Murder case against Alex O’Sachy delayed due to DNA issue
DNA samples collected after a woman was allegedly stabbed to death by her partner will need to be retested, a court has heard.
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The case against a man accused of fatally stabbing his partner has been further delayed after prosecutors requested DNA samples involved be retested following revelations about Queensland’s forensic lab, a court has heard.
Alexander George O’Sachy, 45, was charged with murder as a domestic violence offence after the death of Angela Silk, also known as Angela Goodwin, in September 2021.
Police will allege that Ms Goodwin was fatally wounded at Mr O’Sachy’s home on Wishart Road in Upper Mount Gravatt.
He had allegedly gone voluntarily with police to be interviewed after calling paramedics.
Despite the efforts of first responders, Ms Goodwin died about 50 minutes later.
Mr O’Sachy, who remains in custody, had his matter briefly mentioned before Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions prosecutor Anita Kennedy told the court she was seeking more time to have the DNA samples in the case against Mr O’Sachy retested following a commission of inquiry into a Queensland government-run forensic lab.
A report by Supreme Court justice Walter Sofronoff KC in December found serious problems had existed within the laboratory for many years.
He made 123 recommendations, which the Queensland government has committed to carry out.
Ms Kennedy said on Monday there was now a “backlog” in the workload at the lab due to the amount of errors discovered.
“At the request of our office, the DNA statement was requested for retesting in December 2022,” she said.
“We don’t have an ETA given the backlog of retesting of the samples.”
Mr O’Sachy’s matter was adjourned to February 20 for further mention.
Originally published as Murder case against Alex O’Sachy delayed due to DNA issue
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