Mark Twitchell murder trial sees photos of blood evidence

The first degree murder trial of Mark Twitchell saw the introduction of dozens of photos taken by police on day two, including the garage where its alleged John Altinger, 38, was murdered. A number of photos shown to the jury relate to blood evidence gathered by police.

The photos were taken by police in October 2008 inside the garage the accused was renting to film a movie called 'House of Cards'.

Several of the photos show what's called a luminal reaction - a test for blood. In some photos the luminal can be seen covering large areas of the floor.

Blood staining was discovered in the lining of Twitchell's vehicle, and on a pair of jeans seiezed from his home.

The Crown alleges the victim, John Altinger, was killed in this south Edmonton garage, blugeoned with a pipe. His body dismembered and disposed of down a drain.

In opening statements, the Crown also made reference to an important witness a man who was attacked in the garage in the fall of 2008 by a man wearing a hockey mask. His eyes were duct taped shut, but the man managed to get away. This happened before the disappearance of John Altinger.

As police looked into the disappearance they discovered numerous items in the garage including duct tape, hunters tools, a blue case with a bb gun, a pair of hand cuffs and a stun baton. A photo was also shown of two metal pipes.

In Twitchells home, a photo of a handcuff key and a hockey mask.

The Crown has informed the jury their case will show evidence of how some skelatal remains of the victim were found in a sewer. On Thursday, the jury was shown photos of where that investigation led. A back alley in north central Edmonton in early June 2010. Court was told two larger amounts of remains were found.

As photo after photo was shown, Mark Twitchell sat by his lawyer, busy writing down notes. As his entire world was on display for the courtroom he rarely looked up.

<i>With files from Vinesh Pratap.</i>