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DNA 'mystery' in serial rape case

A DNA profile not matching that of a jogger who had been raped was found on her left ear, a crown court jury heard today.

But they are yet to discover whether it belongs to Antoni Imiela, the Kent man accused of attacking the jogger in Earlswood, Surrey, in July 2002.

Forensic scientist Helen Swain told Maidstone Crown Court that swabs taken from the victim on the day of the attack, revealed the presence of a low level of DNA that could not have come from the then 30-year-old woman.

Low-level traces of male DNA were also found from a saliva stain found on the victim's bra. Further tests were taken and the court is expected to hear the results of these later.

Yesterday jurors heard how the woman was grabbed from a riverside footpath, dragged in to a wooded area, beaten and raped, before being left tied-up and naked. She had begged the attacker not to kill her.

The prosecution allege she was Mr Imiela's second rape victim following a savage attack on a 10-year-old girl on the Stanhope estate, Ashford, in November 2001.

The 49-year-old railway maintenance worker, of Heathside, Appledore, near Ashford, denies nine counts of rape, one of attempted rape, indecent assault and kidnap between November 2001 and November 2002.

The trial continues.

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