Jury told April Jones' blood discovered under carpet in Mark Bridger's home
Blood stains underneath the carpet in Mark Bridger's living room match the DNA of five-year-old April Jones, a jury has been told.
The blood suggests April may have been lying in the position for a "considerable" amount of time, forensics expert Emma Howes told Mold Crown Court today.
Traces of April's and Bridger's blood were also found throughout the house, including on a shower curtain in the bathroom and on the inside of a washing machine.
Bridger, 47, of Ceinws, near Machynlleth, denies abducting and murdering April as well as denying perverting the course of justice.
April went missing from outside her home on the Bryn y Gog estate in Machynlleth shortly before 7.30pm on October 1 last year.
The prosecution allege that Bridger abducted April in his Land Rover and killed her in a sexually motivated crime.
But Bridger claims he ran the schoolgirl over and can't remember what he did with her body.
Ms Howes told the jury that drips of blood had been found under the carpet of Bridger's living room close to the fireplace.
She said: "Blood stains became apparent on the underside of the carpet when the felt backing was taken off. Blood had permeated through the carpet and come through to the underneath.
"The blood matches April Jones' DNA profile to the extent of one in a billion chance of it being wrong.
"It suggests the carpet had been in prolonged contact with April's blood. Due to the nature of the staining I believe April Jones would've been in contact with the carpet itself rather than it being from another source.
"It suggests April Jones herself had been lying there for a considerable amount of time."
Ms Howes said that blood matching April's profile was also found under a carpet in the hallway and on a shower curtain. Blood matching Bridger was found on the curtain and in other locations.
Ms Howes added that further blood matching April was found in the grouting of tiles in the hallway, the washing machine and the bathroom wall. She said she was confident both Bridger and April were "fully represented" at the scene.
A boning knife which had been scorched by fire was also found in Bridger's house, along with an axe, but neither produced a DNA result.
Blood matching April was also found on the inside collar of a black fleece owned by Bridger.
The trial continues.
