Posted: February 8th, 2015

Forensic Science: Expert Witness Report

Forensic Science: Expert Witness Report

Victim/Complainant

V/C – Michael Andrew Widdowson
Age – 26
Marital Status – Cohabiting
Occupation – Unemployed
Address – 30 Grasmere St. Leicester
Self-Defined Ethnicity – W1 – White British
Ethnicity Code (for DNA work) – RC1

Unable to give statement for medical reasons

Suspect 1
Suspect – Mr Gary Hodgson
Age – 36
Marital Status – Single
Occupation – Businessman – Club Owner
Address – 21 Kingsley Road. Leicester
Self-Defined Ethnicity – M9 – Other mixed background
Ethnicity Code (for DNA work) – Undefined

Transcript of Mr. Hodgson’s Interview
I arrived at Mick’s [Michael Widdowson’s] house [30 Grasmere Street, Leicester] just after lunch, at maybe one o’clock. Me and Brian [Mr. Andrew] got there about the same time as we’d [both] just been out to the local cafe down the road for an all-day breakfast. When we got there [30 Grasmere Street], Mick let us in and we sat down in the front room for a bit, had a beer or two, smoked a couple of fags [cigarettes] had a couple of vodka shots; we needed a bit of the hair of the dog after a heavy night on the pop [alcoholic beverages]. We had a chat about some work that I wanted Mick to do for us. Mick was a good guy and he often did a few deliveries for us, you know the sort of stuff – he picks up tables, chairs, booze and that sort of thing from ‘the club’ [Mr. Hodgson’s place of work] and delivers it to our guys up North [employees in Manchester]. He’d been a bit of a pain lately though, refusing to do stuff and getting all uppity; it’s ever since that tart and her brat [Mr Widdowson’s partner Miss Gallagher and her child] started living with him.  Mick agreed though in the end [that he’d do the delivery] and we chatted for a bit more and shared some ‘blow’ [marijuana]. I don’t know what it was, but something Mick said, I wasn’t paying much attention really, just chilling, set Brian off and they started arguing and that. Brian picked something up, didn’t really see what but he started hitting Mick with it and Mick’s screaming and the like for Brian to lay off and he didn’t mean anything by what he said. Brian’s got a wicked temper, so I thought I’d just get out of there before things turned ugly – I left at about 2, maybe 2.30. Last time I saw Mick was when I was getting out of the kitchen door, he was trying to lock himself in the bathroom I think with Brian still going mental and rifling through stuff in the kitchen and threatening to “do” Mick.

Suspect 2 Statement
Suspect – Mr Brian Andrew
Age – 33
Marital Status – Single
Occupation – Manual Worker
Address – 14 Uttoxeter Close. Leicester
Self-Defined Ethnicity – W1 – White British
Ethnicity Code (for DNA work) – RC1

Transcript of Mr. Andrew’s Interview
I got to Mick’s [Michael Widdowson’s house – 30 Grasmere Street] at about one. Me and Gaz [Mr. Hodgson] went together as we’d just had some breakfast at the cafe down the main road. When me and Gaz got there [30 Grasmere Street], Mick invited us in and we got talking about old times for bit. I had a couple of beers and we smoked a bit of weed [marijuana]. We went over because Gaz wanted Mick to shift some stuff up to Manchester. Gaz gets some of his guys to sell pills [Ecstacy tablets] and a bit of Charlie [Cocaine] in his clubs and he wanted Mick to get the stuff up there for him – Gaz doesn’t like to get his hands dirty if you know what I mean. Anyway, Mick said no and that he’d got a family and a kid now, so he reckoned it was time he went straight. He said that his kid had found some pills in the house the other day and that Debs [his partner Miss Gallagher] had “gone mental”. Gaz tried to get him to do it anyway as a favour, as a mate, but Mick kept saying no which was really pissing Gaz off, sorry – annoying him, Gaz really needed to get the stuff to Manchester. I kind of had the feeling that Gaz would lose more than money if the stuff didn’t get to Manchester PDQ like [quickly].  Well that got Gaz all worked up and he told me that he reckoned that Mick needed a bit of persuasion so I roughed him up a bit [hit him]. I only hit him a couple of times… not all that hard but enough to show him that we meant business, got a bloody cut off something. You know me, I’m not about permanently damaging someone, just a bit of less than gentle persuasion if you get my point. I thought we’d leave it at that, but when Mick was getting up off the floor, Gaz started kicking him around the head and that. Mick was screaming at Gaz to lay off but Gaz was really giving him a good kicking and then gets hold of a hammer, Christ knows where that came from and takes a swing at Mick. Mick managed to get up and started running through the flat to the bathroom with Gaz close behind. I can’t really remember what happened but next thing I know is Mick’s in the bath bleeding all over the place and Gaz’s just standing there with a knife in his hand  muttering something about having “really done it”. I pulled Gaz away and told him we’d better get out of here pretty quickly. Mick looked in a pretty bad way and that was the last time I saw him. Gaz pulled off his T-shirt as it was covered in blood and just chucked it down somewhere. That’s when we left, out of the kitchen and the back gate. Gaz was just really pumped [agitated] and we went back to his flat and shared a few drags on a ciggy [cigarette] afterwards to calm down a bit like then we split up and went our separate ways.
PC Logan
At approximately 4pm on the afternoon of July 17th 2013, I received a call stating that there had been an incident at 30 Grasmere Street Leicester. I arrived at scene at 4.20pm and the door was answered by Miss Gallagher, a woman who we later discovered is the partner of the victim. I went into the bathroom where we found a man who we later found out to be Mr. Widdowson lying unresponsive in the bath of the flat. He appeared to have severe head injuries and a stab wound to the chest and did not respond. I told Miss Gallagher to ring for an ambulance and she said that she’d already done that. I tried to administer first aid as best I could and stop the bleeding and shortly after the ambulance crew arrived and took over from me. I then radioed back to the station to get some officers to Grasmere Street to make it secure and scientific support were called in. The ambulance crew made Mr Widdowson stable and transferred him to the LRI [Leicester Royal Infirmary]. I travelled with him and Miss Gallagher to hospital in the back of the ambulance.
CSI Clothing collection – Keith Walker (SOCO)
On the 17th July 2014, I was asked to attend LRI (Leicester Royal Infirmary) to collect a number of items of clothing which were worn by Mr Widdowson on 17th July 2013. The items included the following which had been placed together in a clear unsealed plastic sack for collection:
1 Pair bloodstained Reebok trainers – KWA/1
1 Pair of black socks – KWA/2
1 pair bloodstained trousers (Size 34” waist) – KWA/3

EVIDENCE (victim and reference)    ANALYSES AVAILABLE
KWA/1 BLOODSTAINED REEBOK TRAINERS    SGM+
KWA/2 BLACK SOCKS    SGM+
KWA/3 TROUSERS  (BLOODTSAINED)    SGM+
Reference samples from Widdowson, Hodgson, Andrew, Gallagher    SGM+
EVIDENCE RECOVERED FROM 30 GRASMERE STREEET
T-shirt (kitchen floor)    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Shirt – red stained – bathroom floor    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Sock – red stained (kitchen cupboard)    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Knife – on kitchen floor- handle     Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Knife – on kitchen floor- blade    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Knife – kitchen cupboard – handle    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Knife – kitchen cupboard – blade    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Hammer – downstairs front room – handle    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Hammer – downstairs front room – head    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Hammer – hairs recovered from head    SGM+
Scissors – kitchen – blades    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Scissors – kitchen – handle    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Trousers – red stained  – downstairs room    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Cushion cover – red stained    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Crushed cigarette butt – under rug/floor    Saliva presumptive test
SGM+
Sterling cigarette butts 1-3 – ashtray    Saliva presumptive test
SGM+
Mayfair cigarette butt – ashtray    Saliva presumptive test
SGM+
Swab – Cigarette lighter    Saliva presumptive test
SGM+
Shot glass 1 – swab around rim    Saliva presumptive test
SGM+
Shot glass 2 – swab around rim    Saliva presumptive test
SGM+
Broken shot glass    Saliva presumptive test
SGM+
Cartridge case – swab    SGM+
Items recovered from Hodgson (sus)
Shoes – red stain on sole of right shoe,     Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Shoes – red stain around eyelet for lace on inside of shoe    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Trousers – red stains to left and right leg     Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Socks    Presumptive for blood
SGM+
Items recovered from Andrew (sus)
Swab – Gold sovereign ring    SGM+
Swab – Signet ring    SGM+
Swab – Shirt    SGM+
Trousers    SGM+
Socks    SGM+
Shoes    SGM+