David Bain: New Zealand; Investigative TV show '3d Degree' on '3 News' claims crime scene photo showing Robin Bain's hand could clear son David Bain and help him finally receive compensation;

STORY: "New evidence could change Bain case," by reporter Melanie Reid, published by 3 News on June 26, 2013.

GIST:  "A newly re-examined photo of Robin Bain's hand could vindicate his son David from killing his whole family, and help him get compensation for the 13 years he spent in prison. In 1995 David Bain was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his mother, father, two sisters and brother the previous year. After an unsuccessful appeal, the Privy Council in 2007 quashed David's convictions and in 2009 a retrial found him not guilty, after he had already spent 13 years in prison. David applied for compensation, but Justice Minister Judith Collins found the compensation report to be flawed. For David to get compensation, it needs to be proven that he is factually innocent of the murders. But now a new clue could help prove that his father Robin was the killer. Waikato businessman David Giles has told 3^rd Degree how he came across a crime scene photo of Robin's hand online, and noticed some little marks on his thumb and forefinger. "What struck me was the marks that were on Robin Bain’s thumb and forefinger," he said. "We’ve got this rubbing mark here, and these twin parallel lines here. These are marks that are associated with loading the gun and handling the magazine.”.........Mr Karam and his team then decided to get the actual gun which killed the Bain family, and test it to see if they could replicate the marks. Under supervision of a police detective and a Crown forensic scientist, the gun was tested by gun expert Mr Tiffen.  He found it continually jammed and misfired, which was consistent with the 19 bullets which were found around the Bain house after the killings. A five-shot magazine and a 10-shot magazine were found along with the gun, which meant the killer would have had to load both magazines, and reload at least one of them to fire 19 shots. "We did tests with both [magazines], and both of them caused these marks on the thumb… to leave powder residue marks, very, very similar to the marks that you can see on Robin's thumb," Mr Tiffen said. How was this detail missed in the original investigation and trials? "Probably nobody ever put the two things together, and it's been looked at so many times, couldn't see the wood for the trees," photo expert Mr Durrant said. The forensics team working on the crime scene also failed to put plastic bags over Robin's hands, so gun residue may have rubbed off before the body got to the forensics laboratory. The question now is whether this new information could help David get compensation for his 13 years in prison."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.3news.co.nz/New-evidence-could-clear-David-Bain/tabid/1771/articleID/302829/Default.aspx

See MSN NZ related story: "New details in Bain murders revealed."..."Two marks on Robin Bain's thumb, apparent in a police photograph of his hand, suggest he could have loaded the gun that was used to kill him and four members of his family almost 20 years ago."

 http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8680764/new-details-in-bain-murders-revealed

See 3 News video: (Must See: HL); David Bain's lawyer says it's time to pay - calling this a knock-out punch; Big question: How could a key point of  information be overlooked in two murder trials?

 http://www.3news.co.nz/Its-time-to-pay-up---Bains-lawyer/tabid/423/articleID/302892/Default.aspx

 Comprehensive Wikipedia entry on the Bain case:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bain

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Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.