Amber Gibson murder trial hears of brother's knuckle injuries
- Published
Amber Gibson's body was found in November 2021
A man accused of murdering his sister had abrasions on his knuckles that could have happened on the night she died, a court has heard.
Connor Gibson, 20, denies strangling and sexually assaulting 16-year-old Amber Gibson in Cadzow Glen, Hamilton.
The High Court in Glasgow was shown photographs of abrasions on his knees and a scratch to his left leg.
Amber was found dead in the Lanarkshire park on 28 November 2021, days after she was last seen alive.
The jury heard from Dr Shona Anderson, a forensic medical examiner who saw Mr Gibson on the day the body was discovered.
He had abrasions to his knuckles which Dr Anderson said could have come from punching something or contact with a rough surface.
She told the court he could have sustained these injuries on the night he is accused of Amber's murder.
Meanwhile, the court also heard that a phone message was sent from someone called Connor to a group chat on 27 November.
The phone had been found at the supported living unit where Connor Gibson was living.
The message read: "I'm really gonna need you guys' help with something when yous come back. I'm being serious."
Seconds after that message, another was sent from the phone to Amber Gibson. This message read "are you ok?".
Peter Benson, of Police Scotland's cyber crime unit, said this was never read.
Mr Benson said that from his examination of the phone, no effort was made to contact Amber's phone after this message.
He said an internet search was also made from the phone on 27 November.
The search term was: "How to get nosey police officers to stop monitoring your phone".
Amber's body was found in Cadzow Glen in Hamilton, days after she was last seen
The court also heard that the DNA of another man accused of inappropriately touching Amber may have been present on her body before her death.
Stephen Corrigan, 45, is alleged to have discovered her body between 26 and 28 November 2021.
But, instead of alerting police, he is said to have touched and hid her body.
The court heard Stephen Corrigan's defence agent, Rhonda Anderson, cross-examined forensic biologist Alana Gunn over earlier evidence in which she said his DNA was "widespread" on Amber's body.
She said it spanned 39 areas, including intimate areas, with the forensic biologist estimating it came from "direct contact".
However, following questioning Ms Gunn said she could not "exclude" the possibility that his DNA was on her body by secondary transfer.
Bloodstained clothes
Ms Anderson put it to Ms Gunn that if Amber - who was also known by the surname Niven - had slept naked inside a sleeping bag before her death that had Mr Corrigan's DNA on it, that could account for why it was on her body.
Ms Gunn replied: "If there was a significant amount of DNA in the sleeping bag then I couldn't exclude that, no."
Both Stephen Corrigan and Connor Gibson deny all charges against them. Mr Corrigan has lodged a special defence of alibi.
Mr Gibson is accused of removing his sister's clothes and repeatedly inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and body on 26 November 2021.
Prosecutors also allege he strangled Amber with the intention to rape her.
Her faces further charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by disposing of bloodstained clothes and calling the children's home where his sister lived and pretending she was alive.
He also faces a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice by telling police he had argued with his sister on the evening of 26 November before going to someone's home.
The trial, before judge Lord Mulholland, continues.