.

Cowan said he would have been home by 3pm.

He suggested the police check traffic cameras in the area.

He said he stopped going to the Christian Outreach Centre a few months before because “something was preached over the pulpit that I didn’t agree with’’.

Sgt Wright: “The problem with us is we can’t write this off and say it’s definitely not Brett Cowan … the best we can get from Tracey is she believes it’s about 3pm, which gives us half an hour…’’

Cowan said he couldn’t remember what the call home was about at 12.58pm.

Detective Sgt Tracey Barnes: “If you had abducted Daniel would you tell me?’’

Cowan: “Probably not.’’

10:55am: The 98th witness is Lilly Obah, who saw a blue car pulled off the side of the Nambour Connection Rd near the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass on December 7, 2003.

In cross-examination by barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, she said she saw a man walking towards the driver’s side door from the boot of the car.

“Not skinny, skinny but he was medium,’’ she said.

“Clean-cut. A short haircut.’’

Ms Obah agreed the man she saw looked about 40, was wearing a button-up shirt and pants.

She said the plates on the car she saw were from New South Wales and coloured yellow.

“I just had to swerve a little bit out because I was going to Maroochydore and it was sort of there,’’ she said.

10.40am: The 97th witness is Jodie Lynch, who was a passenger in a car being driven by his then-partner Kaylene Densley when they drove past the Kiel Mountain overpass on December 7, 2003.

In cross-examination by barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, Mr Lynch said he saw a boy standing by a car he thought might have been a Datsun or bigger.

“The sun was really in the wrong spot,’’ he said.

“I stared the bloke in the eye, I stared him out…’’

The 96th witness is Kaylene Densley, who was driving to the Royal George Hotel in Nambour from her home in Palmwoods for a footy presentation around 2pm on December 7, 2003.

She said she would have passed the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass around 1.40pm or 1.45pm.

Ms Densley said she noticed a car parked on the same side of the Nambour-Connection Rd as the Christian Outreach Centre.

“There was a car parked on the other side of the road,’’ she said.

“It was a darkish blue, boxy, I’m not very good with cars but it was a sedan.

“It was unusual because there’s not much room there, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a car parked there before.’’

Ms Densley said she also saw three people standing near the car.

“There were two people standing in front of the car and there was also a man standing at the back of the car,’’ she said.

“I thought at first somebody must have pulled over because a child was sick, you know how you think these things … it was a man and a boy. They were both standing there with their hands at their sides sort of kicking the ground with their heads down.

“It looked to me, thinking about it, that he was shadowing what the child was doing, which is a psychology thing to gain confidence.’’

She said the boy had a red shirt on.

“He had a T-shirt on and like a flannel shirt that was open and jeans, I think,’’ she said of the man standing at the front of the car.

She said the man at the rear of the car looked as though he was leaning on the back door.

“He put his head down and turned around so as if he didn’t want me to see him, that’s my impression,’’ she said.

“Heavy-set build, sort of balding head, with some grey or white hair at the back, a bulbous red nose.’’

Ms Densley said there was a white van parked further up the road and she saw a broken down bus near the Woombye turn-off.

“I think it was just sort of the end of it or past it a little bit, Nambour side,’’ she said of the van.

In cross-examination by barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, Ms Densley agreed she first gave a statement to police about what she had seen on December 19, 2003.

She agreed that in the statement, she told police she arrived at the Royal George Hotel at 2.08pm.

She identified two blue cars for police that matched the blue car she saw parked by the Kiel Mountain Rd overpass.

“To me, the boot was as long as the front, usually a boot is a bit shorter in a car, so that’s my recollection of how it was,’’ Ms Densley said.

“The sun was quite bright, because it was in the afternoon … but you could see it was a blue colour,’’ she said.

She said the child she saw had dark hair and was wearing a red T-shirt.

Ms Densley said the man standing near to the child at the front of the car was talking to the boy.

She said that man looked to be about 35-years-old and “a lot taller than the boy’’.

“I thought more medium build than slight,’’ she said.

Ms Densley agreed the other man she saw appeared to be wearing a blue, grey and white chequered flannelette.

She agreed the man appeared to be aged in his 40s and had a reddish complexion’’, likesomeone with high blood-pressure’’.

Justice Atkinson reminded the jury not to be influenced by media reports of the case.

“If you’ve read anything either online, or in the news media or seen anything on television, or heard anything on the radio, I remind you to only pay attention to what you’ve heard in court,’’ she said.

She also reminded the jury not to be influenced by the opinions that might be expressed to them by family or friends.