Jury hears DNA evidence on fifth day of trial for men accused of murdering marine

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ)- It is day five of the capitol murder trial for the two men accused of shooting and killing 26-year-old marine Jonathan Price outside of the Austin city saloon back in June of 2014.

Price’s wife Megan was also injured in the shooting. Wednesday, witnesses from the state’s forensic lab took the stand. The jury learned KSP found none of Quincinio Canada or Dawan Mulazim’s DNA neither on Jonathan Price’s body nor on his clothing.

The forensic biologist who took the stand said there were traces of foreign DNA found on Price’s wedding ring but it was neither Canada’s nor Mulazim’s.

The forensic lab also tested the New York Yankees hat police found in a dumpster.

That test confirmed it had Mulazim’s DNA and a mixture of some other DNA on it but that DNA was neither Jonathan nor Megan Price’s.

Prosecutors argued DNA does not always transfer during a crime, but the defense argued the lack of DNA evidence proves Canada and Mulazim did not shoot Jonathan and Megan Price.

“There was no DNA matching on Megan Price or Jonathan Price on the hat?” an attorney asked.

“That is correct. They were excluded. They were both excluded as contributed to that mixture,” Megan Dillery Duff, a forensic biologist, said.

“So neither Megan Price nor Jonathan price could have left the DNA you recovered from the hat?” the attorney asked.

“They were excluded from that DNA profile, yes,” Dillery Duff replied.

A firearms examiner also took the stand Wednesday afternoon.

During his testimony, he said testing confirmed the bullet casing found at the scene was fired by the gun police believe to be the murder weapon, but when it came to the bullet pulled from Price’s body, the examiner said it was inconclusive whether that bullet came from the suspected murder weapon.

The jury also heard from a witness who said Quincinio Canada admitted to shooting someone. The defense disputed that.