Accused killer free on bail because of DNA test delays

A man accused of helping a group of people to commit murder has been granted bail because of DNA testing delays at Queensland’s troubled forensics laboratory.

A man accused of helping a group of people commit murder has been granted bail because of DNA testing delays at Queensland’s forensics laboratory.

Bailey Douglas Sinclair was one of several people charged over the stabbing death of Laidley father Jamie Barlow in June 2022. The Supreme Court has previously denied him bail twice but on Wednesday granted his application because of a DNA testing backlog.

Queensland is facing a three-year testing delay as scientists at the government-run lab work to retest up to 103,000 forensic samples from 37,000 criminal cases dating back to 2007.

The retesting was ordered after catastrophic problems at the lab were uncovered by The Australian’s podcast series Shandee’s Story, and confirmed by a major public inquiry.

Mr Sinclair’s barrister, Tracy Thorp, told the court on Wednesday that DNA results in the case had been delayed from September this year to April 2024, the Australian Associated Press reported.

“A committal hearing cannot go ahead before the DNA results … it cannot go to trial before 2025,” Ms Thorp said.

She said the delay amounted to a material change in Mr Sinclair’s circumstances, allowing him to show cause that further detention was unjustified.

The crown prosecutor said Mr Sinclair was at risk of re­offending, as the alleged murder was committed while he was on bail for another matter. The prosecutor also said Mr Sinclair had told an undercover police ­officer he planned to flee to Melbourne. “(Mr Sinclair) is not accused of committing the murder himself but he was aware of the plan. It’s not a weak case,” the prosecutor said.

Chief Justice Helen Bowskill agreed that Mr Sinclair could spend three years on remand as a young man who had never been in custody before, because of testing delays.

He was ordered to be released on strict conditions including wearing a GPS tracking bracelet, nightly curfew, random police inspections and drug testing.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman this week confirmed there would be forensic testing delays and said the government would make law changes next week to allow DNA samples to be held for longer periods.